Steven Powell, Paul Rivett and David Jenkins shared the British Truck Racing Championship (BTRC) spoils at Brands Hatch on Easter Monday across three dramatic races on the Indy circuit.
Local racer Powell made the most of a mixed up reverse grid order in the first of Monday’s three races to take an early lead. Powell passed both Rivett and David Smith during the opening exchanges and that track position would prove key as the race wore on.
Powell led for much of the distance but it was Sunday double winner, eight time champion Ryan Smith, who was the man on the move scything through the field in pursuit of Powell. With just minutes remaining on the clock, Smith was right on Powell’s tail, but the Kent driver used all of his experience to keep the flying Daimler Freightliner behind.
The second race of the day began amidst a sudden downpour, with the drivers steaming into Paddock Hill Bend in unfamiliar conditions after a bright start to the day. This handed an unlikely advantage to Rivett in a Division 2-spec MAN TGX, running with more production-spec parts.
Whilst the chasing pack struggled with traction, Rivett drove a perfect race from the front to pull several seconds clear of the potentially faster machines behind. The contest was ended early following a red flag after both John Bowler and Michael Oliver wan straight on at Graham Hill Bend, allowing Rivett to secure a rare outright win for a Division 2 truck.
Race three was a shorter affair following a sequence of red flag interruptions. During the final hunt for the chequered flag, it was David Jenkins who got the jump at the start to move into a lead he wouldn’t lose. Behind that, there was a tense scrap between multiple champions Stuart Oliver and Ryan Smith – who was recovering after a tricky run to eighth in the middle race of the day.
Just as Smith was lining up a move for second the red flag appeared once more after a trip into the gravel trap for unrelated namesake David Smith. With the appearance of the red flag for a third time during the session, the BTRC action came to a close for the weekend.
British Truck Racing Championship – Monday Race 1
- Steven Powell, MAN TGA
- Ryan Smith, Daimler Freightliner, +0.319s
- Stuart Oliver, Volvo VNL, +1.119s
- John Bowler, MAN TGX, +3.162s
- David Jenkins, MAN TGS, +3.712s
British Truck Racing Championship – Monday Race 2
- Paul Rivett, MAN TGX
- Steven Powell, MAN TGA, +4.249s
- Stuart Oliver, Volvo VNL, +6.095s
- David Jenkins, MAN TGS, +14.477s
- John Powell, DAF LF, +15.870s
British Truck Racing Championship – Monday Race 3
- David Jenkins, MAN TGS
- Stuart Oliver, Volvo VNL, +2.748s
- Ryan Smith, Daimler Freightliner, +2.945s
- Michael Oliver, MAN TGX, +8.252s
- Paul Rivett, MAN TGX, +8.526s
Click here for full race results.