Ronan Pearson claimed his first ever victory in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship after an impressive drive from reverse grid pole position at Brands Hatch this afternoon (Sunday).
Pearson didn’t make the strongest getaway in his Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS Hyundai, losing the lead off the line to the fast starting Vauxhall of Aron Taylor-Smith. But the young Scotsman made his intent clear with a decisive move to get back past the Irishman at Clearways as lap one drew to a close.
From there, Pearson produced a composed performance to lead the remainder of the race. He was able consistently able to build and manage the gap to Taylor-Smith behind and looked like an experienced runner at the head of the pack.
Whilst Pearson pulled away at the front, there was a fierce fight for the remaining spots on the podium, with Taylor-Smith holding position for much of the race. His bid for the rostrum came to an end just a handful of laps from the end when Tom Chilton produced a bold overtake at Paddock Hill Bend to seize second place, with Ashley Sutton following him straight through.
Chilton’s move ensured a one-two for the Hyundais whilst Sutton’s charge to the podium ensure that, whilst he hasn’t yet won a race in 2024, he has stood on the podium in every race.
The podium fight also featured the Toyota of Aiden Moffat for much of the race, but the Donington Park race victor was forced to retire with a technical issue around the half way point. This came moments after Tom Ingram, who’d led the standings heading into today, had to drop out of major contention with a puncture.
Dan Cammish ran strongly in his NAPA Racing UK Ford throughout the race, but was unable to hold back teammate Sutton as the latter came flying through the field. Cammish ended up fifth, just ahead of Daniel Rowbottom in another of the Ford Focus STs after a relatively lonely finish to the race.
The next close group of cars was headed over the line by Andrew Watson’s Toyota. He was just three tenths ahead of today’s double winner Colin Turkington who fought hard to move up from 11th in a hotly contested midfield pack. Rob Huff and Adam Morgan completed the top-10.
Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Brands Hatch, Race 3
- Ronan Pearson, Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS, Hyundai i30N
- Tom Chilton, Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS, Hyundai i30N, +3.655s
- Ashley Sutton, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus ST, +4.479s
- Aron Taylor-Smith, Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing, Vauxhall Astra, +4.679s
- Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus ST, +5.748s
- Daniel Rowbottom, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus ST, +8.077s
- Andrew Watson, TOYOTA GAZOO RACING UK, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +13.216s
- Colin Turkington, Team BMW, BMW 330e M Sport, +13.552s
- Rob Huff, TOYOTA GAZOO RACING UK, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +14.500s
- Adam Morgan, Team BMW, BMW 330e M Sport, +15.344s
Click here for full results and timings from this weekend.