Photo: PSP Images

BTCC ready to blast back into life at Thruxton

The British Touring Car Championship takes centre stage at the fastest circuit in the country, Thruxton, this weekend with the 2026 campaign set to resume following the annual mid-season break.

Returning to full-throttle action around the high-speed Hampshire circuit, the UK’s premier motorsport series is poised to reignite the battle for supremacy at the summit of the standings with three spectacular races on Sunday.

Ash Sutton goes into the weekend as the one that everyone is trying to beat, with the Alliance Racing driver having produced a remarkable run of results that has allowed him to build up a 48-point advantage in the standings.

Reigning title holder Tom Ingram did manage to close the gap to the four-time champion last time out and the EXCELR8 Motorsport will be hoping to do just that again as he continues his quest for a third crown.

Behind the top two, Dan Cammish leads the charge and with a spring in his step after winning at Oulton Park, he’ll be hoping to add to his silverware collection. So too will WSR’s Charles Rainford, who has twice been a winner in his BMW 330i M Sport this term.

Ricky Collard’s long-term future in the BTCC has been hotly debated in recent weeks, however the Hyundai i30 N driver – who has tallied multiple podiums this year – will be behind the wheel this coming weekend.

Elsewhere, Daryl De Leon has enjoyed a number of standout results whilst leading Independent Mikey Doble will be targeting more silverware in his ever-improving Power Maxed Racing Audi A3 Saloon.

Doble sits ahead of Toyota ace Josh Cook – who holds more wins around Thruxton than anyone else in BTCC history – in the standings while three-time champion Gordon Shedden and Scotsman Aiden Moffat complete the top ten.

This weekend will see two new faces join the grid too, with the first being single-seater racer Lewis Gilbert, who has joined WSR for the reminder of the season.

Over at Speedworks Motorsport, Max Buxton has stepped into a Reserve and Development Driver role, which in-turn has allowed Ryan Bensley to re-join the grid after he made a one-off appearance in a Hyundai at Snetterton last year.

Track action at Thruxton begins with practice at 10:25 on Saturday morning before qualifying and the qualifying race commence at 14:00. Sunday sees three races staged; the first at 11:45, followed by race two at 14:40 and race three at 17:30.