Max Buxton battled back from illness to finish on the cusp of the points-paying positions in all three 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship contests at Oulton Park (6/7 June).

The Speedworks Corolla Racing driver arrived at the Cheshire circuit for the fourth meeting of the season hoping to hit the ground running, however a viral infection stopped him in his tracks on Saturday.

Having been trackside throughout Friday, the 20-year-old woke up Saturday morning feeling unwell and after being checked over by the BTCC Medical Team, he was deemed unfit to contest Practice, Qualifying and the Qualifying Race.

Spending the entirety of Saturday resting in his motorhome, the Lancashire racer thankfully felt much better on race day and after being seen by doctors in the morning, he was given the all-clear to compete.

With zero track running prior to race one, Buxton started the opening encounter from the back of the grid and gave a good account of himself as he progressed up the order to take the chequered flag in 18th.

Buxton then matched his season-best result in the remaining two races as he valiantly fought his way forward to finish one place shy of scoring points for the first time this year.

Max Buxton: “It’s been a rollercoaster weekend but to have had the opportunity to race in the end and finish all three races is a positive. It just would have been nice to go into the summer break with some points.

“I felt absolutely fine at the track on Friday but that changed when I woke up Saturday. I could barely move, was hot and cold at the same time, so it was the right decision to sit out. I ended up sleeping all the way through qualifying!

“Thankfully I felt much better on race day but I knew I had an uphill battle ahead of me, especially as I had no reference with the car, etc. We made the best of it though and managed to match our best result of the season twice.

“It’s clear we’ve got some work to do and thankfully we now have the summer break to dig down into where we need to improve. We’ll do just that and then hopefully kick on in six weeks’ time at Thruxton.”

The 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season continues after its annual summer break at Thruxton (25/26 July).