The British Truck Racing Championship enjoyed its most thrilling event of the season to-date this past weekend (August 9-10) as the super-sized series served up an unforgettable quintet of races around Donington Park.
Reaching the midpoint of the 2025 campaign at the Leicestershire venue, the stars of Division 1 and Division 2 were the headline acts of Convoy in the Park as they teed up a tantalising title battle that is only set to intensify over the remaining rounds.
With it being Convoy in the Park, it wasn’t just the heavyweight behemoths of the BTRC and the International Truck Prix that whipped the bumper crowd into a frenzy either as countless off-track attractions added to the unmissable spectacle.
More than 1000 show trucks, an adrenaline-fuelled live action arena, music stage, driving experiences and kids zone – plus much more – all played their part in making it a weekend to remember at the world-famous circuit.
Title battle heats up in Division 1
It’s been well documented as to just how competitive Division 1 has been this season and that point was further reinforced as four different drivers stood on the top step of the podium at Donington Park.
After seeing his weekend cut short at Thruxton due to a heavy crash, Michael Oliver arrived at his home circuit hoping to bounce back in style and that’s exactly what he did as he swept his way to pole position in qualifying.
Things got even better for the Team Oliver Racing driver in race one as he converted his front-row start into a commanding lights-to-flag victory. David Jenkins applied pressure in the early going but when he came under threat from the charging Ryan Smith, victory was sealed for Oliver.
Jenkins then became the ninth different winner of the season in race two as he bolstered his title chances with a clinical drive. The MAN racer moved into the lead as the lights went out and from there he didn’t look back, all while a number of dramatic battles played out behind him.
Steven Powell continued his upturn in form by snaring a second podium finish of the year whilst defending champion Smith fought back from a lowly qualifying to secure the third and final spot on the rostrum.
The Smith name would eventually rule the roost in race three however it was former Division 2 title winner David Smith that claimed the plaudits. Utilising all of his experience, the DS Racing driver was wheel-perfect out front to finish ahead of Jenkins and John Bowler.
Behind, the Team Oliver Racing trio of Michael Oliver, Stuart Oliver and Martin Gibson had everyone on the edge of their seats as they dramatically traded pain while Ryan Smith was a surprise retirement as his Daimler Freightliner suffered a mechanical issue.
It didn’t take the nine-time champion to right the wrongs of his non-finish however as Smith was a man on a mission in race four, going from sixth to first within a matter of laps – and ultimately on to take the chequered by almost ten seconds.
The fifth and final contest then saw the weekend conclude in the same manner it had begun, with Michael Oliver delivering a virtuoso performance to charge to victory ahead of the Smith duo, Ryan and David.
Evans ignites title charge with flawless performance
Division 2 remains just as competitive as the premier class this year and Donington Park saw the talented Jake Evans bolster his championship chances by claiming four wins from five races in his MAN TGX.
Evans had been the driver to beat heading into the previous round at Thruxton however a catastrophic engine failure in practice at the Hampshire track subsequently prevented him from competing, which meant he lost valuable ground to his rivals in the standings.
With a fresh power plant fitted for Donington Park, Evans was arguably in a league of his own for much of the meeting. Despite starting from fourth in each contest, the series debutant carved his way to the front to secure victory in races one to four.
It had looked as though he would complete a clean sweep in race five too, however Finnish ace Sami Ojanen made his mark by overcoming race leader Simon Cole and then going on to secure his first win of the season.
Cole would walk away with a total of five podiums whilst Ojanen and Weaver Motorsport’s Bradley Harvey also added to their silverware collections over the course of the weekend.
Tussling trio triumph in International Truck Prix
If five races from the British contingent wasn’t enough, Donington Park also saw the International Truck Prix make a welcome return for the third successive year.
Bringing some of the biggest names from the European scene onto the same grid, this year saw variety prove to be the spice of life as Mark Taylor, Simon Reid and Jamie Anderson all savoured the spoils of victory.
Isle of Man TT legend John McGuinness MBE, Craig Reid and Nathan Smith – son of Division 1 winner David Smith – all collected trophies too as they bagged podium finishes around the 1.979-mile circuit.
