Round 8 of the 2026 British Touring Car Championship season gets underway this weekend at the fast and formidable Croft Circuit. The 2.13 mile circuit has a bit of everything, with the high speed high commitment corners like the Jim Clark Esses, to the tight and twisty Complex and Hairpin to end the lap. So lets get up to speed with all the latest stories and look at who could be the King of Croft.
Will Croft remain a BMW Stronghold?
The West Surrey Racing BMW’s have historicly been a force to be reckoned with at the Darlington circuit. Colin Turkington is still labled as the undisputed King of Croft with 15 wins to his name throughout his BTCC career. Croft is regarded as a circuit which does slightly favour Rear Wheel Drive machinery, so could Rainford, DeLeon and Gilbert excell this weekend?
Last year, it was Rainford and DeLeon’s first visit to the circuit behind the wheel of BTCC machinery and the pair were locked into an intense Jack Sears Trophy battle. DeLeon looked more impressive at the circuit in 2025, claiming a sixth place finish in race one followed by a third in race two. However, DeLeon would retire from race three. Rainford managed to claim an eigthth place finish in race one which he improved to sixth for race two. Race three saw Rainford roughed up down to 13th. With more BTCC experience under Rainford and DeLeon’s belts, and a good allocation of boost, expect to see them up the front this weekend.
Team Vertu looking for bounce back weekend at Croft
Team Vertu will be looking to have a bounce back weekend at Croft after a difficult Donington Park GP. Tom Ingram took pole position and race one victory last year at Croft whilst also setting the race lap record at the venue. He also took a second place in the reverse grid race. His teammate Tom Chilton also had a strong day, taking a fifth, second and eigthth. Senna Proctor, who is now part of the NAPA Racing team, managed two podium finishes in races one and three.
Whilst Ingram’s championship dreams seem to fade away, he will be keen to fend off the attack from Dan Cammish for second place in the drivers standings.
The championship pictures heading into the weekend
Ash Sutton looks to now have one hand on a fifth BTCC drivers title with a gap of 98 points heading into Croft. Ingram will be looking backwards rather than forwards as he is under pressure from Cammish as the pair sit five points apart. Adam Morgan is probably the form driver in the championship currently after two wins at Donington Park last time out. He sits fourth in the standings on 222 points. Ricky Collard rounds out the top five in the overall standings with 202 points to his name.
Independent Drivers Standings
Mikey Doble now has some daylight between himself and the rest of the field in the Independent Drivers championship. The LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Audi driver sits on 294 points and has claimed five class victories in his 2026 campaign so far. Behind him, it gets extremely close between three drivers. DeLeon is in second place with 264 points, Gordon Shedden is third with 263 points and Charles Rainford is fourth with 260 points. Whilst those three will be looking to do battle with eachother, they will also be looking to close in on Mikey Doble as he continues to impress in his Audi.
Jack Sears Trophy
Dexter Patterson looks all but set to claim the 2026 Jack Sears Trophy. The Scottish driver sits 111 points clear of the closest active competitor after James Dorlin dropped out and was replaced with Dan Lloyd. Patterson has put together a brilliant campaign in 2026. Taking 12 wins in the Jack Sears class and also two independent wins so far this season.
Lewis Selby could move up to third in the standings this weekend as he sits 34 points behind Dorlin’s total. Nicholas Hamilton and Sam Osbourne are also locked into a close battle. Hamilton is fourth in the standings currently with 230 points, clear of Osbourne’s total of 221 by nine.
When is the BTCC on and what support races will there be this weekend?
BTCC action will get underway on Saturday morning at 10:15 for practice. Qualifying is scheduled to begin at 14:05 and the Race to Pole will get underway an hour later at 15:05.
Sundays action will commence with a pit walk about which starts at 10:30. BTCC Race one will get started at 12:10. Race two begins at 14:30 and race three will be the penultimate one of the day and starts at 17:15.
In terms of support races, the British F4 Championship will be providing entertainment throughout the day as well as both Porsche championships, Carrera Cup and Sprint Challenge.
Keep an eye out on our BMM website and social media channels for updates throughout the day.
