BTCC plus Mini Se7ens & Miglias Thruxton 3rd & 4th June 2023
NAPA RACING’S DAY IN THE SUN
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship held rounds 10, 11 and 12 in glorious weather at the extremely fast Thruxton circuit over the weekend of the 3rd and 4th of June. Coming into the weekend as championship leader after a highly successful last meeting at Snetterton a couple of weeks previously, taking his fourth win on the bounce and a fourth place in Norfolk, Ashley Sutton continued his hot form to set a 1:15.489 for pole position. Reigning champion and Snetterton race three winner Tom Ingram flung his Excelr8 Hyundai round to join Sutton on the front row, 0.210 seconds down. Current Thruxtonmeister Josh Cook arrived at the circuit off the back of a sensational charge from 26th to fifth in race three at Snetterton and belied his recent struggles to go fastest in each of the two free practice sessions in his One Motorsport Honda. The morning pace was carried into qualifying and the Civic was sat atop of the times after the first qualifying runs, the ten-time winner in Hampshire ultimately started from third. A star of qualifying was Mikey Doble, the BTCC rookie lining up fourth in his Power Maxed Astra. All three PMR Vauxhalls made it into the top ten, with Andrew Watson and Aron Taylor-Smith going from seventh and eighth. Of the WSR BMW hordes, Jake Hill’s satellite Laser Tools MB Motorsport car fared best in qualifying to head an all-BMW third row with Colin Turkington alongside. Sutton’s Napa Racing UK teammate Dan Cammish would take up the ninth spot on the grid, Cammish was leading the championship until a nightmarish Snetterton meeting saw the Yorkshireman put on the back foot by a qualifying crash before a stellar drive to second from starting eleventh in Race Three went unrewarded when the Focus failed the rideheight test. Rory Butcher’s Toyota Corolla completed the top ten. A late-session stoppage to replace the Club Chicane tyre bundles and a five-minute restart proved to be of no consequence for the front of the field.
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship held rounds 10, 11 and 12 in glorious weather at the extremely fast Thruxton circuit over the weekend of the 3rd and 4th of June. Coming into the weekend as championship leader after a highly successful last meeting at Snetterton a couple of weeks previously, taking his fourth win on the bounce and a fourth place in Norfolk, Ashley Sutton continued his hot form to set a 1:15.489 for pole position. Reigning champion and Snetterton race three winner Tom Ingram flung his Excelr8 Hyundai round to join Sutton on the front row, 0.210 seconds down. Current Thruxtonmeister Josh Cook arrived at the circuit off the back of a sensational charge from 26th to fifth in race three at Snetterton and belied his recent struggles to go fastest in each of the two free practice sessions in his One Motorsport Honda. The morning pace was carried into qualifying and the Civic was sat atop of the times after the first qualifying runs, the ten-time winner in Hampshire ultimately started from third. A star of qualifying was Mikey Doble, the BTCC rookie lining up fourth in his Power Maxed Astra. All three PMR Vauxhalls made it into the top ten, with Andrew Watson and Aron Taylor-Smith going from seventh and eighth. Of the WSR BMW hordes, Jake Hill’s satellite Laser Tools MB Motorsport car fared best in qualifying to head an all-BMW third row with Colin Turkington alongside. Sutton’s Napa Racing UK teammate Dan Cammish would take up the ninth spot on the grid, Cammish was leading the championship until a nightmarish Snetterton meeting saw the Yorkshireman put on the back foot by a qualifying crash before a stellar drive to second from starting eleventh in Race Three went unrewarded when the Focus failed the rideheight test. Rory Butcher’s Toyota Corolla completed the top ten. A late-session stoppage to replace the Club Chicane tyre bundles and a five-minute restart proved to be of no consequence for the front of the field.
