PODIUM AND POINTS FOR NAPA RACING UK FROM KNOCKHILL WEEKEND

12 Aug 2024

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Napa Racing UK enjoyed a fruitful trip to Scotland for the latest rounds of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship with a strong haul of points from the three races at Knockhill.

The Alliance Racing-run outfit was bidding to retain its position at the head of the Teams’ Championship standings on a weekend where it adopted a fresh look both on and off track to raise funds and awareness for Race Against Dementia – the charity founded by multiple F1 champion Sir Jackie Stewart.

PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING

On the circuit, the weekend started well as Dan Rowbottom topped the times in mixed conditions in the opening practice session, and the pace of the Ford Focus ST was further evident in a dry FP2, where Rowbottom again led the way with Ash Sutton making it a NAPA Racing 1-2 at the front.

Come qualifying, Sam Osborne just missed out on progressing to Q2 alongside Rowbottom, Sutton and Dan Cammish although only Rowbottom would then make it into the Quick Six after a frenetic ten minutes of track action.

Cammish would miss out by just a tenth of a second to line up eighth, with Sutton in twelfth, with Rowbottom ultimately securing a place on the second row of the grid with the fourth best time in Q3.

RACE 1

Rowbottom was the only one of the four to take the harder tyre option for race one as he bolted on a set of medium rubber, taking a different strategy to his three team-mates who all went with the soft tyre.

Despite being on the slower tyre, Rowbottom was able to take the flag in seventh place as the second best medium-shod runner, just behind Sutton who displayed impressive race pace to work his way through to six – taking the spot from his team-mate on the final lap.

Cammish would be involved in the midfield scraps as he crossed the line in ninth spot, with Osborne making the most of his tyre choice to climb six spots into the points in twelfth.

RACE 2

Rowbottom’s gamble of running the slower tyre first then worked in his favour in race two as he was able to charge his way through the pack to take the flag in second spot. The fact finished as runner-up came despite a five second penalty for being out of position at the start, further indicating his pace as he scored a first podium of the year.

Forced onto the medium tyre, Sutton and Cammish were both able to improve on their race one results as they took the flag in fifth and seventh, with Osborne sticking with the soft rubber and finishing in 15th – losing ground when he was run wide through turn three whilst part of a huge battle for position.

RACE 3

The final race of the weekend saw the top twelve on the grid reversed, but Cammish was unable to benefit from starting on the third row when he was forced off across the grass at Clarks in the early stages – dropping him down to 16th place.

He battled back well to take the flag in eighth place, which was two spots behind Rowbottom as he again showed his pace to come through from eleventh on the grid to take his second top six finish of the weekend.

Sutton maintained his record of improving his position in each race with fourth – just missing out on the podium – whilst Osborne was forced onto the slower medium tyre and had to contend with a mid-race pitstop, but still scored points in 15th to wrap up the weekend win in the Jack Sears Trophy.

BTCC STANDINGS

At the end of the weekend, Sutton remains third in the Drivers’ Championship with Cammish and Rowbottom in fourth and eighth, whilst Osborne won the Jack Sears Trophy for the weekend and currently sits third in the Jack Sears.

NAPA Racing UK meanwhile continues to head the Teams’ Championship.

MINI CHALLENGE

The penultimate weekend of action in the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE proved to be a positive one for Jamie Osborne, Lewis Selby and Cameron Richardson, who all picked up silverware from the weekend.

JCW CLASS

A strong performance from Osborne saw him finish all three races inside the top three on the road, although an unfortunate penalty in the second race for gaining an unfair advantage whilst working his way up the order dropped him back to fifth. Osborne is now just three points away from second in the battle to finish the season as runner-up.

The main beneficiary however was Selby as he moved up into third spot, with the points he secured being enough to confirm him as the winner of the Directors Cup with a round still to run.

JCW SPORT CLASS

Richardson picked up a strong haul of points as he secured a hat-trick of podium finishes, which leaves him second in the standards going into the final round – 39 points off top spot.