The 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship arrived in Northamptonshire, as the penultimate weekend of the season took place on the ultra fast 1.64-miles Silverstone National Circuit for Rounds 25, 26, and 27.

Saturday’s Qualifying Session saw Dan Cammish and Sam Osborne placed in Group One, while Ash Sutton and Lewis Selby were in Group Two. Osborne and Selby both had the full quota of twenty seconds of boost available per lap, while Cammish had three seconds per lap and Sutton the solitary one second per lap at his disposal.

With all drivers using the soft tyre compound for Saturday’s running, Osborne posted a quickest time of 56.847 (4th) and Cammish set a time of 57.115 (9th). The second group saw Sutton set a best lap of 57.156 (9th) and Selby finished tenth with a time of 57.305. That translated to 8th (Osborne), 17th (Sutton), 18th (Cammish), and 19th (Selby) for the Race To Pole grid.

RACE TO POLE (18 Laps)

The boost allocation for those two groups continued for the 15-lap Race To Pole, as the field remained on the soft tyres. But the limited boost would cost both Sutton and Cammish this weekend on a circuit that favoured straightline speed over cornering speed, and that was clearly evident during this Race To Pole.

The start saw Osborne drop to tenth, while Sutton got spun around after exiting Copse to drop to the back of the field. In contrast, Cammish rose to 17th and Selby climbed to 18th.

By the third lap, the three of the four Napa Racing UK Ford Focus Titaniums had climbed more places courtesy of Chris Smiley’s Hyundia i30N (Restart Racing) pulling off with a problem. Sutton then got back into the top twenty after passing the WSR BMW 330i M Sport of Lewis Gilbert, before the BMW returned the favour two laps later.

Meanwhile up ahead, Osborne was hit with a 10-second penalty for a false start before he lost out to the Audi A3 Saloon of Dexter Patterson on the run towards Beckett’s (lap 7). Tom Ingram (Team Vertu Hyundia i30N) and Gordon Shedden (Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport Toyota Corolla GR Sport) relegated the number 77 Ford further back when they got by on the run down the Wellington Straight and into Brooklands respectively.

Lap eight saw Dan Rowbottom (Mercedes A35 Saloon) get by Osborne, as Sutton got past Nick Halstead’s Audi A3 Saloon just before the Safety Car was deployed after Osama Kawashima spun his Team Vertu Hyundia i30N out of the race at Luffield.

Racing resumed on lap 12 of a now 18-lap race to the flag, as both Selby and Sutton got by teammate Cammish to continue in 16th and 17th respectively. Five laps later saw Osborne hit with an additional 5-second penalty for exceeding track limits, as he went on to eventually finish in 21st place. Selby took the chequered flag in 13th, with Sutton behind in 14th and Cammish in 15th in what was a frustrating Saturday for the Napa Racing UK crew.

RACE 1 (22 Laps)

The first 22-lap race of Sunday saw three of the Napa Racing UK Ford Focus Titaniums start on the medium tyre compound. Lewis Selby was the odd man out, as he opted for the soft tyres to go together with the 14 laps of boost he had available to him as he lined up in 13th place.

Sam Osborne also had 14 laps of boost at his disposal as he started 21st, while Ash Sutton (14th) and Dan Cammish (15th) both had four laps and five laps available respectively.

By the end of the opening lap, Sutton had launched himself into the top ten (9th), while Selby (13th) and Cammish (17th) had mixed starts. Osborne meanwhile had climbed up to eighteenth by the start of lap two.

Both Sutton and Tom Ingram (Team Vertu Hyundia i30N) got sideways at Luffield courtesy of the Toyota Corolla GR Sport of Aron Taylor-Smith, which put the championship leader back down behind teammate Selby. However, he ran wide on the next lap which enabled Sutton to get back up into 11th before he lost out to Cammish on the Wellington Straight on lap three.

Osborne was having a torrid time in his Ford and had dropped behind the Audi A3 Saloon of Nick Halstead by lap six, before the Ford pulled into the pits to retire from the race eight laps later.

Selby went on to lose out to Restart Racing duo Chris Smiley and Dan Lloyd, before the former also got by Sutton on the eleventh lap. Three laps later saw Sutton and Cammish work together in brilliant fashion to enable Sutton to return the favour on Smiley through Woodcote to take 12th on the pit straight. That soon became 11th place when Cammish also pulled into the pits on lap seventeen to leave Sutton and Selby to fly the Napa flag for the remainder of the race.

Lewis Selby then got by Lloyd (lap 18) and Dexter Patterson (lap 19) for 13th place, as Sutton defended vigorously from the Hyundia i30N of Smiley, which was then aided by the attention of Selby’s Ford attacking the rear bumper of Smiley (lap 20).

His attention on the back of the Hyundia opened Selby up to an attack from the Hyundia of Tom Ingram on the penultimate lap, which the Team Vertu driver duly took, before Smiley got by Sutton on the pit straight at the start of the final lap. Sutton then finished in 12th place following an excellent drag race to the line with the Hyundia duo of Smiley and Ingram, as Selby took the final championship point to see the chequered flag in fifteenth.

RACE 2 (22 Laps)

Round 26 of the season would be a race that saw Ash Sutton and the Napa Racing UK team rewrite the history books, as the championship leader became the greatest driver in the history of the BTCC.

He started the race in 12th place with teammates Selby (15th), Cammish (21st), and Osborne (23rd) all behind him on the grid. All four Ford Focus Titaniums were on the soft tyres, and all had the full allocation of 14 laps of boost available to them.

They all got away well as the lights went out, with Sutton up into 8th by the end of the opening lap. Teammates Selby (14th), Cammish (16th), and Osborne (18th) also made good progress as the Fords showed their pace.