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Race One: An even getaway from the first two rows of race one saw Sutton maintain first place into Allard but Hill’s BMW from the third row burst through between Doble and Cook to challenge for third. Ingram tailed the Focus into the Complex for the first time from the tussling Hill and Cook, Hill had his nose in front into Cobb but Cook hung on around the outside to take back third at Seagrave. Colin Turkington dived inside Doble too for fifth. Sutton's Napa Racing UK teammate Dan Cammish finished a good first lap by going the long way around Doble into the Club Chicane to end the opening lap in sixth from starting ninth. Sutton was quickly into his stride, opening up a small gap out front to sit just under a second clear after one lap and the margin would continue to grow as he sped to a dominant victory. The top four cars became spread out throughout the race, Sutton victorious by 2.513 seconds from Ingram, who rode plenty of early pressure from Cook as the Hyundai was forced to defend the inside at the chicane for the third time. A small consolation for Cook was setting a new lap record on his way to third. Hill’s BMW took fourth whilst Cammish moved up to fifth when he took advantage of a much better run through Church to take the place from Turkington on lap two but the BMW kept him honest thereafter. A big fight for eighth behind Rory Butcher involving hero of qualifying Doble, Taylor-Smith, Morgan, Thompson, Collard and Chilton went the way of Doble. Daniel Rowbottom, who was celebrating his 100th BTCC start, was on the move in the early stages to run in eighth after starting fourteenth but was forced to pit after ten laps with a deflating tyre on his Focus.
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Race Two: Race Two was a virtual action replay of Race One as Sutton was again away superbly at the start to lead Ingram off the line. Cook and Hill also mirrored the opening race by going side by side through the Complex and the Honda held third once more at Seagrave, before closing in on Ingram. Sutton soon began going away from the field, just as in the opening encounter, so the championship leader took his 33rd BTCC win but not by quite the same margin as race one, 2.234 seconds. Ingram sealed second and was edging towards the victorious Focus throughout the second half without being able to mount a challenge, Cook kept at arm’s length from the Hyundai in third. Top BMW driver Hill took fourth despite being closed on by Cammish in the closing stages, the Napa Ford having taken a few laps to clear the fast-starting Toyota of Rory Butcher. Colin Turkington also bested Butcher on the penultimate lap for sixth, having lost out to the Toyota in a sketchy moment at Noble for the first time which also cost the BMW another place to Cammish.
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Race Three: The reversed grid draw for Race Three saw double-winner Sutton shoot himself in the foot as he pulled out ball twelve from the pot, which placed WSR’s Adam Morgan on pole with Aiden Moffat alongside. Ricky Collard’s Toyota would go from third, with Aron Taylor-Smith next up. Napa Racing’s Daniel Rowbottom was handed a three-place grid penalty, after contact at the Complex with Nathan Pearson in Race Two, so lined up fifth, the Ford having made good progress after starting 24th to finish an on-the-road eleventh. Morgan used the BMW’s traction to take the lead off the line, with Moffat and Collard maintaining second and third. Rowbottom's Ford made a great start and was up to fourth at the Complex, with Turkington further demoting Taylor-Smith for fifth. Just behind them were Hill, Ingram, Cook and Sutton all squabbling over ninth as the field headed out into the country for the first time, with double-winner Sutton passing Cook towards Church. Showing great speed in the early stages, Rowbottom used his favoured move at Seagrave to take Collard’s third place on lap two, as a train of cars formed behind a stubborn Moffat's Honda. In the battle at the foot of the top ten, Cook sped by Sutton at Church after the Ford tagged Ingram at the Complex. Keen to keep the leading Morgan BMW in sight, Rowbottom tried his Seagrave manoeuvre on Moffat during lap three but didn’t make it stick and the lost momentum saw Collard charge back into third on the outside of Noble. A twitch for Collard at Village allowed Rowbottom to retake the place by Church and Turkington followed the Ford through racing up to the chicane. Rowbottom finally breached Moffat’s defence at the Complex on lap five, the Focus went around the outside of Campbell as the Honda hugged the inside and made the spot his own at Cobb. Morgan had marched into a 2.5-second lead by now but. using the Focus’ superior pace, Rowbottom soon started reeling in the leading BMW and made the decisive pass bravely on the inside into Church for the tenth time. Immediately pulling a gap to Morgan, Rowbottom completed a Napa Racing UK clean sweep of victories by 2.733 seconds from Morgan. Moffat fought a rear guard action to keep Colin Turkington and Ricky Collard at bay for his first podium of the year in third. Aron Taylor-Smith’s Astra came home sixth from Butcher’s Toyota, whilst Cammish, Ingram, Hill, Cook and Sutton all finished in a line from eighth to twelfth, Ingram having passed Hill around the outside at Goodwood on the penultimate lap as the BMW’s attempt at passing Cammish through Noble failed.
