BTCC Croft – Rounds 16 -18

BTCC returned to Croft last weekend after a six-week summer break. Scott Grant went along to the North Yorkshire track to capture the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship action. The main talking point was that Jake Hill in the number 1 car would not be on the grid for the three races on Sunday.

Jake, the current BTCC Champion, reported to the medical centre after feeling unwell overnight and during the first practice session. Suffering from a viral infection, the medical team couldn’t certify him to race, recommending a period of rest.

Four-time British Touring Car champion Colin Turkington was pulled out of BTCC retirement. Taking the seat of the Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport BMW 330i M Sport for the second free practice session. Limited track time meant the team were unable to set up the BMW for Turkington to be competitive, so the decision was made to retire the number 1 car from the Croft meeting.  

 BTCC Croft Race 1 – Round 16

Tom Ingram posted a qualifying lap of 1:20.522 to put the Team VERTU Hyundai i30N on pole for race 1. Dan Cammish #27 lined up in second with #88 Mikey Doble and #3 Tom Chilton on row two.

Leading from start to finish, Ingram held off an early challenge by Cammish before he faded away. Senna Proctor started eighth on the grid but by the end of lap one, he was in P3, holding on to the final podium place over the 17-lap race.

The win took Ingram to the top of the BTCC Championship standing ahead of Ash Sutton. On the hard tyre, Sutton had fought through to 6th, having started 11th, but picked up a puncture. Sutton, the four-time champion, would come home in last place in the Ford Focus ST. 

BTCC Croft Race 1 – Result

	Car	Driver	Team	Gap
1	80	Tom INGRAM	Team VERTU
2	27	Dan CAMMISH	NAPA Racing UK	1.112
3	18	Senna PROCTOR	Team VERTU	2.692

 BTCC Croft Race 2 – Round 17

Sutton started from a lowly 20th on the grid after race one. He had it all to do to challenge Ingram, who was back on pole for race two. Sutton had used his hard tyre on race one, so had the advantage of the soft compound for race two.

Bringing the NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus ST home in 5th place was a great result for Sutton. Ingram would finish in 8th place. Daniel Rowbottom started 4th on the grid but made light work of Proctor, Cammish, and Ingram to take the lead in the early laps. 

Rowbottom took the checkered flag ahead of Ingram’s VERTU team-mate Tom Chilton. Second was a good result for Chilton after he found the limits of adhesion during FP2 at Clervaux.

Daryl DeLeon in the WSR BMW 330i M Sport was third. Twenty-year-old DeLeon has recorded one win so far this season at Brands Hatch; it was great to see him on the podium again.

BTCC Croft Race 2 – Result

	Car	Driver	Team
1	32	Daniel ROWBOTTOM	NAPA Racing UK
2	3	Tom CHILTON	Team VERTU	1.863
3	2	Daryl DELEON	TWSR	3.829

BTCC Croft Race 3 – Round 18

The last race of the day at Croft was BTCC at its best. Aiden Moffat was on pole, followed by Ingram, Sheddon, Rainford, and Sutton on row 3 in 5th. From the start, it was obvious this was going to be a close race. Moffet held off the following pack, who were racing bumper to bumper, door to door, in the early corners.

Rainford contacted Cammish at the Complex who took to the grass before hitting the BMW of Daryl DeLeon. Chris Smiley was also involved in the incident which resulted in the safety car being deployed. At the re-start, Moffat was still leading with Sutton and Ingram with Gordon Shedden’s Toyota joining the four way battle for the lead.

Exiting the Hairpin Sutton made his move. Swapping paint with Shedden’s Toyota, Sutton had the speed to take Moffat and Ingram holding the lead to the flag. Exiting the Hairpin for the final time Ingram got past team-mate Senna Proctor. Shedden was 4th Morgan 5th and Moffat held onto 6th place after contact with Proctor. 

BTCC Croft Race 3 – Result

	Car	Driver	Team	Gap
1	116	Ashley SUTTON	NAPA Racing UK
2	80	Tom INGRAM	Team VERTU	2.201
3	18	Senna PROCTOR	Team VERTU	4.506

BTCC Championship standing after round 18

With two wins each, Ingram and Sutton are easing away from Rowbottom in the BTCC Championship. Despite Rowbottom claiming a victory in race 2 he is 78 points behind championship leader Ingram. The two title contenders take the fight to the Scottish round at Knockhill 16 – 17 August. With 4 rounds left and 12 races it could all come down to the final meeting at Brands Hatch, where Sutton holds the lap record.  

Pos	Driver	Total
1	Tom INGRAM	273
2	Ashley SUTTON	265
3	Daniel ROWBOTTOM	195
4	Dan CAMMISH	184
5	Tom CHILTON	150
6	Adam MORGAN	150
7	Jake HILL	143
8	Charles RAINFORD	106
9	Josh COOK	106
10	Chris SMILEY	103

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Thanks to Scott Grant for the images in this BTCC report. Our 2025 BTCC reports can be found below.

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All of our previous BTCC reports can be found here.