The 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season finale took place at the spiritual home of the Championship, namely Kent’s beautiful 2.43-miles Brands Hatch GP circuit.
Having already claimed the Drivers’, Constructors/Manufacturers’, and Teams’ Championships the Napa Racing UK crew displayed special liveries for three of their four Ford Focus Titaniums for Rounds 28, 29, and 30.
Ash Sutton’s racer displayed the number five on a gorgeous white livery, while Dan Cammish’s car had an equally gorgeous black and gold livery. With the news that this weekend will be Sam Osborne’s last in the BTCC, his number 77 Ford had a lovely commemorative bonnet in appreciation of all that Sam has done for the team.
Saturday’s Qualifying Session saw the usual two 15-minute groups with Sutton, Cammish, and Osborne all placed in the first group.
With less than two minutes of running left in the group, Team Vertu Hyundia i30N driver Nic Hamilton beached himself in the gravel at Sheene Curve to force the session to be red flagged. The Clerk of The Course reset the clock to five minutes for the restart, which enabled the drivers to get a warm-up lap in before attempting to improve on their times. And Ash Sutton set a best time of 1:29.513 (3rd), Dan Cammish was behind in fifth place with a time of 1:29.542, while Sam Osborne’s time of 1:30.182 was good enough for ninth place in the group.
The second group ran uninterrupted, with Lewis Selby finishing in eighth place with a best time of 1:29.988. Combined, the four Ford Focus Titaniums lined up on the Race To Pole grid in 6th (Sutton), 10th (Cammish), 15th (Selby), and 18th (Osborne).
RACE TO POLE (10 Laps)
The Race To Pole saw all drivers using the medium tyre compound for this ten-lap dash to the chequered flag. Ash Sutton lined up on the third row of the grid (6th) with a solitary second per lap of boost available to him. Dan Cammish had five seconds per lap at his disposal as he lined up in tenth place. Both Lewis Selby (15th) and Sam Osborne (18th) had the full twenty seconds per lap available to them.
The start of the race was a mixed affair for the Napa Racing UK crew, with Sutton climbing to fifth place by the end of the opening lap, and Selby found himself up in 14th. However, Cammish dropped down to 11th and Osborne fell down to twentieth place.
Osborne did get by the WSR BMW 330i M Sport of Lewis Gilbert on the second lap, before he had a good battle with Adam Morgan (Mercedes A35 Saloon) for the remainder of the race.
Selby had a good battle throughout and was up into thirteenth place by the end of lap three, after he’d followed Charles Rainford (WSR BMW 330i M Sport) in getting past Morgan on the run through Hawthorns and Westfield. That was where Selby would finish, as he drove a solid race.
Following Cammish’s unfortunate start, the number 27 Ford Focus Titanium went on to fight it out with the Power Maxed Racing Audi A3 Saloon of Dexter Patterson. Cammish also drove a solid race to see the chequered flag just outside the top ten.
Champion Sutton had an interesting Race To Pole, and he’d climbed to fourth by lap three when Ricky Collard (Team Vertu Hyundia i30N) ran wide at Paddock Hill Bend. However, he eventually lost out to the Power Maxed Racing Audi A3 Saloon of Mikey Doble on the sixth lap.
With Doble pulling away, Sutton was embroiled in a brilliant battle with Collard (Team Vertu Hyundia i30N), Daryl De Leon (WSR BMW 330i M Sport), and the Mercedes of Dan Rowbottom. Unfortunately, the number five Ford picked up a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits (lap 8).
That meant that Dan Cammish was promoted to 10th place, as Ash Sutton finished behind in eleventh despite actually finishing fifth at the chequered flag. Lewis Selby finished in 13th, with Sam Osborne further back in nineteenth place.
RACE 1 (15 Laps)
With the ambient temperature being very cold on Sunday morning, the BTCC field worked vigorously to warm up their tyres on the formation lap of the opening race.
Dan Cammish (10th) had three laps of boost available to him, with Ash Sutton (11th) just the one lap of boost. Lewis Selby (16th) and Sam Osborne (19th) both had the full ten laps of boost at their disposal, and all four Napa Racing UK Ford Focus Titaniums were booted with the medium tyres.
The start saw Sutton climb up to seventh place, but Cammish dropped down a place to 11th. Osborne got away well to climb up into 16th, but Selby ran wide at the Druids hairpin to drop down the field.
Lap two saw Osborne having a great battle with Dan Lloyd (Restart Racing Hyundia i30N), before Cammish got by Dexter Patterson (Power Maxed Racing Audi A3 Saloon) on the next lap. Meanwhile, Selby was running in 20th and hunting down the Team Vertu Hyundia i30N of Nic Hamilton.
The fourth lap saw the Napa Racing UK Fords promoted up a spot each, after Aron Taylor-Smith (Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport Toyota Corolla GR Sport) pulled off into the pits with a problem. Selby also overtook Hamilton, as Tom Chilton (Team Vertu Hyundia i30N) got by Osborne. Cammish was running in eighth, while Sutton was chasing after De Leon and Collard up ahead.
