BTCC Silverstone 2023 | 5 talking points

1. NAPA’s BTCC Saturday sweep comes to an end at Silverstone

It’s been no secret that in 2023 the best package on the BTCC grid has been the blue and yellow Ford Focuses of NAPA Racing UK. The headlines may have been taken by Ash Sutton’s Sunday form, but you just have to look across the season to see how dominant the team as a whole has been in qualifying. In the eight meetings so far this year, a Ford Focus topped the Saturday time sheets, kicked off by Dan Rowbottom around the season-opening contest around Donington Park’s National layout. Since then, Sutton and Dan Cammish have taken the top spot five and two times respectively.

That run came to an abrupt halt at Silverstone, however. All three of the Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astras had been strong throughout free practice, and when it came to the main event, Mikey Doble managed to fend off the rest of the field and secure the first pole position of his BTCC career. Colin Turkington took second, just 12 hundredths of a second behind the Vauxhall, with his rival championship protagonists filling the remainder of the top five as Tom Ingram and Jake Hill began their attempt to keep the title fight alive until Brands Hatch. Unfortunately, Doble’s dream turned into a nightmare even before the lights went out for the start of race one. A miscommunication meant that the Astra driver thought there were to be two formation laps, and as he drove off the rest of the field stayed put. All he could do was pull around to the back of the grid, with the race starting as he rounded the medical car to line up plumb last. He would eventually recover to 11th after a jumbled-up encounter in changeable conditions.

2. Track limits violations wreak havoc at Silverstone

For the vast majority of the BTCC season, the series visits what you would describe as ‘traditional’ British circuits – in that once you go past the white line you’d be better off in a lawnmower rather than a racing car. It’s a stark contrast to when the championship rolls into the home of Grand Prix racing in Britain, as grass is replaced by miles and miles of tarmac runoff. It’s a well-documented fact that a racing driver will try to squeeze every advantage possible when behind the wheel, and if there’s a chance they can shave even a tenth off of their lap time, they’re going to do it – and that’s exactly what happens when you remove the more traditional off-track hazards.

Extra confusion is added when there are inconsistent rules across the lap. Drivers are allowed to run over the kerbs and onto the green run-off at the lap-ending Luffield, but doing similar at the very next corner, Copse, saw the time struck off due to a track limits offence.

Only five of the 27 drivers came away from the two qualifying sessions without at least one lap time being deleted as a result of track limits, with Aron Taylor-Smith the worst offender, losing seven laps across both Q1 and Q2. A total of 62 laps were deleted across the combined 40 minutes of qualifying, and the judging left some drivers questioning the protocols in general.

“The margins at Silverstone are so small and I had three laps disallowed but didn’t really know why,” said NAPA Racing UK’s Dan Cammish. “The simple fact is that the margins are so tight that a judge of fact can’t tell from 200m away if you’ve exceeded track limits and it means you end up having to try and drive within yourself more in order to avoid getting a penalty. It’s not just because I lost a place on the grid, but more the principle of how the rules are applied, and how we can improve things going forwards.”

3. Hill judges Silverstone weather to perfection but title hopes slip away

With rain starting to fall on the grid ahead of race one, it was a case of deja vu all over again. As has happened surprisingly regularly this season, the race was decided by who made the right call for wet weather tyres. Jake Hill took the gamble to fit wets on the grid, while Sutton and Ingram remained on the slick rubber. Hill’s decision was proven to be right from the very first corner, launching into the lead and never being challenged.

Ingram and Sutton would plummet down the field, eventually pitting to fit wets but neither could get close to the points and had to settle for 22nd and 23rd respectively. While two of the championship contenders struggled, Andrew Watson once again showed his quality in low grip settings, holding second for the majority of the race in a close-fought fight with Dan Rowbottom’s Ford. Rowbottom would eventually get past on lap 19, with the pair holding on to complete the podium by the chequered flag.

