BTCC: Frenetic Croft puts Four in Title Contention

October 11, 2020 October 11, 2020

The British Touring Car Championship arrived at North Yorkshire’s Croft Circuit for Round 7 of 2020’s season.

The race for the title was blown wide open during a thrilling and frantic set of events at Silverstone two weeks prior.

Ash Sutton maintained his lead after the event, with reigning champion Colin Turkington closing the gap to just four points.

Race 19

Tom Ingram was the fastest man in Saturday’s qualifying session. However, a disqualification for failing the ride height checks ensued, placing him and a high-flying Senna Proctor to the rear of the grid. As a result, BTC Racing’s Josh Cook and MB Motorsport’s Jake Hill lined their varying Honda Civics on the front row.

When the lights went out, Cook lead the field into Clervaux, with Turkington asking questions of Hill early on. The latter would stay in P2, with Turkington being hounded by Sutton towards the end of the lap. At the Complex, Rory Butcher would clip Sutton’s rear end, sending him into a spin, before slotting the Infiniti back into 14th.

As the front three sped away, Sutton replicated his Silverstone heroics, and started scything through the cars in front. By lap 6, the Laser Tools racer had already passed the likes of Tom Oliphant and Dan Cammish with relative ease. Sutton would later best Adam Morgan and Matt Neal with two perfect switchbacks at the Hairpin.

Tom Chilton proved to be a tougher nut to crack, keeping Sutton at bay for three laps. Nevertheless, a great exit at Hawthorn set the Infiniti up for a move at Tower, slotting Sutton up to fifth, where he would stay when the flag dropped two laps later.

Cook held on from a rampant Hill to claim his second win of the campaign, setting the fastest lap of the race, too. Turkington rounded out the podium, with Ingram, from last, finishing in a handy 13th. A post-race amendment also switched Butcher and Sutton for the lap 1 tangle.

After the race, Cook said:

“That was a tough race! I almost dropped it quite a few times actually, so I was lucky to bring it back. Obviously Jake was adding a lot of pressure, but I’m just pleased to bring it home in P1 for the guys at BTC Racing.”

Race 19’s Top 10:

Josh Cook
Jake Hill
Colin Turkington
Ash Sutton
Rory Butcher
Tom Chilton
Matt Neal
Bobby Thompson
Adam Morgan
Dan Cammish

Race 20

The second race of the weekend started with fireworks, as title charger Turkington locked up the cold tyres on his BMW 3 Series. The Northern Irishman sped into the barriers at Clervaux, ending his race before it had really even started. Butcher was also fired off the track at the chicane. As a result of the chaos, the safety car emerged.

When racing resumed, Sutton was all over the back of second-placed Hill. The former appeared to be ahead on the main straight on lap 4, but Hill bravely fended off the attack with a bold move at Clervaux.

Sutton’s aggressive style of racing proved to be his downfall two laps later, as he once again tried his trademark switchback at the hairpin. However, the move sliced open his front-right tyre, and in a race where bagging points was a priority, was forced to pit prematurely.

Up ahead, Matt Neal achieved what Sutton couldn’t, and passed Hill for second. Ingram and Cammish were just behind in fourth and fifth, respectively, closing the gap to the two championship frontrunners.

On the final lap, Neal was within touching distance of leader Cook. The Team Dynamics FK8 Civic forced a brave move at Sunny In, locking up the wheels in the process, and tipping Cook into a wild tank-slapper. Neal led the pack to the flag, with Cook placing second and Hill third. Post race, the stewards deemed the move illegal, and the front two switched positions.

Race-winner Cook said:

“Obviously, with 60kg in the car, BTC Racing has done a great job all day. I just keep coming back to the mega effort the team are putting in. Everyone is flat out committed and I think the results are just showing what a good job they’re doing.”

Race 20’s Top 10:

Josh Cook
Matt Neal
Jake Hill
Tom Ingram
Dan Cammish
Tom Chilton
Tom Oliphant
Bobby Thompson
Senna Proctor
Stephen Jelley

Race 21

Before his penalty was issued, Neal drew Chilton on pole for the final race of the weekend. Ingram was the big winner from launch, overtaking Cammish at Clervaux, and then Chilton for the lead at the Jim Clark Esses. Turkington’s woeful Race 2 extended into the final event, getting hit at the first corner as Stephen Jelley spun, sadly demoting him to the pits.

Sutton had already passed seven cars on the first lap before a horrific rollover brought out a lengthy halt to proceedings. Bobby Thompson, who was enjoying his best BTCC weekend to date, was forced on to the grass and flipped multiple times in the grass. Thankfully, the Essex-born racer escaped injury.

When the safety car pitted, Turkington re-emerged, and quickly set the lap record in an attempt to salvage a single championship point. On lap 13, Cammish finally overtook Chilton, and sped up towards the leader Ingram.

As the race entered its closing stages, Sutton finally claimed a stubborn Oliphant for a top 5 finish. Up ahead, Cammish asked questions of Ingram, but could not find a way past as the chequered flag dropped.

“From starting back in Darlington this morning, to finishing race three with a win, and I’m so, so happy. It just goes to show that you can never get your head down in Touring Cars; the day can turn around. I’m so, so pleased with how we’ve done as a team today. We’ve kept positive, kept our chin up and just focussed towards race three and trying to bag big points in the third race.”
Tom Ingram, race three winner