The team returned to Brands Hatch Indy Circuit for Sunday’s race day at Round 2 of the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, delivering a weekend of bumper-to-bumper action, recovery drives and a standout Jack Sears Trophy victory for James.
Following a challenging Saturday under the new ‘Race to Pole’ format, both drivers lined up for Sunday’s three races with work to do. Weather conditions added further complexity, with heavy cloud cover throughout the day and intermittent rain creating tricky, ever-changing track conditions.
Race one was run on the soft tyre, with light rain falling on the grid before intensifying as the race got underway. Both drivers made strong starts, with Chris moving forward early and showing impressive race pace once in clear air. A mid-race safety car reset the field, but Chris continued to push, climbing into the top ten before making a decisive move on Aiden Moffat at Druids and later passing Charles Rainford to secure an excellent 8th place finish, also claiming second in the Independents category, narrowly missing out on victory by a few tenths of a second.
James also made early progress in the difficult conditions, working his way into the midfield battle and fighting hard in a tightly packed group. Despite being pushed wide late on, he recovered to finish 15th from 18th on the grid to secure a valuable championship point.
Race two again saw both drivers on the soft tyre, with conditions remaining unpredictable as further rain showers passed over the circuit. Chris made a strong start and climbed as high as 6th before being caught out at Druids, where contact dropped him to the back of the field. Undeterred, he produced a determined recovery drive to fight back through the pack.
Jame’s race followed a similarly impressive trajectory. After dropping positions early on, he began carving his way forward with a series of perfectly executed overtakes, moving into the top ten as the race progressed. A red flag brought the race to an early conclusion, with James classified in 8th and Chris recovering to 12th to score some valuable points.
For race three, both drivers had to switch to the medium tyre, with James starting from pole position following the reverse grid draw. From the start, he launched cleanly and defended strongly against the chasing pack, leading a British Touring Car Championship race for the first time in his career.
Running on the medium tyre against rivals on the faster soft compound, Dorlin produced a composed and determined drive, holding off sustained pressure during the early stages from reigning champion Tom Ingram and four-time champion Ash Sutton. As the race unfolded, the tyre advantage of those around him began to show, but he continued to battle hard, ultimately securing 8th place and, crucially, taking the weekends Jack Sears Trophy victory.
Chris’s race, however, was once again compromised by contact at Druids, this time with the Ford Focus Titanium of Lewis Selby, leaving him unable to compete at the level shown earlier in the day and resulting in an 18th-place finish and a disappointing end to the weekend.
Despite the challenges faced across the weekend, the team fought back strongly from a disappointing weekend at Donington Park, with Chris’s opening race and Jame’s Jack Sears Trophy standing out as a major positive heading into the next round.
James said:
“So that’s a wrap for Brands Hatch. Yesterday was tough with the engine failure, and we were literally starting from the back after qualifying.To come away with the Jack Sears Trophy win, and to have led a race in the British Touring Car Championship for the first time, I’m really, really happy.
It’s great to reward all the guys at Restart Racing for the effort they’ve put in. No one could’ve predicted the engine failure, but everyone dug deep, stayed focused, and now we’re here to reap the rewards.
So full credit to the whole team. Hopefully it’s the first of many, and we can push on for some overall results as well.
Really happy, and now we’ll look to carry this momentum into Snetterton.”
Chris said:
“So that’s an eventful race day here at Brands Hatch. Race one this morning, we made a good bit of progress and finished 8th. We made quite a big change to the car from yesterday into race one, and it definitely felt like a step in the right direction.Race two, we got a good start and were sitting 6th. It was a wet track on dry tyres, and unfortunately coming out of Druids I got pinballed off again. Not ideal, but we stuck in there and came from the back of the grid to finish 12th. It doesn’t sound like much, but after being in the wall at Druids, it was something to salvage.
Race three, we started on the medium tyre and got away well. I was just starting to find a rhythm, but with the mediums we weren’t quite as quick as the cars around us on softs. We were sitting around 12th, 13th, and I think we would have held our own there, but unfortunately, I got turned around at Druids again.
So yeah, one of those weekends where it feels like everything has gone against us, but weekends like this aren’t uncommon in this championship. We’ll regroup and go again at Snetterton in a few weeks’ time.”
The results see the team leave Brands Hatch with valuable championship points and some strong momentum, particularly in the Jack Sears Trophy standings, where James now leads the classification.
With a strong pace across all conditions, the focus now turns to Snetterton, where the team will be aiming to build on this performance and continue their progress up the order.
Championship Standings
Following the second round:
Drivers’ Championship: Smiley 15th, Dorlin 18th
Teams’ Championship: 6th
Independent Drivers: Smiley 7th, Dorlin 8th
Independent Teams: 4th
Jack Sears Trophy: Dorlin 1st