Sutton leads the championship by fourteen points from Ingram leaving Hampshire, having bagged two wins at each of the last three meetings, with Turkington sat in third, 41 points in arrears. The BTCC now moves on to rounds 13, 14 and 15 at Oulton Park in Cheshire on the 17th and 18th of June.
Sutton leads the championship by fourteen points from Ingram leaving Hampshire, having bagged two wins at each of the last three meetings, with Turkington sat in third, 41 points in arrears. The BTCC now moves on to rounds 13, 14 and 15 at Oulton Park in Cheshire on the 17th and 18th of June.
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Mini Se7en and Miglias
The Dunlop Mini Se7en and Miglia Challenges supported by Mini Spares were a popular addition to the support package for the weekend, having starred in a guest appearance at the venue in 2019.
Mini Miglia Qualifying/Race One: Like his father earlier in the day, Andrew Jordan set pole position by 0.468 seconds on his first appearance in the Miglias since the opening round at Silverstone in March from defending champion Rupert Deeth. Multiple title holder Aaron Smith would set the third fastest time, another 0.125 back from Deeth, with former S-Class champion Scott Kendall impressing in fourth on his return to the championship. Jeff Smith and Kane Astin lined up on the third row, with ace Mini preparer Endaf Owens, Phil Bullen-Brown, Ben Colburn and Rob Howard completing the top ten. Richard Colburn topped the Libre class by a little over a quarter of a second from Josh Evans and Peter Hills. Unfortunately, Hills was collected by a brakeless Ben Norfolk at the Club Chicane and the ensuing damage ended his weekend before it had really started. Deeth made the best start from the front row to take the early lead, whilst a cracking first lap from Owens saw him go second from Jordan and Aaron Smith into the chicane. Any one of nine cars in the lead group could steal the win, minus Owens after he pitted with a misfire on lap three, and four drivers had turns in the lead throughout the twenty minutes. Jeff Smith led onto the last lap from Aaron Smith and Jordan. Aaron Smith took the lead at the Complex and had a few Mini lengths lead out the back, whilst Jeff Smith tried to fend off Jordan - who drove around his outside on the blast towards Church. In typical Mini fashion, a huge slipstream up Woodham Hill saw Jordan breeze past Aaron Smith and he fended off the championship leader into the Club Chicane to take the win. Astin also got by Jeff Smith, who Deeth made contact with and was spat out of the pack at the Chicane, the defending champion recovered for seventh. Colin Peacock, Phil Bullen-Brown and Scott Kendall’s lightweight Miglia, its bootlid missing, got back ahead of Kieran McDonald for eighth into the Club Chicane in their fight at the back of the lead train. The lime green car of Josh Evans won the Libre class after trailing Richard Colburn for the majority of the race.
