TRIPLE PODIUM FOR NAPA RACING UK AT CROFT

29 Jul 2024

NAPA Racing UK moved on to 18 podiums for the season with another strong on-track display as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship returned to action following the summer break at Croft.

The Ford squad headed for North Yorkshire on top of the Teams’ Championship, with both defending champion Ash Sutton and local racer Dan Cammish firmly involved in the title fight.

PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING

Saturday’s free practice sessions provided plenty of promise for the Alliance Racing-run Fords, with Dan Rowbottom setting the quickest time of the four NAPA Racing UK drivers in FP2, where he ended up in fifth spot.

Sutton and Cammish had earlier run inside the top ten in the first session, where Osborne set his fastest lap before being caught out by rain showers in FP2 that arrived before he had set a quick time.

Qualifying would be a mixed bag for the quartet of drivers as Cammish and Sutton made it to the Quick Six stage to secure second and sixth on the grid, but both Rowbottom and Osborne dropped out in Q1.

That was particularly tough for Rowbottom, who set two laps quick enough to make it into Q2 only to lose the times for track limits infringements.

RACE 1

Although Cammish lost a spot to Tom Ingram on the opening lap of race one, he would run in the top three throughout the race on the soft tyre to score his sixth podium of the season. Also running the soft tyre, Sutton fought his way into the top four in the early stages before chasing Cammish home to the flag, with Rowbottom and Osborne both electing to get rid of the hard tyre at the first opportunity.

Despite that, Rowbottom was able to gain three places to break into the top ten, with Osborne ending the race in P19.

RACE 2

With most of the cars ahead forced to then run the hard tyre in race two, Rowbottom made his strategy pay off in impressive fashion as he charged his way through the field to break into the top three by the half-way stage, allowing him to score his first podium finish of the campaign.

Cammish and Sutton held third and fourth through the opening lap before Sutton got ahead on lap two, with the defending champion surviving a clash with Colin Turkington to ultimately end the race in fifth as the second best car on the harder rubber, with Cammish this time chasing him home to the flag.

Like Rowbottom, Osborne maximised the fact he was now running on the soft tyre as he gained six spots from his starting position to break into the points in 13th.

RACE 3

The top eight would be reversed on the grid for the weekend finale, leaving Cammish and Sutton sharing the second row for the start.

Running side-by-side down to turn one, the pair emerged unscathed through the opening turns despite losing a place, with Cammish ending the opening lap in fourth but Sutton being shuffled down to eighth after contact.

Cammish grabbed second spot on lap two when Ingram and Aron Taylor-Smith ran wide through the Esses, and held the place to the flag to make it seven podium finishes in the last twelve races.

Sutton survived mid-race contact that left his car sideways at Sunny In to take fourth after recovering from his tough opening lap, whilst Rowbottom also had to deal with contact in the race as he took the flag in eighth. Osborne scored his second points finish of the weekend with twelfth spot after a hard-fought battle in the mid-field.

BTCC STANDINGS

Heading away from Croft, Sutton and Cammish sit third and fourth in the standings with Rowbottom having now moved into the top ten, whilst NAPA Racing UK continues to head the Teams’ Championship. Osborne meanwhile remains third the Jack Sears Trophy.

MINI CHALLENGE – JCW

Croft also marked the latest rounds of the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE, with both the JCW and JCW Sport classes in action across two races.

In the JCW Class, Jamie Osborne produced a stunning performance in qualifying to score a double pole position, although a grid penalty carried over from Oulton Park meant he would line up in fourth place for the opening race.

Osborne would run in the podium places for the majority of the race and only missed out on second spot on the final lap when defending champion Dan Zelos managed to nip ahead. Team-mate Lewis Selby meanwhile strengthened his lead in the Directors Cup with another class win, taking the flag in sixth overall.

From pole in race two, Osborne led the early stages before being overhauled by Tom Ovenden on lap five – leaving him to settle for the runner-up spot in second place. Selby would follow him home in third, to make it eight podium finishes for the pair so far this season.

MINI CHALLENGE – JCW SPORT

In JCW Sport, Cameron Richardson topped the times in qualifying to snare pole for race two, although he would line up in second place for race one – the same position in which he would ultimately finish behind current points leader Dylan Hotchin.

Holding the lead at the start of race two, Richardson was overtaken by rival Albert Webster and then spent the remainder of the race fixed onto his tail as he repeated his race one result for a strong haul of points.