Team BMW’s Colin Turkington has taken his second win of the day as the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship contenders went wheel-to-wheel in the second bout at Snetterton.
The top five in the overall Drivers’ standings occupied the top five positions for the majority of the race, with the only change coming during a last lap showdown following a late safety car period.
The battle simmered rather than reaching boiling point as Turkington produced a commanding victory from Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters’ Tom Ingram, although the latter did well to hang on for second.
“It’s still the same pressure,” said Turkington. “I once again got a good start, and survived the first lap when the pressure was on, but it was really the scrap behind me that allowed me to break free. I saw that Tom [Ingram] was having an almighty race trying to keep the others behind, so I just tried to keep my focus, keep chalking down the laps. I could have done without the safety car at the end, but I managed it well and took home another win – there’s nothing that beats that feeling of winning!
“It’s a lovely place to be out in front – it’s a luxury. The BMW has been ballistic this weekend at Snetterton, so absolute credit to Team BMW for that.
“Race three is about surviving, getting stuck in and still trying to get some really good points. You’ve got to fight for every point, but I’m looking forward to a really good scrap.”
Motorbase Performance’s Rory Butcher had nibbled at Ingram’s Toyota Corolla several times with a significant effort made on the final lap. Butcher made a late late lunge on Ingram at Wilson – leading to contact – which enabled Laser Tools Racing’s Ash Sutton to join the fray. Ingram fended them off as Sutton slipped into third while Butcher fell into the clutches of Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Dan Cammish.
It was Butcher’s turn to take a hit at the final turn as Cammish’s Honda Civic Type R slid into the Ford Focus through Murrays. It was Cammish that lost out, however, as the recovering Jake Hill pipped the Halfords Yuasa Racing car to the line by just 0.047s – breaking the race-long monopoly of the top five contenders.
BTC Racing’s Josh Cook scrapped to seventh ahead of the amazing Ollie Jackson in the Motorbase Ford Focus. Jackson began the contest in 21st and made up ten places in the first few laps, before making further progress in the closing stages. He eventually ran side-by-side with Adam Morgan’s Mercedes over the finish line and claimed eighth place by an incredible 0.003s.
Excelr8 Motorsport’s Chris Smiley completed the top ten order and was further rewarded with reverse grid pole for the final contest later this afternoon.
The battle for the Jack Sears Trophy also intensified as Michael Crees took his second win of the day. The Clever Baggers with BTC Racing driver now leads Bobby Thompson by three points, with Sam Osborne two points further back and Carl Boardley a further point in arrears.
The Team HARD outfit were in the wars again as Jack Goff crashed out of heavily on the exit of turn one on the penultimate lap – bringing about the aforementioned safety car – whilst Nic Hamilton was unfortunately swiped into the barrier following contact from the wayward Audi S3 of Paul Rivett.
2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 2 – Snetterton
1 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW 14 laps
2 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with Ginsters +1.763s
3 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.914s
4 Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Motorbase Performance +3.547s
5 Jake HILL (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +3.742s
6 Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +3.789s
7 Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +4.714s
8 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +4.993s
9 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +4.995s
10 Chris SMILEY (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +5.355s
11 Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +5.989s
12 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +6.712s
13 Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +7.578s
14 Michael CREES (GBR) The Clever Baggers with BTC Racing +8.193s
15 Sam OSBORNE (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +9.060s
16 Tom CHILTON (GBR) BTC Racing +9.577s
17 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +10.747s
18 Glynn GEDDIE (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +10.913s
19 Ethan HAMMERTON (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +11.583s
20 Jack BUTEL (GBR) Carlube TripleR Racing with Mac Tools +12.176s
21 Jessica HAWKINS (GBR) Power Maxed Car Care Racing +12.588s
22 Andy NEATE (GBR) Motorbase Performance +12.861s
23 Paul RIVETT (GBR) GKR TradePriceCars.com +29.398s
24 Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) HUB Financial Solutions with Team HARD +34.317s
25 Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with Team HARD DNF
26 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing NC
27 Jack GOFF (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport DNF
