British Trucks Wrap Up 2017 at Brands

Last weekend (4th/5th November) saw the conclusion of the British Truck Racing Championship at Brands Hatch. Saturday morning’s abysmal weather made qualifying a very risky business…

Day 1 Saturday

First out on circuit for qualifying were the Legends Car Championship and the Quaife/Cannons Tin Tops Championship, both championships getting a ten minute qualifying session. The BTRC Div2/1 then hit the black stuff for a thrilling qualifying round. Over thirty trucks were competing for glory over the two divisions, so BTRC fans were in for an action-packed weekend.
Last out for qualifying was the Scrapco/Avon Tyres Intermarques.
The torrential rain stayed well into the afternoon so race one and two for the BTRC saw plenty of incidents.

Race standings for Div1 After Race 1:

1, Ryan Smith, MAN, 11 Laps
2, David Jenkins, MAN, +2.205s
3, Shane Brereton, MAN, +3.902s
4, Stuart Oliver, Volvo, +4.349s
5, Simon Reid, Iveco, +6.997s

Race standings for Div2 After Race 1:

1, Luke Garrett, MAN, 5 Laps
2, Tony Smith, Sisu, +3.456s
3, Mika Mäkinen, Sisu, +7.651s
4, Steven Powell, ERF, +8.332s
5, Adam Bint, Volvo White, +8.988s

Day 2 Sunday

Day two started with a free-for-all grid walk that combined both truck divisions and gave truck racing fans a chance to get up close and personal with these 1,000bhp 12,000cc beasts. Thankfully the weather improved dramatically, drying out the track enough for the racers to put peddle to the metal.
With a full-on itinerary of championship racing there was hardly time to inhale the diesel. Added to the Sunday racing timetable was the Pickup Truck Championship.

The final race of the season saw Ryan Smith celebrate winning the BTRC Division 1 Championship in style with victory in the Grand Final, the race combined Division 1 and 2 machines. Smith fought his way through heavy traffic which was led early on by Luke Taylor followed by Terry Gibbon. At the chequered flag Gibbon and Summerfield completed the winners podium. Luke Garrett won Division 2, ahead of Steve Powell and class 2 champion Mika Mäkinen.

Race 21 (Grand Final standings)

1, Ryan Smith, MAN, 14 Laps
2, Terry Gibbon, MAN, +4.315s
3, Mat Summerfield, MAN, +5.142s
4, Stuart Oliver, Volvo, +5.598s
5, Ray Coleman, MAN, +13.452s

As the sun set over the famous Kent circuit and following on from track race activities, spectators were treated to a spectacular ‘big bang’ fireworks display in conjunction with a Show Truck parade, this ended what has been an action-packed season of truck racing of the British Truck Racing Championship.