SMILEY IN ECSTASY
Since he joined the BTC Norlin team in 2017, Chris Smiley has been promising a breakthrough. The Carrickfergus racer, a former Mini Challenge champion, was determined to show the British Touring Car Championship racers what he knew he could do behind the wheel.
There were flashes of speed, particularly earlier in this year’s campaign at Donington Park, where he finished second behind Tom Ingram in the second race. But at Rockingham Smiley was on form all weekend.
Placing the Honda sixth in qualifying was the leg-up he needed to get the momentum rolling: “In this championship, it’s very hard to make progress if you have a problem in qualifying. Starting in the pack can mean trouble. A lot of this weekend was based on where we started.”
While it’s certain that the hatchback is suited to the oval layout of the track, there were several obstacles thrown at the entire field over the course of the three races, including a treacherous surface as light showers sprinkled over the venue before races two and three.
While several drivers slipped up at the beginning of race three, Smiley was surefooted and supreme. His emotion on climbing out of the car was something to behold, and he was able to prove that all of those promises he’d made were true. He had become a winner at the highest level.
“I’ve been to hell and back to get here,” said Smiley, who became the 12th different winner of the highly competitive 2018 BTCC season. “There has been so much work and this is all I’ve focused on. The team have been superb and given me the tools to do the job and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.”