Mini Miglia Qualifying/Race One: Like his father earlier in the day, Andrew Jordan set pole position by 0.468 seconds on his first appearance in the Miglias since the opening round at Silverstone in March from defending champion Rupert Deeth. Multiple title holder Aaron Smith would set the third fastest time, another 0.125 back from Deeth, with former S-Class champion Scott Kendall impressing in fourth on his return to the championship. Jeff Smith and Kane Astin lined up on the third row, with ace Mini preparer Endaf Owens, Phil Bullen-Brown, Ben Colburn and Rob Howard completing the top ten. Richard Colburn topped the Libre class by a little over a quarter of a second from Josh Evans and Peter Hills. Unfortunately, Hills was collected by a brakeless Ben Norfolk at the Club Chicane and the ensuing damage ended his weekend before it had really started. Deeth made the best start from the front row to take the early lead, whilst a cracking first lap from Owens saw him go second from Jordan and Aaron Smith into the chicane. Any one of nine cars in the lead group could steal the win, minus Owens after he pitted with a misfire on lap three, and four drivers had turns in the lead throughout the twenty minutes. Jeff Smith led onto the last lap from Aaron Smith and Jordan. Aaron Smith took the lead at the Complex and had a few Mini lengths lead out the back, whilst Jeff Smith tried to fend off Jordan - who drove around his outside on the blast towards Church. In typical Mini fashion, a huge slipstream up Woodham Hill saw Jordan breeze past Aaron Smith and he fended off the championship leader into the Club Chicane to take the win. Astin also got by Jeff Smith, who Deeth made contact with and was spat out of the pack at the Chicane, the defending champion recovered for seventh. Colin Peacock, Phil Bullen-Brown and Scott Kendall’s lightweight Miglia, its bootlid missing, got back ahead of Kieran McDonald for eighth into the Club Chicane in their fight at the back of the lead train. The lime green car of Josh Evans won the Libre class after trailing Richard Colburn for the majority of the race.
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Race Two: The top eight finishers from Race One would be reversed for Sunday's race in front of a huge crowd, Scott Kendall sat on pole, with Rupert Deeth alongside for his second front-row start of the weekend. Phil Bullen-Brown was next up, with Colin Peacock, Jeff Smith, Kane Astin, Aaron Smith and Andrew Jordan forming the top eight. Kendall aced the start from pole but Deeth went with him and headed the pack into the Complex from the poleman and the abreast Kane Astin and Aaron Smith, Smith grabbing third at Cobb. 2022 champion Deeth finished lap one still in front but it was four-wide for second as Jeff Smith went from fifth to second in one go. Another classic slipstreamer ensued between Jordan, the Smiths, Deeth and Kendall - who recovered well from being trapped behind Ben Colburn as their three-way fight including Colin Peacock fell away from the lead train at half distance. A highlight of the race occurred with eight minutes to go when the pack arrived at the chicane four-wide, with Jeff Smith storming broadside into the race lead but cut the middle part so handed the places back. Kane Astin was in the mix too until he was forced out by low oil pressure with six minutes remaining. Jordan led onto the last lap, not the favoured position with the slipstream being so strong. Aaron Smith took second off Jeff Smith at the Complex and was well placed through Church for the all-important final run to the Club Chicane. Jordan hugged the inside line and forced Aaron Smith to take the long way round, which allowed Jeff Smith to steam up the inside for second. A good trip through the chicane saw Jeff Smith closing on the win as they raced to the flag but Jordan held on by 0.143 seconds, Aaron Smith took third ahead of Deeth and Kendall after another superb encounter. Peacock defeated Ben Colburn for sixth, whilst there was more disappointment for Endaf Owens. Having started sixteenth after his lap three retirement in race one, the Welshman had cracked the top ten on lap one and was eighth by Village but then Saturday’s misfire returned so the 2011 title holder parked it in pitlane at the end of the second lap. Welshman Huw Turner stole the Libre win from Richard Colburn up Woodham Hill on the last lap despite a yellow flag for a retiree parked on the grass.
