TOP OF THE TABLE
Motorbase Performance tops the manufacturer/constructor standings after banking a trio of third-places at Thruxton followed by a brace of second-places at Oulton Park
THRUXTON: ROUNDS 7, 8 AND 9
The Motorbase Performance-run Focus ST BTCC cars endured highs and lows at the incredibly fast Thruxton circuit at the end of May. NAPA Racing UK’s Dan Cammish showed real pace when he qualified third, but thoughts of a dream start soon became something of a nightmare when he was barged off track halfway through the opening lap of the first race. After making it back to the pits, he rejoined, finished 25th and only just missed the fastest lap.
That meant he faced an uphill battle to make progress in round eight, but he fought hard to bring the Focus ST home in P18. Further contact in the final race, this time at the chicane, resulted in a P20 finish, and a weekend to forget for Dan.
Meanwhile, fellow NAPA Racing UK driver Ash Sutton managed to avoid such dramas, got his head down and showed true champion’s class as he banked three podium finishes on race day. Those three third-places secured enough points to elevate Ash to second overall in the driver’s standings.
On the Apec Racing With Beavis Morgan side of the garage it was a similar story of highs and lows; Sam Osborne raced to his first outright championship point of the season in the final race, with a very hardfought and competitive drive from 23rd on the grid into the top 15. Teammate Ollie Jackson was forced to retire from the opening race with power issues. That meant the Motorbase mechanics worked impressively to change engines and, while Ollie missed the start of round eight, he did get on track with a handful of laps remaining – enabling him to bed the car in for the final race of the day.
Starting at the back of the grid, Ollie produced a solid performance to gain ten positions and finish the race in P18, bringing a positive conclusion to the Thruxton event.
OULTON PARK: ROUNDS 10, 11 AND 12
As the BTCC headed to Oulton Park a couple of weeks later, reigning champion Ash continued his terrific podium momentum, finishing second in the first two races of the day. Despite only having 1.5 seconds of hybrid boost available due to his championship placing, Ash qualified the Focus ST in fifth
place. A great start followed by some stunning overtakes ensured a second-place finish.
In round 11, Ash pushed hard over the opening laps to pressure pole-starter Tom Ingram. In the end settling for second, Sutton also took the bonus point for fastest lap.
Unfortunately, round 12 didn’t go to plan when he had to avoid a multi-car incident on the first lap. After an enforced pit-stop, he carved through to 16th position.
The points banked at Oulton mean Ash is currently sitting third in the driver’s standings, but the gap to Josh Cook at the top of the standings has closed from 23 points to just 18.
Oulton Park was a better weekend for Dan in the sister NAPA Racing UK car too; starting his landmark 100th BTCC race in P7, he quickly moved into sixth at the end of lap four. He took fifth on lap 11 but was edged back to sixth on lap 15, before a post-race penalty for Gordon Shedden moved Dan back up to fifth.
Round 11 saw another top-six finish, and some impressive car control (after taking a significant knock to avoid the lap one accident at Hill Top) saw the NAPA Racing UK driver finish seventh, which later became a third top-six finish of the weekend due to a penalty for Ricky Collard.
In the Apec Racing With Beavis Morgan cars, Sam started the weekend strongly, and from 16th on the grid he climbed into 14th place before the early safety-car period. Set for another outright points finish, contact on lap 13 caused a drop to 19th position, where he ended the race. Early progress in round 11 ultimately resulted in a P21 finish, and being put into the barriers forced retirement from the final race of the day.
Teammate Ollie had similarly tough battles; moving into the top 15 before of the safetycar period in round one, he was then bundled down the order on lap ten and finished 20th.
A great opening lap in race two saw Ollie gain four places, but things unravelled, and he ended a tough contest in 24th place.
After making changes to the setup, the car was improved for round 12 and Ollie delivered a fantastic drive from 24th on the grid into 14th position – racing hard against the likes of title contenders Sutton and Jake Hill.
Next, the BTCC heads to Croft on 25/26 June. Full update in the next issue.