NAPA Racing UK star extends championship lead as BTCC heads to Oulton Park

Three different winners from three thrilling races at Snetterton further demonstrated the competitive nature of the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, as the country’s biggest and best motorsport spectacle now heads to Oulton Park for Rounds 10, 11 and 12 this weekend (6/7 June).

Ash Sutton (NAPA Racing UK - Ford) sits 57 points atop the drivers' standings after another impressive display at the Norfolk venue, extending his advantage over reigning champion Tom Ingram (Team VERTU - Hyundai). The four-time champion holds four of nine race victories so far this season, having missed the podium once in the opener last time out.

WSR's Charles Rainford opened proceedings with a commanding lights-to-flag victory in the day’s first bout, claiming his second career win and ending BMW's wait for a 2026 triumph. Ingram and Daryl De Leon (WSR - BMW) completed the podium for a fine double rostrum for the Surrey-based squad.

Sutton then produced a masterclass in Race 2, scything through the field from tenth on the grid before capitalising on Ingram's retirement, confirmed post-race as an alternator failure, to take his fourth victory of the campaign and streak clear at the head of the standings.

Race 3 provided one of the drives of the season so far, as Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport's Gordon Shedden claimed his 54th career victory and seventh at the Norfolk circuit. The three-time champion fended off the relentless pressure from both Sutton and Ingram in a stunning display of defensive driving, with Ingram subsequently handed a ten-second time penalty for track limits breaches and dropping to eighth.

The weekend was rounded off by one of the most emotional moments in recent BTCC memory, as Nic Hamilton (Team VERTU - Hyundai) claimed the Jack Sears Trophy for the Snetterton rounds to scenes of extraordinary celebration, joined on the rostrum steps by three champions boasting nine titles between them, not bad company on your first career podium.

Now, the BTCC leaves the flat and fast Snetterton 300 behind and heads to one of the most picturesque and challenging venues on the calendar, the 2.23-mile Oulton Park Island Circuit. The Cheshire venue has been a BTCC staple for decades, its undulating, flowing layout placing heavy demands on both drivers and machinery alike.

Cheshire Challenges

Oulton Park has been a happy hunting ground for reigning champion Ingram in recent years, the Team VERTU driver boasting more victories at the circuit than any other current competitor with four in the last five years. BMW lead the way as a manufacturer with five victories over the same period, with the Bavarian marque buoyant after a Snetterton victory from Rainford.

Yet for all Ingram's circuit mastery, championship leader Sutton has matched him stride for stride when it comes to podium finishes, with both men claiming seven rostrum visits at Oulton Park in the last five years. The four-time champion may not have converted those into as many victories as his rival, but you cannot rule out the man who currently has eight out of a possible nine podiums in 2026.

One man who will be hoping to make his presence felt on home soil is Adam Morgan (Cataclean Plato Racing - Mercedes). The local favourite has four podiums at Oulton Park in the last five years, and his squad will be desperate to go one better this time around. Mercedes remains the only manufacturer yet to take an outright race victory in 2026, despite Daniel Rowbottom’s (Cataclean Plato Racing - Mercedes) Qualifying Race triumph at the season opener at Donington Park.

Ingram arrives holding both the qualifying and race lap records at the venue, having taken pole last year by a commanding 0.473 seconds. Trailing Sutton by 57 points, if there is one circuit on the calendar where the reigning champion can begin to claw back that deficit, this is it.

TV, Timetables and Tickets

Complimenting the tin top racing will be a sensational line-up of support series, as the Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain, The MINI CHALLENGE, The Classic Touring Car Racing Club and the Scottish Legends Championship complete the schedule of exciting races.

BTCC will be wowing the crowds both trackside and at home, with Saturday's 'Race to Pole' and the earlier qualifying session being streamed live via ITV Sport's YouTube Channel from 1355, before ITV4's seven-and-a-half-hour race day broadcast gets underway at 1140 on Sunday.

Remember, continuing what started for the first time in the championship's history in 2025, the BTCC is being broadcast globally with every race being streamed live in 2026 via the BTCC YouTube Channel, whilst fans in North America can watch the action on the Racer Network. Look out for the races on Sunday starting at 1225, 1455 and 1720 (BST).

There's no place like being there of course, and fans can purchase tickets in advance or on the gate throughout the weekend – visit here for more details.