Thruxton welcomed the Restart Racing squad for Rounds 13, 14, and 15 of the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season, on a Sunday which saw a standout haul of two Independents’ victories and the Jack Sears Trophy for James Dorlin.
While Sunday’s weather started with a shower of rain, spirits were high following a solid Saturday where the Restart Racing Hyundai i30N Fastback’s pace was evident. Chris and James started the day with a 1-2 in Free Practice, and gave themselves a good platform for Sunday’s racing with 12th and 10th-place finishes in the Race to Pole.
By the time tin-top racing was underway, the track was dry and temperatures soared as sun blessed the 2.35-miles of Hampshire tarmac.
James started race one in strong fashion, gaining two positions on the opening tour. However, he soon met an out-of-place Tom Ingram and, despite defending hard, dropped back to ninth. Chris worked hard to stick within reach of a pack that included plenty of direct rivals, and eventually pipped Daryl De Leon at the chicane to bring himself to 10th.
As with Thruxton, the intensity of the race dipped as tyres worse on the abrasive surface. But, both drivers continued pushing in a pack that involved Mikey Doble, James, Chris, De Leon, and Árón Taylor-Smith. As the flag fell, it was two solid points finishes for Restart Racing – though Chris would subsequently drop one place for making an illegal overtake on De Leon.
Race two started well yet-again for James as he climbed two positions on the opening lap, from ninth to seventh. Restart’s #132 kept pushing forwards and capitalised on an Adam Morgan mistake at Church to slip by on the fifth tour. However, Chris’ Sunday started to become a battle as he dropped six places in the first three laps – falling to 17th.
Chris refused to let the situation get the better of him, though, and focused on battling 16th-placed Dexter Patterson through the rest of the race. Towards the front, James held off Morgan and ended in a photo-finish down the main straight. James’ excellent battling rewarded Restart Racing with their first Independents’ victory of 2026, and a career-first for James.
Race three’s reverse-grid characteristic saw James start on pole, joined on the front row by Ingram. The Restart Racing Hyundai saw a fast start off the line, but Ingram got by at the complex with help of contact, despite a hard fight from James. On the other hand, Chris dropped a place as he continued to battle setup quirks from race two. However, there was little he could do as contact from behind took him out of effective contention – and contributed to a safety car that halted running until lap nine.
Once the race resumed with three laps added, James found himself under immediate attack from Ash Sutton and Dan Cammish – who both got by back-to back. Ricky Collard and Senna Proctor were both enjoying charging races, and also used their overspeed to get by on laps 11 and 12. Despite the hardships of Chris’ Sunday, he kept pushing and battled hard for 14th despite earlier contact sending him off once more at the complex. As the flag flew, James took home a good sixth, rewarding Restart Racing with a second Independents’ victory of the day. Chris had also managed to pip Charles Rainford on the final lap, bringing himself to 13th.
James said:
“That’s Thruxton done. Coming away with two independent wins and the Jack Sears as well. Two P6 is and one P9, so really happy.
“Good way to start the second half of the season. Credit to all the guys and girls at Restart Racing for the hard work over the break. So yeah still a bit more to come but really happy with how this weekend’s gone.
“So race one was was pretty tough, struggled with a bit of a bit of understeer all the way through the race. The focus was trying to trying to bag as many points we could to to set the day off right, and we managed to do that with a P9.
“Race two was a bit better. Managed to make three places up at the start and finish P6 [for an] Independent win.
“Race three. We were starting on pole, which was always going to be tough because I think all day really we’ve been just a little bit shy of the top five pace, but I held on to it as much as I could and you know, I made the car as wide as I could as well.
“And we come away with another P6 and Independent win and Jack Sears win as well.”
Chris said:
“That’s a tough Sunday over at Thruxton.
“Race one this morning. Yeah, we had made a few places, finished P10, got a penalty for overtaking a car. Basically to avoid contact, we got a penalty. So yeah we ended up finishing 11th.
“Race two. We made a bit of a set up change in the car and I think we went the wrong way and I felt a little bit lost with where we were and where the setup was with the car.
“Race three car felt really strong, got a great start, was pushing forward on the first lap and the into the last complex on the first lap a car from behind just not really too sure what they were doing there. They didn’t break it seems and just took me and Charles Rainford out of start of the race.
“Got going again, stone last, made my way up, I think it was 12th. Overtook one of the the BMWs, took me off in the complex, went to the back again and pushed my way up the finish P13.
“I think it’s the weekend where it got away from us. You know, it started off so strong yesterday with, with free practice. Car felt great. But yeah, race three there gives me a lot of confidence going towards Knockhill and a track that i really like so yeah looking forward to it”
The result marks James’ best weekend of his Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship career, which also rewarded him with his second Jack Sears Trophy – after claiming one earlier in the campaign at Brands Hatch Indy.
Championship Standings
Following the Thruxton round:
Drivers’ Championship: Smiley 15th, Dorlin 17th
Teams’ Championship: 7th
Independent Drivers: Smiley 5th, Dorlin 6th
Independent Teams: 4th
Jack Sears Trophy: Dorlin 1st