The stakes are rising in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship and it’s band of support series as we firmly head into the business end of the season, with titles to be won, legacies to be forged and records to be broken.
While most eyes will be on the various title battles during the penultimate meeting of the season at Silverstone this weekend, there are plenty of other drivers across the series’ outside championship contention who will be aiming to steal the spotlight.
Ahead of the weekend’s action, we’ve picked out one driver in each championship that we feel you should be keeping an eye on:
Ollie Chadwick – Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup
Chadwick has a 100% winning record from his two appearances on the TOCA package so far this season in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, and while adding to that record will be a tough ask, the newly-crowned Challenge champion could make a big impact on his Supercup debut.
The 20 year old certainly has the talent to be an immediate presence towards the front of the field, and with his Challenge exploits being combined with some British GT outings, he should get to grips fast with his new Ginetta G55 and may well be a podium contender.
Jamie Caroline – F4 British Championship
Caroline has been threatening a first victory throughout his maiden single-seater campaign, and the Fortec Motorsports ace will hope he can make his breakthrough this weekend at a circuit he won at twelve months ago on his way to the Ginetta Junior title.
The 17 year old has proven he has the spectacular race-craft and pace required to battle at the front, as highlighted once again last time out at Rockingham with a monster opening lap from eighteenth to eighth, and the aim now is to combine it all into a deserved race victory.
Chris Smiley – Renault UK Clio Cup
While Smiley will have been naturally disappointed to have lost his spot on the BTCC grid part-way through his maiden campaign, the 24 year old has rolled up his sleeves and made an impressive start to his new challenge in the Clios.
In a competitive field the JamSport man has already secured top five results in qualifying and racing across his first two outings, with his great drive from twelfth to fifth last time out showing he has all the attributes to be a thorn in the side of the established front-runners this weekend.
Harry King – Ginetta Junior Championship
A tricky Knockhill weekend aside, King is one of the in-form drivers in the Juniors after taking a breakthrough race victory at Snetterton, before then adding a “proper” win on-the-road last time out at Rockingham to firmly establish himself as a series front-runner.
That came as part of a first ever one-two finish for Elite Motorsport that has put confidence sky high for both team and driver, and with second in the Rookie class a realistic target in the remaining races, King will be striving to add more standout results to his burgeoning résumé.
Tom Oliphant – Porsche Carrera Cup GB
Oliphant has been knocking so hard on the podium door in recent meetings that it surely has to open soon for the reigning Ginetta GT4 Supercup champion, with a hard-fought fourth place finish on each of the last two weekends maintaining his top four championship standing.
Last season Oliphant secured a crucial victory at Silverstone on his way to the Ginetta title, and he’s determined to secure a podium breakthrough at the ‘Home of British Motorsport’ this weekend as his consistent maiden Porsche campaign heads towards its conclusion.
