Restart Racing returned to action this weekend for Round 4 of the 2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton, the fastest circuit on the calendar. Known for its high-speed layout and daunting Church corner, Thruxton always rewards commitment, and both drivers showed plenty of it across a weekend filled with challenges, strategy, and danger.
The team arrived in Hampshire leading the Independent Teams’ Championship and just two points off the lead in the Independent Drivers’ standings. Free practice offered early promise, with both Chris and Dan showing good speed out on track. Chris then set a new lap record in Free Practice 2, while Dan was also inside the top ten to cement our early weekend pace. But qualifying delivered a curveball, as a classic British summer storm soaked the circuit moments before the session. With no previous wet running in the 2025-spec cars, both drivers struggled in the conditions and were left disappointed with Dan qualifying 15th and Chris 17th.
Race one saw both drivers avoid a major early incident that eliminated several cars and brought out an early safety car. Chris moved forward consistently throughout the race, making a number of strong overtakes to finish 12th on the road. Dan also battled his way back from a tough start to climb into the points by the flag. Post-race penalties promoted both drivers up a place, securing a 11th and 13th place finish, and a 2nd and 3rd place result respectively in the Independents’ championship, just behind the fast charging Josh Cook.
The second race followed a similar theme. After a cautious opening lap, both drivers picked off places steadily through the field. Chris ran strongly around the top ten, while Dan gained ground with some clean and well-timed passes. At the chequered flag, Chris finished 10th and Dan 12th, but more post-race disqualifications elevated the pair to 8th and 10th overall. The disqualification for Cook also meant that Chris claimed his fourth Independent win of the season, and the team celebrated their third 1–2 Independent finish of the campaign.
Despite narrowly missing out on the reverse grid draw, race three promised more of the same. Dan made a lightning start from the fifth row and charged into the top eight. Chris found himself in a scrap with a pair of BMWs but came out on top and quickly moved forward back into the top 10 to join Dan. The pair ran line astern in 7th and 8th before a safety car bunched the field. On the restart, they capitalised on drama ahead, with Jake Hill and Ash Sutton colliding at Noble and both Restart Racing drivers avoiding the spinning cars to move into 5th and 6th.
As the race entered its final stages, Sutton began a recovery drive and passed both cars, with Chris settling for 6th on the road and Dan in 7th. With plenty of penalties dished out over the course of the weekend, it would next be Dan to incur a post-race penalty. A 5 second time penalty for being slightly outside of his grid box at the start of the race relegated him to 10th. Initially, it looked like another strong result with another Independent win for Chris until post-race scrutineering revealed the car to be underweight. Chris was disqualified from the final result, promoting Dan to 9th, but the team lost their seventh Independent win of the year.
Despite the disappointment, the team delivered another strong weekend, scoring strong points in every race and taking the fight to the front-running teams. Chris regains the lead in the Independent Drivers’ Championship, Dan maintains 4th, and Restart Racing retains its position at the top of the Independent Teams’ Championship.
Championship Standings after Thruxton:
- Overall Drivers’ Championship: Chris – 9th, Dan – 14th
- Overall Teams’ Championship: 3rd
- Independent Drivers’ Championship: Chris – 1st, Dan – 4th
- Independent Teams’ Championship: 1st
Driver Quotes:
Chris: “Okay, so that’s our day done at Thruxton. Overall, a pretty steady day.
In race one, we came from 17th to 11th, moved forward and scored some solid points for the Independents’ Championship. Race two, we moved forward again and finished P8, winning the Independents’, which was really good for that championship fight.
In race three, we gained a few more places to finish P6 overall. We also won the Independents’ class on the road, but unfortunately, the car was found to be slightly underweight after the race.
It’s a really frustrating way to end the day, especially when we were on course for strong points and making good progress in the championship. But the boys have worked their socks off all weekend. They’ve put in a huge effort, and it was just an honest mistake.
I’m absolutely gutted, but we’ll reset and head to Oulton Park, a track I really like, and I’m confident we can be right back in the fight in a few weeks’ time. That’s racing sometimes.”
Dan: “Tough race day, to be honest. We were definitely lacking a bit of pace at the start, and we made a lot of changes to the car throughout the day to try and improve it, which we did, especially by race three.
Overall, some good points scored, even if it wasn’t quite where we wanted to be. Race three was a big step forward in terms of performance. Unfortunately, I was just over the line in my grid box again, which I’m really kicking myself about because I got a mega start and got up to P6 early on.
I let Chris through and brought the car home the best I could, and we ended up P10. Not a disaster by any means, but I’m frustrated because I think we had a real shot at a much stronger result in that last race.
Still, we’ve learned a lot, and we know we’ll be stronger at Oulton Park. We’re in a good place in the points for the teams’ championship, so we’ll take the positives and move on.”
