Oliver does the double as five drivers stake their claim for the Truck Racing crown
On a weekend where adverse and changeable weather conditions led to disruption across Britain, the British Truck Racing Championship stormed into Brands Hatch to contest its opening meeting of the season in its brand new, 10-race format.
The new organiser of the series, Truck Sport UK, has divided the two classes into separate contests for this season, where entries permit, and fears that the revised format would lead to a reduction in the quality of the racing were quickly allayed for many.
The Class A contests featured four different winners, with the drivers boasting a total of 15 championship titles between them. After Mat Summerfield claimed the opening round, which was red-flagged twice before a lap of racing could be completed, Ryan Smith and 2011 champion David Jenkins joined him in taking to the top step of the podium. Stuart Oliver, who missed out on last year’s title by a single point, claimed two race wins to cap a strong start to the championship.
Luke Taylor also scored a notable podium on his first weekend back in the championship with his Renault MKR.
Class B was dominated across the weekend by the Smit family, with brothers Rody and Frans demonstrating superior pace and racecraft as they won four of the five races between them.
Rody won the first two races of the weekend and was promoted to the third after Simon Cole was excluded for overspeeding.
Frans Smit then won the fourth contest before the two brothers clashed while fighting for victory in the final race, allowing Cole to come through and claim the honours.