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Mini Se7en Qualifying/Race One: Mike Jordan topped the times by almost half a second from 2022 title holder Connor O’Brien to take pole position. Championship leader Joe Thompson headed the second row from the reigning S-Class champion Damien Harrington, his best qualifying performance to date since moving up to the Se7ens. Spencer Wanstall and Ross Billison made up row three. The top S-Class qualifiers Michael Winkworth and Matthew Page set times good enough for fifth and sixth overall. A four-car cat-and-mouse draughting battle boiled down to a straight fight between Jordan and O’Brien. Jordan was never headed after a lesson in defensive driving and had O’Brien on his bootlid for the entire race, until a grassy moment exiting the final chicane finally put some daylight between them at the flag. Ross Billison didn't quite have the pace to stay with the lead pair in third. Having been part of the four-car train for the race lead early on, Darren Thomas fell into the clutches of Spencer Wanstall and they would tangle at the Club Chicane, Wanstall waited for Thomas to redress the positions but the delay was too long so Wanstall took fourth ahead of Harrington and Thomas. Championship leader Thompson was one of many retirements, Tom Mills was another but in much more dramatic fashion - a puncture up Woodham Hill after a brush tore the valve from his left-front tyre and the deflation sent him hard into the tyres. In the S-Class, early leader Matthew Page was temporarily left on his own after the retirement of chief challenger Michael Winkworth but Frazer Hack and Jonathon Page worked together to bring the gap down. In a last lap free for all at the Club Chicane, Jonathon Page cut across the last section of the chicane and took the flag first from Hack and Matthew Page. However, the result would be amended after a protest which resulted in Hack being given the win from Jonathon and Matthew Page.
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Race Two: The top eight grid reversal placed Graeme Davis on pole position for Race Two. Jo Polley, daughter of National Hot Rod legend George Polley, shared the front row with Davis. Darren Thomas and Damien Harrington formed the second row, with Spencer Wanstall, Ross Billison, Connor O’Brien and Saturday victor Mike Jordan filling up the front four rows. After his Race One difficulties, pre-meeting championship leader Joe Thompson started from the back row of the Se7ens in fifteenth. When the lights went out, Billison made a terrific start from the third row to lead into the Complex from Thomas, Wanstall and Polley - whom O’Brien passed at Seagrave to go fourth before taking third from Thomas. Reigning champion O’Brien then slipstreamed from third to first up Woodham Hill to lead from Billison and Wanstall at the end of lap one, Jordan did likewise to Thomas and Harrington for fourth. The rapid Jordan moved into third second time around and Race One retiree Thompson went into fifth, having made great progress from his seventh-row start to head a five-car group comprising Glen Woodbridge, Harrington, Polley and poleman Davis. The top four began to pull clear of the second fight for fourth and Jordan went in front for the first time just before halfway, as perfect car placement from the Midlander kept the chasing three behind. O’Brien's dire reliability in 2023 struck again as the number one car broke with just three minutes to go, which meant it was Jordan vs Billison on the last lap for the victory. Despite Billison being well-placed in the draught up Woodham Hill, Jordan held on for the win by half a second over the line. Wanstall took a lonely third after losing the tow late on. Contact at the chicane on the penultimate lap cost Glen Woodbridge his chance of fourth as Thompson beat Harrington to the line. A frantic S-Class battle went onto the last lap with any one of seven in with a shout of victory. Matthew Ayres rounded up both Page brothers in spectacular style at the Club Chicane for the penultimate time but couldn’t hold on so Jonathon Page headed Chris Prior and Frazer Hack as they started the final lap. Page was still ahead through Church but had Prior, Ayres and Hack in his wheeltracks for the long run to the Club Chicane. The first three were abreast into the braking area, with Page defending the inside. Page held the lead as Hack tried to get up the inside of Ayres and Prior - who got sideways and bounced across the grass but still took a delighted second behind winner Jonathon Page from a three-wide Ayres, Ben Butler and Hack after a breathless finish.
The Mini 7 Racing Club now ventures into to Europe for three races at Zandvoort in the Netherlands on the 14th to the 16th of July.
The Mini 7 Racing Club now ventures into to Europe for three races at Zandvoort in the Netherlands on the 14th to the 16th of July.
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