By the time the field reached Beckett’s on lap two, Sutton had got by both Gordon Shedden (Toyota Corolla GR Sport) and Charles Rainford (BMW 330i M Sport), before he got by the Toyota Corolla GR Sport of Josh Cook at Brooklands. Cammish got by the Speedworks Corolla Racing Toyota Corolla GR Sport of Ryan Bensley, before Osborne lost out to Dexter Patterson’s Audi A3 Saloon.

A blistering opening four laps by Sutton were completed when he overtook Mikey Doble (Power Maxed Racing Audi A3 Saloon) on the entrance to Beckett’s, before he set after the Team Vertu Hyundia i30N of Tom Chilton. He got a great run on the exit of Luffield and Woodcote to complete the move at Copse at the start of lap six, while Cammish and Selby were chasing Smiley further back.

Lap seven saw Sutton take second place away from the Power Maxed Racing Audi A3 Saloon of Aiden Moffat on the Wellington Straight, before Cammish also got by the Toyota Corolla GR Sport of Josh Cook (lap 8).

Sutton’s masterclass was completed when he threw the BMW 330i M Sport of Daryl De Leon the dummy at Copse to take the lead of the race in a brilliant move on lap nine. It would be a lead that he’d maintain to the chequered flag.

Further back, Selby was having a good race with the Hyundia of Ingram, while Cammish relieved Smiley of 11th place (lap 10). The number 27 Ford Focus Titanium then got by Mikey Doble with a great move on the pit straight (lap 13), before he got by the Toyota of Shedden on the Wellington Straight (lap 14).

Teammates Selby was defending from the Team Vertu Hyundia i30N of Nic Hamilton, while Osborne remained in a frustrated 19th. Osborne did eventually get 18th place off of Lewis Gilbert, while Selby was having a terrific ding-dong with Cook and Doble (lap 18).

Cammish passed Tom Chilton for 8th place on lap 15, before both he and Aron Taylor-Smith (Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport Toyota Corolla GR Sport) got by Aiden Moffat’s Power Maxed Racing Audi A3 Saloon at Beckett’s (Taylor-Smith) and the Wellington Straight (Cammish), before Cammish took sixth place off of Taylor-Smith on the penultimate lap.

Sam Osborne saw the chequered flag in a disappointing 17th, while Lewis Selby finished in 13th after penalties to other drivers. Dan Cammish drove an excellent race to climb 15 places to finish in sixth place, but the race belonged to Ash Sutton as he took his ninth win of the season and the fastest lap.

Sutton’s exploits saw him clinch a 56th career BTCC race win and a record breaking fifth BTCC Championship title.

RACE 3 (22 Laps)

The final race of the weekend was the usual Reversed Grid Race, which took place on a wet track. Dan Cammish lined up in fourth place of the grid (with 10 laps of boost), while Ash Sutton started ninth (with 4 laps of boost). Both Lewis Selby and Sam Osborne had 14 laps of boost at their disposal, as they started 13th and 17th respectively.

Unfortunately Cammish bogged down at the start to end up down in tenth place by the end of the opening while, in contrast, Sutton was up into 8th, Osborne in 13th, and Selby down in 15th.

Lap two saw Sutton swiftly get by Josh Cook and Charles Rainford for sixth place, while both Cammish (9th) and Osborne (12th) also gained another place each. However, Selby found himself down in 16th after losing out to the Audi A3 Saloon of Dexter Patterson, before dropping another spot courtesy of Lewis Gilbert’s WSR BMW 330i M Sport.

Sutton then overtook the Mercedes A35 Saloon of Adam Morgan on the third lap, before getting by the Toyota of Aron Taylor-Smith on the next lap. Lap nine then saw him take a podium spot away from Dan Rowbottom, while Osborne got by Rainford at Beckett’s to take 12th place on the next lap.

However Rainford returned the favour on lap eleven, while Dan Lloyd relegated Selby to 18th place as teammate Cammish was fighting with Gordon Shedden and Rowbottom up ahead.

Sutton dived up the inside of Aiden Moffat (Audi A3 Saloon) at Luffield to take second place on lap thirteen, just as Selby lost out to the Toyota of Ryan Bensley, Lewis Gilbert (BMW 330i M Sport), and the Team Vertu Hyundia i30N of Nic Hamilton to start lap 15 down in 20th.

Dan Cammish took sixth place away from Rowbottom to chase after Shedden and Taylor-Smith (lap 15), before Rainford tapped Osborne into a well-controlled slide at Brooklands on lap 18. Thankfully, Osborne was able to continue and he eventually finished inside the points (14th) after getting by Dexter Patterson.

Lewis Selby finished in 21st after being pipped to the line by Hamilton, as Cammish took fifth place away from Taylor-Smith on the exit of Beckett’s on lap 19 to score some good points.

Ash Sutton meanwhile finished in an excellent second place, behind the Hyundia i30N of Tom Ingram, as the Napa Racing UK team secured the Manufacturers/Constructors and Teams’ Championship titles in what has been a superb season for the crew.

Sutton’s drive to the title has seen him register nine victories and ten second place finishes in 27 races, as he finished the weekend with 468 points in the Drivers’ Championship. Teammate Dan Cammish sits in third place with 331 points, while Sam Osborne occupies 18th with 65 points. Lewis Selby remains right behind Osborne with 43 points (19th).

Alliance Racing/Ford have clinched the Manufacturers/Constructors Championship with 817 points, while Napa Racing UK clinch the Teams’ Championship with 699 points.

Lewis Selby’s efforts saw him secure the overall Jack Sears Trophy win for the Silverstone National rounds, as he occupies second in the table with 348 points. Sam Osborne’s struggles continued, as he remained in fifth place of the Jack Sears Trophy table with 284 points.

By Chris Palmer