Restart Racing returned to action at Thruxton for the fourth event of the 2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship. Known for being the UK’s fastest circuit and its high-speed layout, Thruxton always rewards commitment which both Daniel Lloyd and Chris Smiley provided plenty in their Hyundai i 30 Ns.
The team arrived in Hampshire leading the Independent Teams’ Championship and just two points off the lead in the Independent Drivers’ standings.But qualifying delivered a curveball, as a British summer storm soaked the circuit moments before the session. With no previous wet running in the 2025-spec cars, both drivers struggled in the conditions and were left disappointed with Lloyd qualifying 15th and Smiley 17th.
Race one saw both drivers avoid an early incident, one that eliminated several cars and brought out an early safety car. Smiley moved forward consistently throughout the race, making a number of strong overtakes to end the opening bout 12th on the road.
Lloyd also battled his way back from a tough start to climb into the points by the flag. Post-race penalties promoted both drivers up a place, securing a 11th and 13th place finish, whilst pushing both onto the Independents’ podium, behind the fast charging Josh Cook.
The second race of the day followed a similar theme. After a cautious opening lap, both drivers picked off places steadily through the field. Smiley ran well on the fringes of the top ten while Lloyd gained ground with some clean and well-timed passes.
At the chequered flag, the #22 finished 10th and #123 12th, but more post-race disqualifications elevated the pair to eighth and 10th overall. The disqualification for Cook also meant that Smiley claimed his fourth Independent win of the season, and the team celebrated their third one–two Independent finish of the campaign.
Despite narrowly missing out on the partially reverse-grid race draw, race three promised more of the same. Lloyd made a lightning start from the fifth row and charged into the top eight with Smiley finding himself in a scrap with a pair of BMW 330i M Sports, coming out on top and quickly moved forward back into the top 10 to join Lloyd.
The pair ran line astern in seventh and eighth before a safety car bunched the field. On the restart, they capitalised on to competitiveness ahead, with Jake Hill and Ash Sutton colliding at Noble and both Restart Racing drivers avoiding the spinning cars to move into fifth and sixth.
As the race entered its final stages, Sutton began a recovery drive and passed both cars, with Smiley settling for sixth on the road and Lloyd in seventh. With plenty of penalties dished out over the course of the weekend, it would next be the latter who would incur a post-race penalty. A five-second time penalty for being outside of his grid box at the start of the race relegated him to 10th.
Initially, it looked like another strong result with another Independent win for Smiley until post-race scrutineering revealed the car to be underweight. The #22 was disqualified from the final result, promoting Lloyd to ninth, but the team lost their seventh Independent win of the year.
Chris Smiley, #22, Restart Racing said: “Overall, a pretty steady day. In race one, we came from 17th to 11th, moved forward and scored some solid points for the Independents’ Championship. Race two, we moved forward again and finished eighth, winning the Independents’, which was really good for that championship fight.
"In race three, we gained a few more places to finish sixth overall. We also won the Independents’ class on the road, but unfortunately, the car was found to be slightly underweight after the race.
"It’s a really frustrating way to end the day, especially when we were on course for strong points and making good progress in the championship. But the boys have worked their socks off all weekend. They’ve put in a huge effort, and it was just an honest mistake.
"I’m absolutely gutted, but we’ll reset and head to Oulton Park, a track I really like, and I’m confident we can be right back in the fight in a few weeks’ time. That’s racing sometimes.”
Daniel Lloyd, #123, Restart Racing said: “Tough race day, to be honest. We were definitely lacking a bit of pace at the start, and we made a lot of changes to the car throughout the day to try and improve it, which we did, especially by race three.
"Overall, some good points scored, even if it wasn’t quite where we wanted to be. Race three was a big step forward in terms of performance. Unfortunately, I was just over the line in my grid box again, which I’m really kicking myself about because I got a mega start and got up to sixth early on.
"I let Chris through and brought the car home the best I could, and we ended up 10th. Not a disaster by any means, but I’m frustrated because I think we had a real shot at a much stronger result in that last race.
"Still, we’ve learned a lot, and we know we’ll be stronger at Oulton Park. We’re in a good place in the points for the teams’ championship, so we’ll take the positives and move on.”
Restart Racing joins the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship once again in just over one weeks time at Oulton Park, June 21–22.
