The British Truck Racing Championship delivered a bank holiday bonanza of full-throttle thrills at Brands Hatch this past weekend (April 19-20) as four drivers claimed outright victories across Division 1 and Division 2.
Lifting the curtain on the 2025 season in front of a bumper crowd at the famous Kent venue, the heavyweight behemoths served up a sensational five-race Easter extravaganza that was packed with edge-of-the-seat moments.
Division 1 saw the two most successful drivers on the grid – Ryan Smith and Stuart Oliver – lay down early markers in the battle for title supremacy by sharing the spoils that were on offer, with Smith scoring a hat-trick of wins and Oliver an impressive brace.
Over in Division 2 a similar trend took place as debutant Jake Evans and the experienced Simon Cole ignited their championship challenges by standing on the top step of the podium on more than one occasion; Evans doing so twice before Cole followed up with three of his own.
Experience comes to the fore in Division 1
Going into the new campaign one of the big questions being asked in Division 1 was whether the new air restrictors would have an impact on the racing. Come Sunday night we had an answer; the competition is undoubtedly closer than ever this year.
Saturday morning’s qualifying session underlined just how tight the field is with three tenths of a second covering the top-three. Digging deep late on, the bragging rights for claiming pole position ultimately fell the way of defending champion Ryan Smith.
The Daimler Freightliner driver duly converted his front row start into a lights-to-flag victory in the opening contest around the Indy circuit, although it was far from easy as both Stuart Oliver and David Jenkins applied race-long pressure to the Worldwide Truck Racing ace.
Ten-time title winner Oliver didn’t have to wait too much longer to open his account for the season as he reigned supreme in race two. Hitting the front from the get-go, the Volvo VNL driver was wheel perfect out front as Jenkins remained a looming presence in his mirrors behind.
Despite his best efforts, former champion Jenkins would settle for second place while Smith valiantly fought back from being pushed wide at Druids early on to complete the podium in third place.
Race three will undoubtedly go down as an all-time classic in the history books of the British Truck Racing Championship as the top-six were covered by a little over two seconds at the chequered flag.
Martin Gibson led proceedings for much of the bout however the closing laps saw the train of Tom O’Rourke, Smith, Neil Yates, John Bowler and Oliver all close him down – which in-turn set up a grandstand finish.
Scrapping for the podiums positions whilst also having to deal with passing back markers, Smith managed to find a way past O’Rourke on the final lap at Druids and then chased down Gibson, diving down the inside of him at Clearways to claim first place.
On the run to the line, Gibson would find himself hampered by the aforementioned back markers which allowed O’Rourke past and with Smith being hit with a five-second time penalty for it looked as though the Scotsman was the winner. However the time deficit would be rescinded after the race, leaving Smith to triumph ahead of O’Rourke and Gibson.
Smith’s winning streak continued in the penultimate contest of the weekend as he fought his way to the front in frenetic fashion. Proceedings were brought to a premature end though as the red flag was waved following a crash for Graham Poole at Paddock Hill Bend.
The weekend’s fifth and final contest provided even more breathtaking moments. Team Oliver Racing’s Stuart and Michael Oliver cantered to a dominant one-two finish but it was the battle for third that had everyone captivated as David Smith fended off a hoard of contenders.
Holding position for a majority of the race, the former Division 2 champion finally succumbed to pressure as his namesake, the nine-time champion Ryan Smith, muscled his way past in the closing stages to clinch the final spot on the rostrum.
Cole and Evans share Division 2 spoils
If things in Division 1 look close then the battle for outright honours in Division 2 is even closer as debutant Jake Evans and last year’s runner-up Simon Cole kicked off their campaigns by each standing on the top step of the podium.
Touted as one to watch prior to the campaign beginning, Evans underlined his credentials on Saturday as he powered his way to an impressive pair of victories – cementing the work that he and his team have carried out during the winter.
After qualifying in pole position, Cole had led the early running in race one however an incident at Clearways left him in the barrier and out of the race. His demise opened the door for Evans to take advantage and he did just that as he powered his way to a maiden win in his first-ever race.
The MAN TGX driver found himself in the right place at the right time in race two too as on-the-road winner Sami Ojanen was hit with a time penalty for exceeding track limits, dropping him behind Evans after the chequered flag.
Having put the travails of the previous day behind him, Easter Sunday arguably belonged to the IVECO of Cole as he didn’t put a wheel wrong to claim three race wins on the bounce. Elsewhere, the likes of Ojanen, Bradley Harvey and Archie Handy all recorded encouraging results.
To view the full classification of results from all British Truck Racing Championship sessions at Brands Hatch, CLICK HERE.
All five races from the 2025 season-opener will be available to view on the British Truck Racing Championship YouTube channel HERE.
The 2025 British Truck Racing Championship season continues on May 17-18 when the series travels to Pembrey Circuit for the popular Convoy Cymru event in South Wales.