Last weekend saw the British Touring Car Championship head north for the BTCC Croft Rounds 2018, and North Yorkshire provided a beautifully sunny few days for the teams and drivers, ensuring that the crowds were out for some fantastic racing. As normal, the support series included the Clio Cup, British F4, the Ginetta GT4 Supercup and the Ginetta Juniors.
The first Free Practice session saw Tom Ingram top the times from Rob Austin and Ashley Sutton, who seemed to be benefiting from a Team BMR Subaru that seemed to have picked up some pace. Jason Plato, who had recently been closer to the back of the grid than the front, was also benefiting from the Subaru improvement, with a fourth place in the session.
The form continued into the second Free Practice session, with Sutton topping the times from Sam Tordoff and Josh Cook, and in qualifying, Sutton and Plato took the first two spots on the grid with Andrew Jordan in third. There was clearly a marked improvement in the performance of the Subarus.
The scorching sunshine continued into Sunday, making it a lovely day for those spectating, and no doubt remarkably hot for the drivers in the cars. The first race saw the Subaru dominance continue, with Sutton and Plato keeping the top two positions through the race. They were joined on the podium by Tom Ingram. Rob Austin’s race ended at the first corner, with an incident that saw his car parked at the side of the track.
The second race was a bit more mixed for the Subarus, with Plato jumping the start and received a drive through penalty, but it was Sutton again who led from start to finish for his second win of the day and the season. This time, it was Tom Ingram and championship leader Colin Turkington who joined him on the podium.
The draw for pole position for the final race saw relatively recent returner to the series, Daniel Lloyd, take the front slot of the grid. Lloyd’s luck continued, as he used the advantage to take the win, with Chilton second and Senna Proctor third.
The results leave Turkington leading the championship from Ingram, with Matt Neal in third, as the teams have their month long summer break at the season’s mid way point. The action starts again at Snetterton at the end of July – with a tyre test in mid July – and in the meantime, here are some photos and videos from Croft.
Race One
Race Two
Race Three
