Restart Racing tackled the challenges of the Knockhill circuit in Fife, Scotland, during the seventh round of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship. Despite a promising performance at Knockhill, the team struggled to convert their pace into results due to a difficult qualifying session and intense on-track battles.
It was the team’s first BTCC visit to Knockhill and the season’s only round outside England. The day was unusually sunny for Knockhill, which typically experiences cooler and mixed conditions. Chris Smiley aimed to continue his strong form after an independent win at Croft but started down in 17th, while Scott Sumpton qualified at the back in 20th, setting the scene for a seemingly challenging race day.
Race 1
Smiley, starting on soft tyres, made an assertive start, moving up to 15th by passing Tom Ingram and Ronan Pearson in the two manufacturer Hyundais’. However, the tight nature of the circuit and the closely-knit field soon pushed him back. He was shuffled wide at turn 1, dropping to 16th, and then to 17th after being overtaken by Sam Osborne. Despite showing good pace once he found clean air, he could only claw back a couple of positions, finishing the race in 13th with his final overtake being a fantastic move into the hairpin on the third Hyundai of Tom Chilton. Sumpton, on medium tyres, managed to pass Nick Halsted to move himself up, finishing the race in 18th.
Race 2
Starting 13th on soft tyres, Smiley quickly moved up to 11th, making the most of the stalled Vauxhall Astra of Mikey Doble and overtaking the Ford Focus of Sam Osborne. However, his progress was halted when he was run wide by Aiden Moffat, dropping back several places and into a big gaggle of cars. Smiley fought back, passing Tom Ingram and Daryl DeLeon but found himself in a heated battle with DeLeon that saw positions change hands multiple times. By the end of the race, after a series of intense scraps typical of Knockhill’s narrow and winding track, Smiley finished where he started, in 13th. His last move was once again down at the hairpin, this time passing the manufacturer Toyota of Andrew Watson. Sumpton, also on soft tyres, struggled with ultimate pace but was able to hold on to the pack of cars ahead. Unfortunately, after a penalty for a grid spot infringement, finished 19th.
Race 3
The final race saw Sumpton start on soft tyres, but Smiley was one of only two drivers to be on the slower, medium tyre. However, Smiley initially held his starting position but after contact on lap 10, he dropped to 16th and started to struggle to keep up the pace due to subsequent damage. He was able to continue but with a badly scored front left tyre due to the inner arch rubbing on the tyre, he was some way off the pack of cars in front. Sumpton demonstrated a significant improvement on his grid position, moving up from 19th to finish in 12th after a race of attrition. There would be a final twist to the weekend. After post-race adjustments due to DeLeon being disqualified from the race due to a ride height infringement, meant that Smiley was promoted to 13th and Sumpton to 11th, which in-turn secured the team’s second independent win in as many events and his first independent win of the season.
Chris Smiley Quote: “So, yes, just finished at Knockhill. It was ultimately a tough day. Race 1 went well this morning; we went from 17th to finish 13th. In Race 2, we held our place after some great battles in the pack, just missing out on the reverse grid for Race 3.
“Unfortunately, in Race 3, we had an issue with the inner arch liner, which fell off. Something broke on the arch liner, causing it to come down and completely de-laminate the tyre. So, I basically drove three-quarters of the race with no tread on the tyre. We were very, very lucky to finish in 14th and still managed to get some points.
“So, yeah, a tough day with plenty of bad luck, but I’m looking forward to getting back to where we should be at Donington Park in a few weeks’ time.”
Scott Sumpton Quote: “Thats the day done here at Knockhill, and it was actually sunny. So that’s made it a really good day in itself! But yeah, in races 1 and 2, we got some really good results, but a 5-second penalty for being out of my grid spot in Race 2 put me at the back for Race 3. However, I’m really, really happy with Race 3.
“I came from last up to 12th, so 8 positions were made. So, I’m really, really happy with that. And I’m not too sure because it’s not been announced yet, but I could possibly have an independent win. I’m not too sure yet. Just have to wait for scrutineering. So, fingers crossed. I’m praying that we can take the trophy home with us because that would be mega.
“So, we’ll just have to wait and see. But overall, even if I don’t get the trophy, I’m happy with today and looking forward to Donington Park in 2 weeks’ time.”
Ben Taylor (Team Principle) Quote: “I leave Knockhill with mixed emotions. Whilst we came away with points in every race with at least one car, I feel like we were unable to maximise the pace that the car clearly has.
“Chris did a great job of recovering from a poor qualifying in race one but in race two when we needed to go for it to get into the reverse grid draw, he sadly was on the wrong end of various moves and was shuffled back. That’s racing sometimes and Chris did well to recover back to 13th (where he started) but it could have and should have been more.
“A big well done to Scott who drove a great final race to finish 12th in the final race of the day and narrowly missed out on his first independent win by less than a second.
“When we return to Donington Park in a couple of weeks, it will be a big test to prove how far we have come as a team.”
The 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship action will continue when it returns to Donington Park on August 24-25.
Note: Quotes from the weekend were taken before the announcement of Daryl DeLeon’s disqualification.