WSR’s British Touring Car Championship season reaches its halfway point this weekend as the series visits one of the UK’s most picturesque circuits, Oulton Park.
The Cheshire track has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for the reigning double champions, who have won there 19 times – including a triple win and an all-BMW podium in 2023.
That 2023 podium featured Jake Hill, who won twice that day, and the Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport BMW 330i M Sport driver is targeting a return to the top step of the podium to add to the victory he scored at Brands Hatch in May.
The Kent ace, who is fifth in the standings, scored one of his most memorable BTCC victories at Oulton Park last year as he spectacularly passed the long-time leader around the outside on the final lap; a result that set him en route to title success.
LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR’s Aiden Moffat finished second at Oulton Park in 2022, narrowly missing out on victory to the WSR BMW of Stephen Jelley.
The Edinburgh driver has shown excellent racecraft throughout the season and is targeting improved qualifying form to help him move up the Drivers’ points table.
His team-mate, Charles Rainford, continues his rookie season in touring cars at Oulton Park and is aiming to use the renowned cornering ability and low-speed traction of his rear-wheel-drive BMW to put him at the head of the field.
The Brands Hatch race winner also plans to close on the lead of the Jack Sears Trophy, in which he currently lies second.
Jack Sears Trophy leader Daryl DeLeon came to the attention of the BTCC paddock at Oulton Park in 2023 as he scored a double win in the Radical UK Cup, which was supporting the series on a guest basis that weekend.
Two years on, the Cambridgeshire racer is now a BTCC race winner and claimed his first Jack Sears Trophy event victory last time out at Thruxton to head the standings by 19 points from his WSR stablemate Charles.
How to watch
While all races will be broadcast in HD on ITV4 from 1135 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 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 nine seconds on each lap of qualifying and for five laps of Race One. Boost will be available to Jake once he is doing 130kph.
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 Oulton Park 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: “This weekend brings a fresh challenge as we head to Oulton Park – a circuit that’s a complete contrast to the fast, flowing nature of Thruxton. Our BMW 330i M Sport has a strong track record here, and with solid results over the past two years, I’m heading into the weekend confident we can start to get our season back on track. Oulton Park is a fantastic circuit – technical, demanding, and with little margin for error. The season so far hasn’t gone the way we’d hoped, but I’m optimistic this weekend can mark a turning point and allow us to start delivering the results we know we’re capable of.”
Charles Rainford, LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR: “My rookie season has been pretty full-on! It’s been quite a compressed schedule and it feels like you’re hardly out of one weekend when you’re preparing for the next one. We haven’t been able to get back to where we were at Brands Hatch just yet, but we’ve been consistently in and around the top 10 whenever I haven’t been hit or spun around, so if that can be our starting point, we can definitely move forwards. I feel like the BMW will suit Oulton Park, and it should be quite warm over the weekend, which should play into our hands. I’m looking forward to it’”
Daryl DeLeon, WSR: “I’m looking forward to Oulton Park. It’s one of my favourite tracks, but it’s very technical so you have to be very precise with your driving. I’ve had some success at Oulton Park, winning a few times in Radicals and also in a GT3, so I’m very confident heading into this weekend. The aim is to move up a couple of spots in the main championship, which I’m sure is possible with a strong weekend.”
Dick Bennetts, Team Principal: “After a couple of challenging events, we come to Oulton Park, which has traditionally been a circuit where the BMW’s rear-wheel-drive platform has been a very good thing to have. We’ve been on the podium 19 times in the 18 races we’ve done there since moving to the BMW 330i M Sport for 2019 so if we’re going to get ourselves back into the title hunt, there’s no better place to do it.”
