BTCC hits the half way stage at Croft

The BTCC season hits the half-way stage this weekend at Croft, with things having closed up at the head of the championship standings going into round five.

Josh Cook remains the man to beat out front after the BTC Racing driver picked up his sixth podium finish of the campaign at Oulton Park last time out – meaning he has now scored at least one podium in each of the last five meetings going back to the 2021 season finale.

Cook’s advantage at the top is currently 15 points and he will now seek to try and maintain that lead at a circuit where he won twice back in 2020.

“It will be tough with no hybrid to use, but we know that the Honda has a superb chassis and the fast sweeping corners around the back of the track will play to our strengths,” he said.

“It will be a question of maximising what we can get from the car and what I can get from myself to make sure I am in a position to capitalise on anything we can earn.

“We go into each weekend with a target of at least 30 points, and that will be the goal.”

Cook’s closest challenge is now Tom Ingram after his double win at Oulton Park last time out.

The EXCELR8 driver will take part in his 250th race this weekend and will be keen to try and overhaul Cook to retake his position at the head of the standings having led the way after the opening rounds.

Ingram lost ground to Cook when he failed to score in race three at Oulton Park, and the same was true for Ash Sutton, with the defending champion seeing his run of five straight podium finishes end in the same race.

Although yet to win this season, Sutton has been outside the top six only twice so far in the Ford Focus and consistently scoring well to put himself firmly in contention in the points.

“Croft is a circuit I’ve always loved, it’s fast, lairy and quite old school – I just seem to click with it,” the defending champion said. “I’ve got fond memories there as well as it was where I scored my first BTCC win back in 2016.

“We’re continuing to unlock more and more from the car so I’m heading into this weekend feeling confident that we can have another solid three races. If we can end the first half of the season with a win that would be mega!”

Colin Turkington heads to Croft sitting fourth in the standings but the Northern Irishman lost ground after getting caught up in the dramatic race three incident at Oulton Park.

With his BMW 330e M Sport heavily damaged, WSR will instead roll out Turkington’s 2019 title winner this weekend, which has been upgraded to include the BTCC’s new hybrid technology.

“It’s been a big push to get here and ideally my neck would have had more recovery time, but I’m happy to confirm I’m ready,” Turkington admitted. “Considering the force of the impact it’s inevitable I’m still tender and there’s no denying it might be physically tough this weekend, but I’m prepared for that and keen to continue my push for the championship.

“The show must go on and I’m fired up. Croft is one of my all-time favourite circuits and a real technical challenge for the driver. I have some amazing memories from here over the years and some fabulous results.”

Despite just one top ten finish at Oulton Park, Jake Hill remains fifth in the points in the next of the WSR-run BMWs but is 21 points down on Turkington ahead, with Gordon Shedden, Rory Butcher and Adam Morgan rounding out the top eight.

As well as Turkington, Dan Lloyd will also take his place on the grid this weekend as he seeks to maintain his top ten championship position, with the EXCELR8 team having worked around the clock to repair his damaged Hyundai after a 43G impact from Turkington’s BMW less than two weeks ago.

“I have to give a massive thank you for all the support there has been since the accident, and it is difficult to find the words for how hard the team has worked to get the car ready for Croft,” he said.

“The damage proved to be worse than we initially feared and they have done a monumental job to not only get the car fixed in time for the weekend, but also in time for us to give it a shakedown run beforehand to make sure everything is okay.

“What has happened over the past two weeks has only increased my determination to succeed on track this weekend, and if I can get a good result this weekend, it will be for all of those people who stepped up to help.

“Croft is a circuit I enjoy and where I scored my only BTCC win so far, and it goes without saying that I want to add to that – and it would be a dream come true if I could do it this weekend.”