Fresh from a clean sweep of victories at Brands Hatch, WSR continue their climb towards the top of the British Touring Car Championship table as the UK’s premier motorsport series moves on to Snetterton this weekend.
The 18-time series champions, who claimed Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ glory with Jake Hill and the BMW 3 Series in 2024, broke the series all-time wins record last time out and aim to use that momentum in East Anglia to gather more silverware.
A triple-win, featuring a first victory of the year for Jake plus maiden series successes for Charles Rainford and Daryl DeLeon have left WSR as the team to beat heading to the third event of 2025.
Jake, who won the opening race at Brands Hatch from pole position in his Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport BMW 330i M Sport, enjoyed one of his best weekends of 2024 at Snetterton as he claimed pole position and a double victory.
Among his achievements on that wet race day 12 months ago was overturning a 10-second time penalty for a false start in just 12 laps to take a six-second victory; a result that proved crucial in becoming champion at the season’s end.
LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR’s Charles Rainford scored his first BTCC race win, front-row start and Fastest Lap at Brands Hatch to end the event with 48 points – a total equalled only by Jake – and on only his second weekend in the series.
This Sunday will be his first time racing at Snetterton in the BTCC and the Horsham driver is looking to use the team’s record of eight wins in the past six years at the track as inspiration this weekend.
His LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR team-mate Aiden Moffat scored his best result of the season at Brands Hatch with a superb charge from 20th to fifth in Race Two and the Scottish racer is aiming for a podium finish this time.
Aiden’s most recent visit to Snetterton resulted in a second-place finish last year and his mastery of tyre strategy so far in 2025 makes him a contender for the podium again.
For WSR’s other first-time race winner at Brands Hatch, Daryl DeLeon, Snetterton represents his home circuit and is where he scored his first career top-10 finish in 2024.
The 19-year-old, who also leads the Jack Sears Trophy points, lives near Cambridge and is sure to receive fervent support from his local fans.
How to watch
While all races will be broadcast in HD on ITV4 from 1045 on Sunday, a major new agreement means that fans outside the UK and North America will be able to watch every BTCC race live on the BTCC YouTube channel. Qualifying will, as in 2024, be broadcast on the ITV Sport YouTube channel without geographic restrictions.
Need to know…
In 2025, entrants in the BTCC use a 100 per cent sustainable fuel for the first time. This replaces the hybrid power unit that was used from 2022-24; the removal of which means that all cars are 55kg lighter than last year.
To aid overtaking, drivers can access the series’ TOCA Turbo Boost during qualifying and racing, meaning up to a 60bhp increase against cars not using boost.
Because of his championship position, Jake will be allowed to use hybrid boost for five seconds on each lap of qualifying and for three laps of Race One. Boost will be available to Jake once he is doing 135kph.
Aiden, Charles and Daryl can access their Boost from 115kph, will be able to use it for 15s per lap in qualifying and for eight laps in Race One. Boost allocations will be re-set based on the Race One finishing order.
At Snetterton the soft-compound Goodyear will be the standard tyre while the hard must also be used during one of Sunday’s three races.
What they said…
Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, said: “We’ve had a solid start to the year and I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel after the improvements made at Brands Hatch. Snetterton will bring a fresh challenge to the 2025 season. With a mix of fast straights and tight corners, getting the balance of the BMW will be key. Everything we do in those practice sessions will be crucial for our set-up across the weekend.”
Aiden Moffat, LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR, said: “While I didn’t get the results I wanted last time out, the big plus point from Brands Hatch was that the BMW was fast, so if we have a clean Saturday, I’m pretty confident we can be at the sharp end. We saw how much difference it made whether you were on the hard or soft Goodyear, so if the temperatures are similar to what we had at Brands, choosing the right tyre strategy could make or break your weekend.”
Charles Rainford, LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR, said: “Brands Hatch was incredible; not just to get my first win, but to be fast all weekend and to score as many points as I did. Snetterton is a different kind of track, but it’s been one where the BMW has been good in recent years in any weather so if we can arrive there with a good set-up – and I think we will – then I’ll be aiming high again. I still have the maximum boost available on Saturday and in Race One so that should help down the long straights.”
Daryl DeLeon, WSR, said: “Heading to my home circuit as a BTCC race winner feels amazing and I hope the local support will be as good as in previous years. What’s great about Snetterton is that from the exit of Turn Two through to braking zone for Turn Six, you’re in this big bowl with spectators packing the banking on race day, so you feel a bit of the atmosphere in the car. It would be fantastic to get another win and now that I’ve done it, I know it can be done again. We just have to work hard, maximise every opportunity and see what we can do.”
Dick Bennetts, Team Principal, said: “Brands Hatch was an excellent way to respond to the challenges we faced at Donington and everybody in the team should be very proud of what was achieved that weekend. As good as that was though, it’s in the past now and we have to look ahead to Snetterton and not rest on our laurels. It’s a very different circuit to Brands Hatch, but we’ve had a good number of wins and podiums with the BMW 3 Series there so we have a good idea of what we need to do to be fast again.”
