Restart Racing responded to a difficult previous round at Donington Park with a competitive weekend at Croft, securing three top-eight finishes and ending Sunday with both cars inside the top eight.
The eighth round of the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship represented an important opportunity for the team to regain momentum. Despite unpredictable weather, contrasting tyre strategies and several incidents throughout the field, Chris Smiley and Dan Lloyd consistently moved forward and demonstrated the improving pace of their Hyundai i30 N Fastbacks.
That progress was evident on Saturday. Both drivers lost their fastest qualifying laps to track limits, leaving Chris 13th and Dan 11th on the Race to Pole grid, but they responded by fighting their way into the top ten. Chris finished ninth, with Dan directly behind in tenth, giving the team a positive foundation for Sunday.
Rain arrived around an hour before the opening race, creating uncertainty over whether the wet or dry tyres would be the better option.
Dan committed to the wet tyre, while Chris lined up on the mandatory hard compound. Several other drivers initially chose slick tyres but returned to the pits at the end of the formation lap when the rain intensified. Chris remained on the grid as the only driver prepared to brave the conditions on dry tyres.
The decision did not pay off in the short term. With little grip available, Chris dropped to 15th on the opening lap and 19th on lap two. He continued to circulate in the hope that the circuit would dry or a safety car would close the field, but the conditions remained unsuitable for slick tyres.
Dan made a much stronger start on the wets, moving from tenth to eighth during the opening lap. He remained firmly in the battle for the lower reaches of the top ten until Daryl De Leon forced him wide at the Hairpin on lap five, allowing both De Leon and Dexter Patterson through.
Patterson subsequently spun at the Complex, returning Dan to tenth and placing him in the middle of a close five-car battle. He worked his way back to ninth by the chequered flag, but a five-second track-limits penalty dropped him to 13th in the final classification.
Chris finished 22nd after a race dictated by the tyre choice. However, completing the mandatory hard-tyre requirement meant he could attack the remaining two races on the faster soft compound.
With both Restart Racing cars now on soft tyres, Race Two offered an immediate opportunity to respond.
Dan started 13th and quickly passed the hard-tyre-running Mikey Doble. He continued his progress when Sam Osborne ran wide through the Chicane, before an incident ahead brought him to the edge of the top ten.
Chris produced an excellent opening lap from 22nd, gaining four positions before continuing to work his way through the field. Passes on Osborne and De Leon carried him into 16th, putting a points finish firmly within reach.
Dan moved into the top ten by passing Lewis Gilbert on lap seven and was promoted to ninth following another incident ahead. His attention then turned to Josh Cook, who was defending on the slower hard tyre.
The battle was complicated by a group of cars closing from behind, leaving Dan with little margin for error. On lap 14, he committed to a move at Tower Bend. Contact occurred as Dan completed the pass, with Cook suffering a broken toe link that forced him to retire. Dan continued in seventh.
Chris also maintained his progress through the closing stages. After moving into the points, he passed Adam Morgan on the final lap to complete an impressive recovery from 22nd to 14th.
Dan’s seventh place delivered the team’s first top-eight finish of the weekend, while Chris had gained eight positions to ensure both Restart Racing cars scored points.
After the progress made in Race Two, the final contest presented Restart Racing with an opportunity to turn an encouraging weekend into a strong one.
Two-time BTCC champion James Thompson drew number ten in the reverse-grid draw, promoting Dan to fourth on the grid. Dan still needed to use the hard tyre, while Chris started 14th on the soft compound.
Chaos unfolded almost immediately. A multi-car incident at Turn One eliminated several cars and triggered a safety-car period at the end of the opening lap. Chris avoided the trouble and climbed to 11th by Hawthorn Bend, while Dan settled into sixth after losing ground to two faster-starting cars.
The safety car remained on the circuit for six laps, with the race extended from 15 to 18 laps. When racing resumed, Dan immediately applied pressure to Charles Rainford. The BMW ran wide exiting the Chicane, allowing Dan to pull alongside down the back straight, but Rainford retained the position.
Chris used the additional grip of the soft tyre to break into the top ten, although a busy period following the restart briefly pushed him back to 12th. He responded by passing De Leon, Patterson and Osborne as he fought his way towards his teammate.
Dan was in the middle of an equally intense battle. After losing positions to Morgan and Cook, he regained ground when contact between Osborne and Rainford allowed him to pass both cars at Tower Bend.
By lap 15, the two Restart Racing cars were running together in seventh and eighth, clear of the immediate pressure behind.
Dan received a five-second track-limits penalty with two laps remaining, reversing the order of the Hyundais. Chris was also handed a penalty on the final lap, although it did not affect his classified position.
Chris therefore finished seventh, with Dan directly behind in eighth. The double top-eight result provided a fruitful end to a weekend in which the team showed clear improvement from Donington Park.
Dan said:
“That’s the weekend finished at Croft, and it was much better than Donington. We made some massive improvements to the car, and it felt much more comfortable for me.“We ran inside the top ten throughout the weekend and came away with seventh in Race Two. We were also running seventh in the final race before the penalty dropped us to eighth, while another penalty took us from ninth on the road to 13th in Race One.
“The car felt mega. We are still struggling slightly with straight-line speed, as are the other Hyundais, so taking that into account, I think we did really well.
“There were some crazy races, but we kept the car in one piece. I’m happy with the progress we made and I’m looking forward to the final two rounds.”
Chris said:
“That’s another challenging weekend finished at Croft. The car felt okay throughout the weekend, and Saturday’s Race to Pole put both cars inside the top ten.“As we left the grid for Race One, it looked as though the circuit was going to dry. Unfortunately, it started raining again as the formation lap began and we were committed to the hard tyre. It was like driving on ice, and we were holding on in the hope of a safety car that never came.
“We started Race Two from 22nd and worked our way up to 14th, before finishing the final race in P7. We have to stay positive because we showed that we could make progress and fight our way forward.
“It was a challenging weekend with the straight-line speed and the way some of the races played out. Silverstone is a circuit where the car has performed well before, so hopefully we can have a stronger weekend there.”
The championship now moves to Silverstone, a circuit with special significance for Restart Racing after the team secured its first outright BTCC victory there last season.
Championship Standings
Following the eigth round:
Drivers’ Championship: Smiley 18th, Lloyd 21st
Teams’ Championship: 7th
Independent Drivers: Smiley 8th, Lloyd 12th
Independent Teams: 4th