Tag: DEEGEE

Last weekend, in glorious sunshine, the 2025 KwikFit British Touring Car Championship got underway. My youngest daughter and I made our way, after an early alarm call, via the M180 (surely the most boring section of trunk road in the UK), to Donington Park. We were looking forward to being entertained at the first round of the BTCC. 

The tin-tops didn’t let us, and the very large crowd in attendance down. In customary close, noisy and exciting racing, for which this championship is renowned provided plenty of excitement. 

Watching the BTCC pack negotiate Redgate, Craner Curves, and the Old Hairpin from the spectator banking on the outside of Hollywood on the opening lap of each race is a nerve-wracking yet thrilling. Every motorsport enthusiast should experience this at least once.

All three races on the 1.98 mile National Circuit saw bumper to bumper action all the way down the field. There were a number of excursions into the gravel or across the grass from the competitors, most of whom ended the races with the customary scars of battle. This must be one of the most “physical” type of circuit racing that can be seen in this country. 

BTCC Donington Park – Race 1. 

The field for Round 1 of the 2025 championship got underway with #27 Dan Cammish and team-mate and four times champion Ash Sutton (NAPA Racing Ford Focus) filling the front row thanks to strong qualifying performances on the previous day.

Sutton forced his way past his team-mate half-way round the first lap. Two laps later Cammish was overtaken by 2023 champion Tom Ingram (Team VERTU Hyundai i30N). Cammish suffered a front wheel puncture, but struggled on to record 8th place. Sutton, under intense pressure, after a number of laps mid-race behind the Safety Car, just held off Ingram by 0.027 seconds after a thrilling battle, with NAPA Racing’s third driver Dan Rowbottom (#32) claiming the final podium spot. 

BTCC Donington Park – Race 2. 

The grid for Race 2 is dictated by the finishing positions in Race 1. The rules which try to equalise all the field with a series of handicaps, restrict tyre choice and the availability of turbo boost for the front runners. 

As a consequence Race 2 was just as competitive. Sutton (#116) and Ingram (#80) heading the field throughout but were unable to draw away. The leaders were followed closely by a large chasing pack, initially headed by 2024 champion Jake Hill (#1) in his Laser Tools BMW 330i M Sport. It looked resplendent in its metallic blue bodywork and with the gold number plates signifying his position as current champion.

Sutton held on to win by just over a second from Ingram. Cammish (#27) having to start well down the grid, due to his puncture in Race 1, producing a stunning drive to record third place. 

BTCC Donington Park – Race 3. 

The reverse grid for Race 3, meant Ingram’s VERTU team-mate Tom Chilton (#3) occupied pole position. Chilton took full advantage of his soft tyres in the cooler conditions. Maximising his six turbo boost laps he drove well throughout the race to come home first.

Team-mate Ingram and double race winner Sutton were scything their way through the field behind him. They claimed second and third spots respectively. 

There are still twenty-seven rounds of this championship remaining. On the basis of this weekend it looks likely the NAPA Ford and VERTU Hyundai teams will be front runners once again in 2025. The LASER Tools BMW of 2024 champion Jake Hill who claimed two fourth places will be pushing them hard for honours. 

Porsche Support Championships. 

Unfortunately, the Legends Championship, which provided huge entertainment last season, are only supporting BTCC meetings once this year at Croft. This is personally very disappointing, but two Porsche championships featured this weekend at the Derbyshire circuit. 

The Porsche Carrera Cup, has now been competing for more than twenty years. They will visit eight circuits in the 2025 season. The series features identical 911 GT3 Cup cars, the specification of which includes a rear-mounted 4.0 litre flat six engine. 

Also in 2025, six meetings will include the Porsche Sprint Challenge Championship. This is for 718 Clubman GT4 machines, powered by mid-engined 4.0 and 3.8 litre Boxer engines. 

Despite the extraordinary costs of running one of these cars for one season both championships, were full. In the case of the Carrera Cup this exceeds £200K for a “base” car. This rises to around £300K (£200k for the Challenge Championship) for a full season. The racing, probably as a result of the costs, is less “physical” than the Touring Cars, but it is nonetheless very competitive. The cars sound and look the part, and are very photogenic. 

A Photographers View. 

Because of the numerous sections of safety fence, I find Donington Park a bit of a challenge photographically. Particularly at events like this when shooting cars. Firstly, because of the distance spectators are from the circuit a long lens is essential. Inside of the circuit there are very few opportunities to take different shots. Mostly it’s a panning shot with a little variety depending on location.

On the outside of the circuit, any good locations for head-on shots will inevitably involve shooting through a fence. Redgate the Old Hairpin or McLeans are a few examples. It is with some thought, perfectly possible to take good photographs through a safety fence. Albeit with a slightly soft focus, it does add the need to think more about how to get the best results. 

Adding to the difficulty is the seemingly ever-increasing number of higher and bigger advertising boards. Positioned for the TV cameras these block out the view for the photographer and spectator alike. This was the case at the weekend on the outside of Coppice. Its a long walk to find you have a restricted view for taking shots. 

From a commercial point of view the circuit organisers, advertisers and event sponsors, want to see their products on TV. I understand this but is it necessary to have boards so large or so high up the fence that they impinge on the view for spectators? 

My daughter and I left the circuit having thoroughly enjoyed our day at Donington Park. The BTCC package, thanks to its highly competitive nature, represents good entertainment value.  We have already begun to plan out when we can next pay a visit to this highly entertaining race series.

BTCC Drivers Standing

Pos	No.	Driver	CL	Total	Penalties	Wins	2nds	3rds
1	116	Ashley SUTTON	M	58		2	0	1
2	80	Tom INGRAM	M	51		0	3	0
3	3	Tom CHILTON	M	42		1	0	0
4	27	Dan CAMMISH	M	37		0	0	1
5	32	Daniel ROWBOTTOM	M	36		0	0	1
6	1	Jake HILL	M	32		0	0	0
7	16	Aiden MOFFAT	M	23		0	0	0
8	22	Chris SMILEY	I	22		0	0	0
9	88	Mikey DOBLE	I	20		0	0	0
10	33	Adam MORGAN	M	17		0	0	0
11	66	Josh COOK	I	15		0	0	0
12	17	Dexter PATTERSON	I	12		0	0	0
13	52	Gordon SHEDDEN	M	8		0	0	0
14	2	Daryl DELEON	M	6		0	0	0
15	14	Ronan PEARSON	M	5		0	0	0
16	93	Max HALL	I	5		0	0	0
17	40	Aron TAYLOR-SMITH	M	4		0	0	0
18	123	Daniel LLOYD	I	4		0	0	0
19	132	James DORLIN	M	2		0	0	0
20	12	Stephen JELLEY	I	1		0	0	0
21	28	Nicolas HAMILTON	I	0		0	0	0
22	77	Sam OSBORNE	M	0		0	0	0
23	99	Charles RAINFORD	M	0		0	0	0
24	777	Michael CREES	M	0		0	0	0

You can read all of our previous PistonClick BTCC reports here.