Charles Rainford wins Oulton Park finale
Charles Rainford claimed his second win of the season in the 2026 British Touring Car Championship after producing a sublime drive in the Oulton Park reverse grid finale.
The WSR driver utilised being the highest starting soft tyre runner on the grid to quickly move to the front, before then cruising to the chequered flag ahead of Ricky Collard and Tom Ingram, who completed the podium.
The race began in chaotic fashion with Gordon Shedden suffering a drive shaft failure as he launched off the line, before his team-mate Aron Taylor-Smith then lost control at the exit of Old Hall and subsequently collected the Mercedes of Adam Morgan.
Following a brief safety car period, the BMW of Rainford quickly pounced as he moved past pole sitter Chris Smiley down Cascades. On the hard tyre, Smiley was somewhat of a sitting duck for the Hyundai duo of Collard and Ingram.
With a clear road ahead of him, Rainford did begin to build a lead over the chasing pack before the safety car was called for a second time following a clash between Tom Chilton and Lewis Selby heading down Cascades.
Restarting with six laps remaining, Rainford was calm and collected while Collard attempted to remain in striking distance. Despite consistently flashing his lights, Rainford was unfazed by Collard and ultimately cruised to the chequered flag.
Reigning champion Ingram made it three podiums in three races by finishing third, narrowly ahead of race one winner Dan Cammish and the charging Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Corolla of Josh Cook, who had come from the back of the grid to fifth.
Smiley and the Mercedes of Dan Rowbottom had been locked in a back-and-forth battle for sixth and after laps of trying to make a move, he finally dispatched the Hyundai on the final lap.
Dexter Patterson, championship leader Ash Sutton and Aiden Moffat completed the top ten.
