Doble takes first BTCC win to deny NAPA Racing UK hat-trick at Snetterton

Mikey Doble held off Ash Sutton in the final British Touring Car race of the day at Snetterton to claim his first win in the series, denying NAPA Racing UK a clean sweep of all three races in the process.

Dan Cammish was victorious in Race 1 for the Ford squad, dominating from pole position, although he had to resist pressure from Tom Ingram early on. Smart use of his TOCA Turbo Boost (TTB) allocation, however – using one on the second lap, then two more again later on as Ingram faced a challenge from Sutton – allowed him to cross the like 4.307s ahead of the Team Vertu Hyundai driver.

Sutton started sixth after technical issues in qualifying, but wasted no time moving forward and was up to third before the end of the first lap. He pressured Ingram for second, and the pair made contact on the last lap, with Sutton finding his way by briefly before ceding the position.

Daniel Rowbottom made it three NAPA Ford Focus STs in the top four after getting by Team Vertu’s Adam Morgan early on, with Morgan dropping to sixth by race end behind Restart Racing’s Dan Lloyd. Tom Chilton (Team Vertu) and Chris Smiley (Restart Racing) made it five Hyundais in the top-10, with Doble and Brands Hatch Race 2 winner Daryl DeLeon completing that top 10 for West Surrey Racing.

The first race of the day set the tone for what would be a difficult day for Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, with Gordon Shedden taking a hefty hit from Un-Limited Motorsport’s Max Hall at the final corner, forcing him to retire with suspension damage, while Aron Taylor-Smith had contact with reigning champion Jake Hill that forced the West Surrey Racing BMW to retire.

RACE 1 RESULTS

The second race of the day was a much closer affair at the front, with Rowbottom (No. 32, above) heading home Morgan by just 0.355s.

Rowbottom started fourth on the grid by virtue of his Race 1 finishing position, but was the highest-placed driver on the grid to use the soft tire – which must be used by every driver in one race out of the three at each race meeting – which gave him a decent pace advantage over those around him.

Conversely, Cammish, who’d used the soft tire in Race 1, tumbled from pole right away, with both Sutton and Ingram getting by.

Ingram didn’t stay ahead for long though, with a run wide at the first turn on the second lap resulting in a brush with the barriers and a retirement. That moved Rowbottom to second behind Sutton – also on the hard tires – with him moving past his teammate to the lead as the Brundle/Nelson chicane on lap 3.

Lloyd had also made his way past Sutton and had begun to make a case for the lead, taking it briefly on lap 8, only for Rowbottom to quickly retaliate. The battle had allowed Morgan, who’d passed Sutton for third in the meantime, to close up to the lead pair, and he got by Lloyd for second into Riches on lap 10.

Despite Morgan’s best efforts, he had to settle for second behind Rowbottom who ended a 721-day winless streak, while his teammate Chilton made good use of the soft tires to advance to third late on at the expense of Lloyd.

Lloyd’s teammate Smiley finished fifth, while Doble survived a trip across the grass between Brundle and Nelson to finish sixth. Josh Cook (One Motorsport), Sam Osborne (NAPA Racing UK), and Charles Rainford (WSR) finished seventh, eighth, and ninth, while Sutton faded to 1th by the end of the 12 lap race.

RACE 2 RESULTS

Sixth was drawn for the partial reversed grid for the final race of the day, putting Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing’s Doble on pole ahead of Smiley, but Smiley failed to make the start of the race due to an electric issue.

The clear space beside him on the front row and soft tires put Doble’s Vauxhall Astra in a strong position right away, but his advantage was seemingly undone right away when the safety car was brought out at the end of the first lap after One Motorsport’s Stephen Jelly spun into the barriers at Oggies.

When the race resumed on lap 6 – the race being extended from 12 to 15 laps as a result – Doble had the Hyundais of Lloyd and Morgan behind him, but with both on hard tires, they weren’t able to mount a serious challenge.

Cook, however, having started seventh on softs, was up to fourth, and passed both Hyundais on the first lap of the restart. Sutton had also found his way past Lloyd on lap 6, and took second off Cook three laps later.

He then set about hounding Doble for the lead, taking 0.885s out of him on lap 11, but Doble remained resolute out in front and gapped Sutton’s Ford once more.

He eventually crossed the line 0.77s ahead of Sutton, with Cook hanging on for third. Tom Ingram was a fine fourth having started 24th on the 25-car grid after his earlier retirement, with Sam Osborne taking a season-best result of fifth.

Following a 19th place start on the grid after dropping back on the hard tires in Race 2, Cammish fought back to finish sixth ahead of Rainford, while Hill finally scored a top 10 in eighth, his weekend being hampered by a dismal qualifying and his Race 1 incident.

Ronan Pearson finished ninth for Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, while Aiden Moffat took tenth, salvaging a good result to end his day after starting it with disqualification from Race 1 after exceeding the boost time per lap.

RACE 3 RESULTS