British motorsport action heats up!
With the stunning summer weather, motorsport is back on track through the British Isles and the British Championships are back! For the latest events click here to view the events finder
Paul makes swift work of restart
The British Autotest Championship got back underway with the second round being held in glorious sunshine. 14 competitors challenged themselves on the Nick Ayre Memorial event with tricky courses testing the best autotesters in the country.
Stunt driving supremo Paul Swift guided his Mini around the cones in fine style to clinch maximum points – putting himself into a joint lead with Malcolm Livingston. Linvingston won the opening round but couldn’t match an on-form Swift.
Chris Chapman and Dave Mosey enjoyed a day long dual with the pair finishing in third and fourth while Charlie Lower rounded out the top five and claimed the Junior honours.
The next round is set to be held by the Hartlepool and District Motor Club in September.
Turkington takes charge at the top
The 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is beginning to take shape with Colin Turkington extending his advantage at the top of the standings following the second event of the season at Brands Hatch.
Whilst the exciting showcase of races provided three different winners, Turkington took a top five treble to preserve his unblemished scoring record so far this season.
Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Dan Cammish brilliantly won the opener around the legendary 2.43-mile Grand Prix circuit – seemingly banishing his demons from 2019’s last gasp title heartbreak – before misfortune returned for the Yorkshireman, culminating in a zero score for the remainder of the day.
Team BMW star Turkington won the second bout, before team-mate Tom Oliphant produced a memorable maiden triumph in a frenetic finale.
The next round of the BTCC will be held at Oulton Park (22-23 August).
Verstappen breaks Mercedes strangle-hold
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Formula 1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone.The Dutchman held off Lewis Hamilton and Valterri Bottas to become the first non-Mercedes driver to win a race in 2020.
Starting from the second row of the grid, Verstappen passed Racing Point’s Nico Hulkenberg on turn one and was soon leading the race after a move on Bottas around Luffield. Despite increasing pressure from Hamilton, Verstappen held off the Mercedes duo to take his first race win since Brazil last year and Red Bull’s first victory at Silverstone since 2012.
A late-race surge from Hamilton saw him pass Charles Leclerc and Mercedes teammate Bottas to claim second place – equalling the number of podium finishes of Michael Schumacher in the process. Bottas’ third-place finish is the second time in three years that the Fin has failed to convert a Silverstone pole into a win.
Britain’s Lando Norris finished ninth overall, with George Russell in 18th.
The 2020 Formula 1 World Championship continues next weekend with the Spanish Grand Prix (13 – 16 August).
Ilott on top on home soil
Motorsport UK Academy Team UK member Callum Ilott put the frustrations of the British Grand Prix behind him to control the Formula 2 Feature Race from start to finish, and emphatically snatch the championship lead from his fellow Ferrari junior Robert Shwartzman during the 70th Anniversary weekend.
The young Brit’s weekend got off to a flyer as he thundered off the line when the lights went out, but arguably, the key to his victory was tyre management. Ilott finished nearly nine seconds ahead of Christian Lundgaard, whose visibly degraded Pirellis prevented him from mounting any form of serious assault.
The top three remained unchanged from qualifying, as fellow Brit Jack Aitken secured his first podium of the season at his home race in third.
Illott will look to continue his impressive run of form in Spain next weekend (15-16 August).