British Touring Car Championship - Rounds 1, 2 & 3

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Qualifying Result
Dan Rowbottom
Ash Sutton
Jake Hill

Race 1
Dan Cammish
Jake Hill
Tom Ingram

Race 2
Tom Chilton
Adam Morgan
Sam Osborne
(after Ronan Pearson's disqualification)

Race 3
Dan Cammish
Tom Ingram
Ash Sutton

And we're back! The opening rounds of the British Touring Car Championship took place this weekend at Donington Park circuit and it was as spicy as ever!  Part of me was gutted that I couldn't be there as I usually attend this race weekend but the weather made me feel better about that...

The wet conditions saw multi champion holder and NAPA driver Ash Sutton DNF the first race and he had to crawl his way back through the order throughout the next couple races, eventually finishing with a podium place, achieving 3rd in the final race of the day. But on the flipside, we saw Nic Hamilton get his highest ever position in the championship, finishing 7th in race two and rightfully, mass celebrations were had across the paddock.

If you aren't familiar with Nic Hamilton, I'll tell you why you should be. He is an inspiration and should receive just as big, if not bigger, hype than his brother Lewis Hamilton. The 31 year old driver was born with cerebral palsy wasn't given high hopes of making it through childhood and now here he is, competing in one of the hardest championships in England/the world having completely re-designed his car around his abilities. It makes me incredibly happy that not only his Dad was there to witness this achievement but his brother, 7x F1 Champion, was as well.

Speaking of Nick's, rookie Nick Halstead got off to a rough start in his BTCC career with two DNF's, however, he did manage to score some points by finishing 8th in one race (the second race that was very chaotic but you take wins where you can get them...). Another rookie that got off to a bit of a tough start was Scottish driver, Ronan Pearson. The ex Mini Championship driver was set to achieve 3rd place in race two but was disqualified after the car failed the ride height standards, giving 3rd place to NAPA racing's Sam Osbourne.

My Standout rookie of the weekend though had to be GT driver Andrew Watson, who finished the weekend 8th in the championship, ahead of the likes of Ash Sutton and Josh Cook and the highest of his team.

To finish off, I want to get a bit nostalgic. First of all, this is the first season that I can remember where dominating team, Team Dynamics, haven't been on the grid. I'm not sure why they haven't got any entries this year, I should probably research into this but I'm still sad at not seeing the iconic orange and black Halfords sponsored car on the track. But on a positive note, what a start to the season for Tom Chilton! I've been supporting this man since I was a kid when he was driving for Team AON and referred to as Sonic, due to his frosted tips, spiked hair and speed in the car. Not only is he currently 4th in the championship but he is ahead of 4x champion Colin Turkington. He also very nearly lapped current champion and team mate Tom Ingram in race two. Inner child Katie was screaming!

However, looking at the overall outcome from the weekend, could this be a NAPA dominated season? Only time will tell...

I can't wait to see what the next rounds bring!

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