Sutton got by the WSR BMW 330i M Sport of De Leon on lap six, before running on to see the chequered flag in fifth place. Cammish eventually finished 8th after using all three of his boost laps early on in the race. Selby finished in 16th place after battling with the Speedworks Corolla Racing Toyota Corolla GR Sport of Ryan Bensley, but Osborne received a 5-second penalty (lap 12) for exceeding track limits and finished in fifteenth place.
RACE 2 (15 Laps)
The penultimate race of the season was another fifteen lap affair, with three of the Napa Racing UK Fords all equipped with the full ten laps worth of boost (Cammish, Osborne, and Selby). Sutton had five laps of boost at his disposal, and both he and Cammish were on the medium tyres. Osborne and Selby, meanwhile, opted for the soft tyre compound which they hoped would help them get through the field.
The start saw Ash Sutton get by Aiden Moffat’s Power Maxed Racing Audi A3 Saloon at Druids, with Sam Osborne advancing to thirteenth place. Dan Cammish and Lewis Selby on the other hand maintained their starting positions, as the field raced by to start the second lap.
Selby got into 15th on lap two, before Osborne overtook Tom Chilton (Team Vertu Hyundia i30N) on the next lap. Sutton dived up the inside of Ricky Collard (Team Vertu Hyundia i30N) at Paddock Hill Bend (lap 4) to take third place, while Cammish got by Aiden Moffat (Audi A3 Saloon) to take seventh. He then went on to get past Collard on the run down Hawthorn Hill (lap 7) to go on and finish sixth.
Osborne gained a place on lap ten when Adam Morgan (Mercedes A35 Saloon) ran wide exiting Paddock Hill Bend, before Selby took 14th place away from Dan Rowbottom (Mercedes A35 Saloon) on the next lap.
Dan Lloyd was hit with a penalty for exceeding track limits at the end, which meant that Osborne and Selby gained a position each at the chequered flag to finish 10th and 13th respectively. Cammish saw the chequered flag in sixth, as Sutton claimed another podium to finish third.
RACE 3 (18 Laps)
The 30th and final race of the BTCC season was the Reversed Grid Race. The four Napa Racing UK Ford Focus Titaniums lined up on the grid as follows: Dan Cammish 4th with six laps of boost (soft tyres); Ash Sutton 7th with three laps of boost (soft tyres); Sam Osborne 10th with ten laps of boost (medium tyres); and Lewis Selby 13th with ten laps of boost (medium tyres).
The start of the race was immediately interrupted by a Safety Car, after Selby got trapped in-between the Team Vertu Hyundia i30N duo of Tom Ingram and Tom Chilton in the breaking zone for Paddock Hill Bend. Sadly, all three were eliminated from the race.
Racing resumed on the seventh of a now 18-lap race, with Cammish third, Sutton fourth, and Osborne in tenth place. Sutton overtook Cammish at Surtees before then getting by Patterson (Power Maxed Racing Audi A3 Saloon) on the pit straight. Osborne meanwhile lost out to both Charles Rainford (WSR BMW 330i M Sport) and Aron Taylor-Smith (Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport Toyota Corolla GR Sport).
Lap nine saw Sutton drop to ninth after Ricky Collard (Team Vertu Hyundia i30N) forced him off-track. That promoted Cammish back into third place as Osborne lost out to Dan Lloyd (Restart Racing Hyundia i30N) further back.
Cammish then overtook Patterson at Druids on the tenth lap, as Sutton got by both Rainford and Taylor-Smith. However, the Safety Car was deployed two laps later after Rowbottom’s Mercedes A35 Saloon pulled off with its front brakes on fire.
Racing resumed on lap fifteen and Sutton was up to sixth place after Morgan had squeezed the Speedworks Corolla Racing Toyota Corolla GR Sport of Josh Cook off on the pit straight duo to Collard deliberately slowing down on the restart lap… an act that the Team Vertu driver would come to regret.
Sutton’s restart lap was a good one, as he went on to pass both Morgan and Moffat before the Cooper Straight. He then took third place away from Dexter Patterson at Paddock Hill Bend on lap 16, before overtaking Cammish at Druids on the final lap.
However, his teammate returned the favour at Westfield to lead Sutton home in an excellent second place. Osborne meanwhile came home in fourteenth place, as the curtain closed on his BTCC career. That became thirteenth when another driver was penalised after the race.
Collard’s antics on the restart lap cost him the race win, after he was handed a five-second penalty for a Safety Car Restart Procedural Infringement, which meant that Cammish won the race and Sutton finished behind in second place.
As the dust settles on another thrilling BTCC campaign, Champion Ash Sutton finishes with 516 points in the Drivers Championship. Dan Cammish finished third with 372 points, while Sam Osborne (76 points) and Lewis Selby (46 points) finished in 17th and nineteenth respectively.
Alliance Racing/Ford claimed the Manufacturers/Constructors title with 910 points, while Napa Racing UK sealed the Teams Championship with 766 points.
Lewis Selby finished as the runner up in the Jack Sears Trophy with 376 points, while Sam Osborne took third place with 333 points.
As we celebrate the team’s and driver’s successes this season, we also take this opportunity to thank Sam Osborne for everything. We also wish him nothing but the very best for whatever his future holds. Thank you Sam.
By Chris Palmer