A second victory for Jake Hill seemed to be a formality in race two before a safety car to clear debris bunched up the field in the closing stages threw all of his work in gapping the chasing pack straight out of the window. Suddenly, the Laser Tools BMW began dropping down the order with a turbo boost issue, eventually finishing 20th after contact and a spin. A last-race recovery to eighth would not be enough to keep Hill within reach of the top of the table, and all he can do at Brands Hatch is overthrow Ingram for the ‘best of the rest’ title.

4. Sutton & Ingram complete champions' drives

Starting from the 11th and 12th row of the grid for race two thanks to the morning’s weather-related drama, it looked like a damage limitation effort awaited for both Ash Sutton and Tom Ingram, especially considering the super quick BMW of Jake Hill was sitting on pole position after his race one triumph. A mighty drive ensued, with both the Ford Focus and Hyundai i30 carving their way through the field, showing why the two have been the class of the field in recent years.

With Hill dropping down after the BMW’s pace disappeared following the safety car, the prospect of a trophy was suddenly on the cards for Sutton. After working his way up into third, despite starting 23rd on the grid, Sutton suddenly found himself with a sniff at the win – and that was all the championship leader needed, finding his way past Aron Taylor-Smith at Copse with just two laps to go to secure his tenth victory of the year. While Sutton would have hoped to have made huge gains in his title aspirations, Tom Ingram was hanging on to his coat-tails as best he could. It was evident that the reigning champion was desperate to keep Sutton in his sights, lunging up the inside at Luffield on a number of occasions. Ingram would come home third, keeping his title hopes alive that little bit longer.

The two would pull off a similar feat in race three following another top 12 grid reversal. There was a clear difference in tactics being employed by the duo, with Tom Ingram throwing caution to the wind in a bid to get as far ahead of his rival as possible. Sutton meanwhile was much more calculated, taking no risks and picking his moves carefully. What was surprising was the fact it took the Ford man four laps to pass his NAPA teammate Dan Rowbottom, and when he did there was no rolling over. Sutton explained post-race that he told the team he didn’t want to force Rowbottom to give up a podium result due, in part, to the comfortable lead he held in the points standings. Ingram and Sutton completed the podium behind Colin Turkington, who took BMW’s 150th win in the BTCC, surviving a post-race investigation for a potential grid infringement.

5. Match Point Sutton, Cook retains Independent crown

Off the back of two outstanding drives from the leaders in the points table, the championship fight rolls onto Brands Hatch in two weeks’ time. For the first time in a very long time – longer than this writer can remember – only two drivers head into the final round of the year with a shot at the title. With just 67 points left on the table, all Sutton needs to do to secure a record-equalling fourth crown in the first race at Brands Hatch is ensure Ingram doesn’t outscore him by more than one. With the reigning champion needing to overturn a 45-point margin, it may seem a foregone conclusion, but this is the BTCC and anything can, and often does, happen.

While Sutton may have been dominant in the overall standings this season, that pales in comparison to the way Josh Cook has controlled the Independents table. Cook claiming the 2023 trophy was somewhat of a formality going into Silverstone, and he goes into Brands Hatch with the pressure well and truly off as a now two-time Independents champ. His team, One Motorsport, also leads the Independent Teams standings but has just 27 points over Power Maxed Racing.

NAPA Racing UK also holds an all-but unassailable margin of 119 points in the Teams’ standings over Team BMW, while BMW holds a slender 19-point lead over Ford in the Manufacturer’s standings. Finally, Andrew Watson heads to Brands Hatch in prime position to come away with Jack Sears Trophy honours, holding an 18-point lead over teammate Mikey Doble.

There now remain only two weeks and three races in the 2023 BTCC season, and while it may not have provided a classic ‘all to play for’ season finale that we’ve become accustomed to in recent years, there’s certainly something special about seeing a top driver on form in an outstanding car. As Paul O’Neill said as ITV went off the air, after his performances this season – including the outstanding drive in race two this weekend – Sutton absolutely deserves to lift the trophy at Brands Hatch, and if something was to get in the way of a fourth title, it’ll be slightly disappointing.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images