The BTCC Silverstone Rounds 2017 at the weekend definitely felt that autumn had arrived and therefore we were into the final few rounds of the championship. The support races were made up of British Formula Four, the Renault Clio Cup, the Ginetta GT4 Supercup, Ginetta Juniors and the Porsche Carrera Cup, so it was a busy weekend at the Northamptonshire circuit. Saturday saw wet conditions and videos were soon popular on social media showing lightning striking the track, thankfully with no major impact.
After the Subarus continuing to lead the way in Free Practice One, it was Jack Goff who set the pole position time in qualifying ahead of Tom Ingram and Adam Morgan, but it was Jake Hill in fifth position who was the star of the show, taking his Team Hard Volkswagen to its best ever qualifying position.
Race One was not as kind to Jake as qualifying had been and smoke could be seen coming from his car on the green flag lap before a retirement on the second lap. However, it was his team mate Will Burns who had the most dramatic race, with his car taken out by Rob Collard’s BMW after Rob had spun across the grass, and Will ended up being taken to hospital by helicopter. Thankfully, his injuries were limited to broken ribs and bruised lungs. Get well soon, Will.
The race was red flagged after the incident, giving the win to Tom Ingram ahead of Jack Goff and with Adam Morgan in third.
The second race saw Goff win from Ingram this time, with a podium finish for Colin Turkington. The race had plenty of drama again, and Jake Hill managed to cut through the field from the back of the grid to seventeenth position. Ashley Sutton picked up a one second penalty which dropped him from third, and saw him start the final race from the back of the grid.
The final race saw an unexpected win for Matt Neal from Rob Huff – who was standing in for an injured Tom Chilton – and Dave Newsham.
The final rounds of the championship are at Brands Hatch, with Ashley Sutton taking a ten point lead over Colin Turkington to the final weekend.
Here are some photos from Silverstone.
