WSR return to their most successful circuit, Croft, as the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship enters the final phase of the 2026 season this weekend (5/6 September).
The 18-time series champions have won 22 races at the North Yorkshire venue since it was reintroduced to the series in 1997 and no car on the grid can match the current-model BMW 3 Series’ five victories at the track.
A WSR podium lock-out and a clean sweep of victories in 2015 was one of the most dominant performances in recent BTCC history while wins have also been achieved in three of the last four visits to the track.
Daryl De Leon made his BTCC debut at Croft in 2023 and last year scored an overall podium finish as well as a double Jack Sears Trophy victory as he stormed towards the title at the end of the season in his BMW 330i M Sport.
The 21-year-old Anglo-Filipino scored his third rostrum result of the year last time out at Donington Park as he closed on the lead of the Independents’ Championship – in which he currently holds second place.
Teammate Charles Rainford is a two-time race winner in 2026, having triumphed at Snetterton and Oulton Park; a pair of circuits that share a number of characteristics with Croft and its blend of slow and fast corners.
The Horsham racer was the Jack Sears Trophy round winner at Croft last year and is WSR’s highest-placed driver in the overall standings in seventh place.
BTCC rookie Lewis Gilbert, who is competing at Croft for the first time in his racing career, endured a frustrating event at Donington as he endured a high-speed roll during the opening race.
The extensive damage to his BMW 330i M Sport and the two-week gap between events has not left sufficient time for repairs, meaning that the 22-year-old Scot, from Dalry, North Ayrshire, will switch to a spare chassis for this event.
Daryl De Leon said: “Croft was where my season started to turn around last year. I got on the podium, won the Jack Sears Trophy in two of the three races and then went on to qualify on the front row in three of the last four events after that. The podium at Donington last time out felt similar so I’m aiming to use that to hit the ground running this weekend and aim to be in contention throughout the weekend. WSR and the BMW have a great record there so I think we can be right up there if we get our strategy right.”
Charles Rainford said: “We’ve had a couple of difficult events since the summer break where we haven’t had the points we deserved thanks to circumstances beyond our control, but this is a new weekend and we have every opportunity to get back to the front and continue WSR’s mega record at Croft. The BTCC is all about fine margins and we just need things to tip a tiny amount in the other direction to have a really strong weekend like at Snetterton. Croft feels like the place to do it.”
Lewis Gilbert said: “Croft’s a new circuit for me, but one where WSR and the BMW have been really successful in recent years. After the size of the incident at Donington, the team at WSR have had to work flat-out to prepare the spare car for me for this weekend and I’m really grateful to them for their efforts. I want to see that hard work rewarded and some points finishes would be a good way to start.”
