The British Truck Racing Championship served up both high drama and unmissable entertainment at Snetterton this past weekend (September 21/22) as the race for the Division 1 and Division 2 titles further intensified.
Taking centre stage at the Norfolk venue for the fifth meeting of the 2024 season, the heavyweight behemoths delivered five action-packed contests that saw a number of front-running contenders endure the agony and ecstasy of racing.
In Division 1, three drivers – Michael Oliver, Stuart Oliver and Ryan Smith – battled their way to the top step of the podium while John Powell was the toast of the Division 2 runners as he claimed a remarkable clean sweep of race wins.
Title race ramps up in Division 1
The race for one of the biggest prizes in UK motorsport saw more twists and turns play out over the course of the weekend, however reigning eight-time champion Ryan Smith remains the driver to beat with two events now left to run.
Qualifying on Saturday morning saw Smith smash the lap record to clinch pole position but the tide soon turned for the Daimler Freightliner driver in race one as he suffered a catastrophic engine failure towards the end of the opening lap.
Having held the lead as the lights went out, Smith’s motor let go without warning as the field approached Coram – with the subsequent fluid that exited his machine sending both he and chief title rival David Jenkins spinning out of the race.
While the race was immediately neutralised, both drivers were ruled out from participating in the restart; although more alarmingly for Smith was the possibility that he may be ruled out for the remainder of the weekend.
When the action did resume, Steven Powell controlled the pace out front however it was the charging Michael Oliver that was garnering plenty of attention as he scythed his way up to second place and then onto the bumper of Powell’s MAN.
Heading into the closing stages, Oliver’s decisive move for the lead began at Coram as he hung his five-tonne machine around the outside of Powell, which ultimately gave him the inside for the final corner.
Squeezing through, the Hexham-born racer powered clear to triumph for the first time this year whilst Powell and John Bowler completed the top three. More success would follow a few hours later for Team Oliver Racing as ten-time champion Stuart Oliver came to the fore.
Undoubtedly inspired by the performance of his son from earlier in the day, Oliver Snr underlined his credentials by clinching a long-overdue and commanding maiden win of the current campaign ahead of Jenkins and Bowler.
Sunday morning would bring the news that championship leader Smith would line up on the grid following a monumental effort by his Worldwide Truck Racing team, who worked through the night to fit a brand new engine.
Smith repaid his team’s hard work in the best way possible when it came to race three as he blasted his way from the back of the grid to claim a superb victory, taking the chequered flag by almost 20 seconds.
Behind him, former two-time Division 2 champion David Smith enjoyed his best outing of the year so far as he valiantly held on to score a season-best second place ahead of the younger of the two Oliver entrants.
The edge-of-the-seat drama continued into race four as current title holder Smith looked to have repeated his back-to-front heroics before he was hit with a time penalty for exceeding track limits one too many times.
Smith’s demotion to third therefore promoted Powell onto the top step of the podium however that wasn’t to be the end of it. Officials deemed that the Kent racer had gained an unfair advantage in his battle with Oliver Jnr and he too was penalised, handed Oliver a second victory.
The weekend’s final contest would see Smith get his redemption as he delivered one of his customary charging drives to triumph for the second time. Behind, Bowler clinched a career-best result in Division 1 with second while Jenkins battled tooth-and-nail to progress up to third.
Perfect Powell reigns supreme in Division 2
John Powell staked his claim for the Division 2 title with a wheel-perfect weekend at Snetterton as he became the third driver this year to claim a clean sweep of results, going unbeaten to score five wins from five races.
Following in the footsteps of the aforementioned Smith and one of his chief title protagonists Paul Rivett to complete the feat, Powell was a force to be reckoned with in his DAF as he strengthened his chances of lifting the coveted crown.
NAPA Racing UK’s Rivett had kicked off the weekend on the front foot as he blasted his MAN to pole position in qualifying however that would ultimately be as good as it got for the reigning champion.
While comfortably running out front in race one, Rivett suffered an engine failure that brought him to an abrupt halt. Once back in the paddock the damage was deemed irreparable trackside and he soon confirmed his withdrawal from the meeting.
Rivett’s absence meant that both Powell and fellow championship contender Simon Cole could extend their advantage over the former Renault UK Clio Cup champion; and that’s just what they ended up doing.
Powell would have just enough in hand over the Iveco of Cole to win all five races however Cole made sure he limited the damage in the points by shadowing him throughout – claiming runners-up laurels in each contest.
Archie Handy meanwhile enjoyed what was arguably his best weekend of the season as he bolstered his ever-growing trophy cabinet with a quintet of third-place trophies.
To view the full classification of results from all British Truck Racing Championship sessions at Snetterton, CLICK HERE.
All five races from the fifth event of the season are available to view on the British Truck Racing Championship YouTube channel HERE.
The British Truck Racing Championship is next in action on September 28/29 when the series heads into mainland Europe to the Le Mans Bugatti circuit in France.