NAPA Racing UK strengthens title challenge at Silverstone

23 Sep 2024

NAPA Racing UK remains in contention for title honours on three fronts after another strong weekend on track in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Silverstone.

The Alliance Racing-run team had returned to the top step of the podium in the previous meeting at Donington Park, with Ash Sutton and Dan Cammish both scoring wins to maintain their respective championship challenges.

Heading to Silverstone, both drivers were keen to strengthen their positions towards the top of the championship standings, with Dan Rowbottom and Sam Osborne also looking to be in contention for strong points in the penultimate weekend of racing.

To celebrate the relaunch of technical partner, Valvoline’s all-new VR1 Racing oil, the #1 racing oil in the USA, drivers Sam Osborne and Dan Cammish revealed the VR1 Racing branding on their Ford Focus ST’s, along with race suits and team merchandise. The design was a global collaboration between NAPA Racing’s UK design team and the teams at Valvoline’s Kentucky, USA head office.

PRACTICE & QUALIFYING

Free practice was largely spent fine-tuning the Ford Focus ST for Saturday’s all important qualifying session, with all four drivers showing solid pace to leave the team optimistic about it chances of being in the mix for pole.

Rowbottom and Osborne would run in the first stage of Q1, with Rowbottom successfully making it to Q2 with the fifth best time but Osborne – running an eye-catching new livery to promote the new VR1 Racing oil developed by technical partner Valvoline™ – found himself knocked and left eleventh on the grid for race one.

Sutton and Cammish, the latter running the same livery as Osborne, would the run in the second group as poor weather started to close in on the circuit, and whilst Cammish made it through to Q2, Sutton struggled to get the ultimate pace from the car in the conditions and was left to qualify 14th.

Although Cammish and Rowbottom were unable to make the Quick Six, with Cammish missing out by just 0.024s, the pair would end up qualifying fourth and eighth after three of the cars in Q3 were excluded for failing post-session ride height tests.

RACE 1

Weather conditions had changed for the worse come race day with heavy rain coming down as the field lined up for race one, where a slow start for Cammish saw him briefly drop to seventh on the opening lap.

He battled back well however and battled his way back up the order with impressive moves on Josh Cook and Colin Turkington moving him into the podium positions. Quickest man on track by the end of the race, Cammish was right on the rear of Jake Hill by the flag as he settled for third.

The wet conditions played to Sutton’s strengths as he produced a storming drive through the field to make up ten positions and finish in fourth, picking up the bonus point for fastest lap, although there was disappointment for Rowbottom when he was caught out by standing water early on and sustained damage that put him out of action.

Osborne however maintained his recent solid form to lead home the Jack Sears Trophy runners in eighth place, extending his run of top ten finishes to four.

RACE 2

Conditions had improved somewhat for race two, where Sutton made a fine start to move ahead of Cammish on the opening lap. However, a drive through penalty for a mechanic being alongside his car trying to fix a radio problem beyond the 30 second board dropped him to the back of the grid before he recovered to twelfth at the finish, once again scoring the bonus for fastest lap.

It meant Cammish led the NAPA Racing UK challenge with a solid fifth spot, not quite able to challenge the podium runners but well clear of the pack behind, whilst Osborne once again brought his car home inside the top ten for more points to add to his tally.

From the back of the grid after his race one issues, Rowbottom showed his pace to climb through to the fringes of the top ten but would allow Sutton to move ahead on the final lap to try and benefit from the reverse grid.

RACE 3

As it was, the top six would be turned on its head for that final race which kicked off in the midst of a torrential downpour with Cammish one of a number of drivers to be caught out when he ran off track at Becketts on lap one – dropping him down outside the top ten having briefly climbed into second spot.

Sutton had rocketed up the order into the top three, with Cammish recovering to sixth, when the action was halted as conditions worsened, with a near 30 minute delay before it was safe for the race to resume.

Following the restart, Sutton quickly jumped ahead of Josh Cook into second spot and almost grabbed the lead from Tom Ingram on the final lap before having to settle for second place.

Cammish’s recovery saw him make his way back up into fifth spot, whilst Osborne once again picked up a top ten finish with tenth at the flag and Rowbottom also scored in 15th.

BTCC STANDINGS

Sutton and Cammish will therefore go to Brands Hatch in contention for the title, with NAPA Racing UK taking an extended lead to Finals Day in the Teams’ Championship. The team also retains a slender advantage in the Manufacturers’/Constructors’ Championship.

MINI CHALLENGE TROPHY & PORSCHE SPRINT

Despite the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE not being in action over the weekend, two of the three NAPA Racing UK drivers were in action at Silverstone, with JCW runner Jamie Osborne taking to the track in the Porsche Sprint Challenge UK run on behalf of NAPA Racing by the Parker Classic Works team.

Qualifying twelfth overall and fourth in the RS Am class, Jamie finished the opening race of the weekend in 14th overall but improved two places in race two to take twelfth – finishing both races inside the top six in his class.

His weekend would end with a personal best finish of eleventh overall and fourth in class in the third and final race of the weekend.

JCW Sport driver Cameron Richardson meanwhile made a one-off return to the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE Trophy grid, battling his way to a best finish of 15th in the one of the most closely-fought championships in the UK.