Charles Rainford mastered the warm conditions at Snetterton to claim his second career victory in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship in the first race of the weekend this afternoon (Sunday). The WSR driver converted from pole after he crossed the line first in the qualifying race.
Rainford led away from pole position in his BMW 330i M Sport after getting a good launch off the line. Josh Cook slotted into second behind him in his Speedworks Corolla Toyota, with Tom Ingram following close behind in third. It didn’t take long for the reigning champion to send his Team VERTU Hyundai i30N up the inside of Cook into Hamilton to claim second place.
Behind, the fast-starting Daryl De Leon set about pressuring the NAPA Racing UK Ford of Dan Cammish for fourth, after the BMW jumped the Cataclean Plato Racing Mercedes of Daniel Rowbottom at the start. Ash Sutton, who started from the back of the grid, quickly set about slicing his way through the field, moving up to 13th by the end of lap one.
With track temperatures soaring, Rainford was able to control the pace out front, slowly increasing his gap to Ingram behind, with Cook following the leading pair. De Leon’s pressuring eventually paid off, as he moved past Cammish to claim fourth, before immediately passing Cook for third, demonstrating the pace of the WSR BMW in the hot conditions.
However, there weren’t enough laps left to claw the gap down to Ingram, while his stablemate Rainford claimed a controlled victory, followed by Ingram and De Leon. Josh Cook held on for fourth, followed by the leading NAPA Racing UK Ford of Cammish. Rowbottom secured sixth, with Tom Chilton in seventh for Team VERTU. Ricky Collard made up some early places to cross the line in eighth, while James Dorlin and Ash Sutton rounding out the top 10.
The championship leader found his progress stalled with his lack of boost, crossing the line in eleventh, but was promoted to tenth after his teammate Sam Osborne was disqualified for a boost infringement.
Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Snetterton, Race 1
- Charles Rainford, WSR, BMW 330i M Sport
- Tom Ingram, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N, +3.917s
- Daryl De Leon, WSR, BMW 330i M Sport, +8.379s
- Josh Cook, Speedworks Corolla Racing, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +9.872s
- Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus Titanium, +10.226s
- Daniel Rowbottom, Cataclean Plato Racing, Mercedes A35 Saloon, +11.593s
- Tom Chilton, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N, +12.681s
- Ricky Collard, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N, +14.839s
- James Dorlin, Restart Racing, Hyundai i30N, +16.274s
- Ash Sutton, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus Titanium, +19.497s
Click here for full results and times from this weekend's event.