BTCC Knockhill

The British Touring Car Championship arrived at Knockhill with one question everyone was asking: Will Power Maxed Racing be on the BTCC Knockhill grid? The PMR team had been all but wiped out by a fire at the team’s facility near Bretforton last week. A wildfire swept through the rural Worcestershire countryside, setting the parent company Automotive Brands HQ ablaze.

The Power Maxed Vauxhall Astras that PMR run in BTCC were stored within the buildings that were burnt to the ground. PMR owner Adam Weaver had his work cut out for him to get drivers Mikey Doble and Nick Halstead on the grid for the Scottish round of the championship at Knockhill. Doble was challenging for the Independent Drivers Championship going into the Knockhill round. It was going to be a big ask to get the cars prepared in a few days and a massive challenge for the drivers to adapt to different race cars. 

Remarkably, Weaver managed to get not one but two Cupra Leon’s on loan to keep the team racing. A sterling effort was in part achieved by the generosity of the BTCC paddock. One of the cars came from the Patterson family, who donated an ex-Scott Sumpton Cupra. The second from Un-Limited Motorsport, who will drop down to running one car for the rest of the season.

BTCC Knockhill Qualifying 

Tom Ingram and Ash Sutton, the two front runners in the drivers’ championship, struggled somewhat at Knockhill. Ingram qualified a respectable fourth, Sutton, in a lowly tenth, pushed his NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus ST in qualifying to the limits. Sutton nearly rolling it at one point taking to the gravel trap on two wheels! 

The BMW 330i M Sports of Rainford, DeLeon, and Jake Hill were dominant, posting the quickest times, with Rainford taking his first professional pole of his career. 

BTCC Knockhill Round 19 Race 1

After missing the previous round at Croft due to a nasal infection, Jake Hill needed a good result at Knockhill. The 2024 champion in P3 had Rainford and Daryl DeLeon to deal with in the opening laps. DeLeon made a move that did, but didn’t pay off, taking the lead after shortcutting across the grass; he let Rainford and Hill back through.

Hill took the lead from Rainford, holding it through the safety car being deployed after Hill came into contact with back-marker Nick Halstead. Tom Ingram, VERTU team-mate Senna Proctor held onto third for most of the race, letting championship leader Ingram through on the final lap.

Pos	Driver	Team
1	Jake HILL	Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport
2	Charles RAINFORD	LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR
3	Tom INGRAM	Team VERTU

BTCC Knockhill Round 20 Race 2

Tom Ingram started race two on the soft tyres. This gave him the edge over Jake Hill, who was on pole, and Charles Rainford in P2 who were both on the medium compound. Making light work of the two BMW 330i M Sports, Ingram headed for the flag.

Hill dropped back, being overtaken eventually by NAPA Racing UK team-mates Dan Cammish and Ash Sutton. On the final corner of the final lap, Cammish moved over to let Sutton take second and some valuable championship points to keep his title battle with Ingram alive.

Pos	Driver	Team
1	Tom INGRAM	Team VERTU
2	Ashley SUTTON	NAPA Racing UK
3	Dan CAMMISH	NAPA Racing UK

BTCC Knockhill Round 21 Race 3

Hill announced his return to full fitness in style in race 3. Crossing the line 7 seconds ahead of the field, Hill’s second win of the day announced his return to form. Dan Cammish held onto second for most of the race and, in a re-run of race two, let Sutton through. However, after the race Sutton was dropped a place after overtaking his team mate on a yellow flag.

Pos	Driver	Team
1	Jake HILL	Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport
2	Dan CAMMISH	NAPA Racing UK
3	Ashley SUTTON	NAPA Racing UK

In the Independent Drivers championship Mikey Doble dropped down to second behind #22 Chris Smiley who won all three independent races. Considering the fire disaster PMR suffered Doble did well to adapt to the new to him right hand drive Cupra Leon, the Astras were left hand drive. A great result for the team and the BTCC family supporting Power Maxed Racing. 

With his much-needed two wins and a fifth-place finish, Hill was the top points scorer over the weekend, adding 54 to his tally, moving him up to fifth in the standings.

Ingram still leads Sutton by a slim 17 points as they take the battle for the 2025 drivers’ championship to Donington Park on 30-31st August.

BTCC Drivers Championship 2025

Pos	Driver	Team	Points
1	Tom Ingram	Team Vertu	323
2	Ashley Sutton	NAPA Racing UK	308
3	Dan Cammish	NAPA Racing UK	226
4	Daniel Rowbottom	NAPA Racing UK	214
5	Jake Hill	Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport	197
6	Adam Morgan	Team Vertu	170
7	Tom Chilton	Team Vertu	169
8	Charles Rainford	LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR	134
9	Senna Proctor	Team Vertu	116
10	Chris Smiley	Restart Racing	116
11	Aiden Moffat	LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR	110
12	Daryl DeLeon	WSR	109
13	Josh Cook	One Motorsport	106
14	Gordon Shedden	TOYOTA GAZZOO Racing UK with IAA	89
15	Mikey Doble	Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing	81
16	Daniel Lloyd	Restart Racing	71
17	Sam Osborne	NAPA Racing UK	66
18	Aron Taylor-Smith	TOYOTA GAZZOO Racing UK with IAA	57
19	James Dorlin	TOYOTA GAZZOO Racing UK with IAA	47
20	Dexter Patterson	ROKiT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport	35
21	Ronan Pearson	TOYOTA GAZZOO Racing UK with IAA	29
22	Max Hall	ROKiT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport	7
23	Stephen Jelley	ROKiT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport	7
24	Michael Crees	Team Vertu	5
25	Max Buxton	TOYOTA GAZZOO Racing UK with IAA	4
26	Finn Leslie	TOYOTA GAZZOO Racing UK with IAA	4
27	Nick Halstead	Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing	2
28	Nicolas Hamilton	Power Monkey Brewing Co with Esidock	0
29	Ryan Bensley	Team Vertu	0

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Thanks to Scott Grant for the images in this report. You can contact and see more of Scotts images here.

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All of our previous BTCC reports are here.