The British Touring Automotive Championship heads to Croft to begin the ultimate 9 outings of its 2026 marketing campaign, with Ash Sutton chasing the Drivers’ Championship and Ricky Collard having his remaining weekend of the season.
Typically considered one of many truest checks on the tin-top calendar, the two.127-mile observe hosted pre-season testing and now has the chance to crown one of the crucial dominant seasons in collection historical past.
Croft’s 11-turn Important Circuit has beforehand been a cheerful looking floor for rear-wheel drive equipment, owing to its mixture of traction zones and high-speed corners, however noticed Staff VERTU and NAPA Racing UK take the spoils in 2025.
Tom Ingram took Race 1 victory final yr, earlier than the NAPA pair of Dan Rowbottom and Sutton took back-to-back spoils of their outdated Ford Focus.
Chris Smiley additionally took a shock pole place in his Restart Racing Hyundai i30N, backing up Ingram’s tempo within the sister automobile, however such efficiency could be a shock after the nightmare Donington Park GP weekend for each Hyundai-running groups.
Working will get underway on Saturday with 50-minutes of Free Apply at 10:15 BST, adopted by timed Qualifying and the Race to Pole at 14:05 and 15:05. Sunday sees a day begin, with Race 1 at 12:10, Race 2 at 14:30, and Race 3 at 17:15.
The climate is predicted to be calm, however might present some leisure on Sunday with a sprinkling of rain at noon.
Saturday’s qualifying motion may be seen on the ITV Sport Further YouTube channel, with Sunday in its typical ITV4 and ITVX all-day slot.
Croft to be Ricky Collard’s remaining weekend within the BTCC, a minimum of for now
One of many much-chronicled tales of the season has been Collard’s struggles for a sponsor. Even getting so far within the Staff VERTU seat was sudden, however now he will probably be bowing out after the Croft weekend.
A lot will hope it won’t be the top for Collard within the BTCC, and it completely shouldn’t be.
Collard sits P5 within the Drivers’ Championship, and is on-course for his finest BTCC marketing campaign by a long way – usurping his 2023 P8 effort within the Toyota GR Corolla.
Whereas a race win has eluded him, the 2024 British GT Champion has claimed six podiums in 2026, and will probably be hoping for the fairytale farewell in Yorkshire.
Getting into his seat for Silverstone and Manufacturers Hatch GP is Osamu Kawashima.
The 57-year-old Japanese driver is a little bit of an unknown amount, however did race within the TOCA help bundle within the mid-2010s.
He competed in Ginetta’s GT5 class in 2014, and made the step to GT4 the following yr.
His marketing campaign was a profitable one, with 5 wins and 17 complete podium finishes within the AM class – ending the season as Vice Champion.
Kawashima examined a Speedworks Toyota Avensis in 2016, and has accomplished preparation runs at Snetterton within the Staff VERTU Hyundai, however has not been seen racing competitively since his Ginetta stints.
Set to grow to be the primary Japanese BTCC driver since 1985, Kawashima has spoken of the chance being the ‘fulfilment of a dream.’
A sensational weekend might see Sutton topped as Drivers’ Champion
Sutton heads into Croft a whopping 98-points away from Tom Ingram within the Drivers’ Championship, together with his kind in 2026 merely being a category other than the remainder of the sphere.
His efficiency in NAPA’s new Ford Focus Saloon has been spellbinding, and introduced a haul of seven victories and an additional eight P2 finishes.
Donington Park GP noticed his first winless weekend of the season, however Sutton might nonetheless improve his hole on Ingram with two P2 outcomes.
It leaves Sutton with an opportunity of leaving Croft together with his record-breaking fifth Drivers’ Championship, must be outscore Ingram by 54 factors throughout the weekend.
Although, with 76 factors the utmost accessible by way of a weekend, it’s extra possible that Croft’s outcomes see a crowning at Silverstone a near-guarantee.
Relatively than waiting for Sutton, Ingram might even fall to P3 within the standings, with Dan Cammish simply 5 factors behind and having fun with a stellar season.
Adam Morgan can also be simply over 50 factors behind the pair, together with his late-season kind within the CPRL Mercedes A35 Saloon an unimaginable twist following the squad’s administration and full-season kind.
READ MORE: How Hyundai had a weekend to overlook at BTCC Donington Park GP
