The British Touring Car Championship’s fastest circuit, Thruxton, lies in wait for WSR as the reigning series title-holders continue their 2025 season this weekend.
With nine victories at the Hampshire circuit, where the speed average is more than 110mph in qualifying, the team from nearby Sunbury-on-Thames are expecting a strong home support for its four BMW 330i M Sport drivers.
Reigning champion Jake Hill scored a double victory at Thruxton in his BMW last year and the Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport driver is aiming to challenge at the front of the field after a challenging Snetterton round.
The Kent racer, who took a win and a second-place finish at Brands Hatch in May, is third in the standings with almost a third of the season gone and has the memory of his first BTCC triple-podium in 2021 at Thruxton to spur him on.
LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR’s Aiden Moffat was one of the fastest drivers at Brands Hatch as he brilliantly drove from 20th on the grid to finish fifth in Race Two.
The Edinburgh racer built on that result to score his best qualifying result of 2025 last time out at Snetterton, and was a podium-finisher at Thruxton in 2023.
His team-mate Charles Rainford broke his victory duck at Brands Hatch; becoming the first driver in 21 years to mount the top step of the podium within his first six BTCC starts.
The Horsham racer, who is second in the Jack Sears Trophy points, knows how it feels to win at Thruxton, having done so in the Carrera Cup GB in 2023.
Like Charles, WSR’s Daryl DeLeon has also become a first-time winner in 2025; the 19-year-old from Cambridgeshire triumphing on his 50th BTCC start in Race Two at Brands Hatch.
Daryl leads the Jack Sears Trophy standings by seven points thanks to two class wins from the nine races so far and is out to continue his run of scoring in the category in every race so far in 2025.
HOW TO WATCH
While all races will be broadcast in HD on ITV4 from 1100 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 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 Thruxton the hard-compound Goodyear will be the only tyre owing to the high-speed nature and abrasive track surface experienced by all cars.
WHAT THEY SAID…
Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport: “Thruxton brings a unique challenge, but one I really enjoy. We had great success here last year with two wins, but this circuit takes a lot of confidence to get right. After the last round, we know we have a lot to focus on but the team has been working hard behind the scenes with the BMW to hopefully get us back to where we should be.”
Aiden Moffat, LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR: “We’ve had some good pace at times so far this year, in particular at Brands Hatch, but a few small factors have put us off-course at some time or another at each track. Snetterton was a sign that qualifying results are going in the right direction and that’s a trend we’re looking to keep up at Thruxton; a track where I’ve been on the podium before and where I know we should have a well-balanced BMW in race trim.”
Charles Rainford, LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR “It’s been a bit back-and-forth so far but we come to Thruxton with a race win, a top-10 spot in the championship and second in the Jack Sears Trophy so I’d say we’re on target for where we hoped to be. We’ve had a good balance from the BMW over the past two events and that should count for a lot around Thruxton’s high-speed corners, while the good traction should give a good slingshot out of the chicane and the Complex as the races draw on and tyre-management become important.”
Daryl DeLeon, WSR: “I can’t believe we’re just short of a third of the way through the season already. We’ve had some great results so far, like the win at Brands Hatch, and it’s good to be ahead in the Jack Sears Trophy – which was a clear target to win from the moment I joined WSR –, but there have been a few frustrations too. If we can come out on the front foot in FP1 with a good balance, I’m sure we can have a strong weekend.”
Dick Bennetts, Team Principal: “Thruxton always throws up close racing plus the odd surprise, but in general it’s tended to favour front-wheel-drive cars due to the track characteristics. The lack of an option tyre at Thruxton takes out one of the variables we’ve been dealing with in the opening three events and means that if you don’t maximise your potential in qualifying, it can be very hard to turn your weekend around. We had a tough time at Snetterton, but we’re working hard to address that and will be out to score every point we can with all four BMWs this weekend.”
