The British Truck Racing Championship saw more twists and turns play out at Pembrey this month as the UK’s biggest motorsport spectacle took centre stage in South Wales to headline Convoy Cymru.
Having previously wowed the crowds at Brands Hatch and Thruxton, the heavyweight series rolled into Carmarthenshire for a blockbuster quintet of races – all of which further underlined just how competitive the 2026 season has been so far, especially in Division 1.
Pembrey in particular reinforced that statement as four new faces stood on the top step of the podium, which in-turn took the tally for the current campaign to ten different winners from opening 15 races.
Before a wheel had even turned it was confirmed that reigning champion Ryan Smith was not permitted to compete due to having his race license suspended. This was due to Smith exceeding the permitted number of penalty points.
While the Daimler Freightliner driver was forced to watch on from the sidelines, the Smith name still enjoyed success – albeit in the shape of DS Racing’s Nathan Smith, who is of no relation to Ryan.
Blitzing the opposition to snare pole position in qualifying, Smith sadly couldn’t take advantage of his front-row start in race one as contact on the opening lap sent the MAN driver tumbling down the order.
John Bowler would come to the fore as Smith attempted to fight back, with the experienced racer delivering a wheel-perfect out front to open his account for the season ahead of David Jenkins and Craig Reid.
Smith made no mistake in race two as this time he produced a superlative performance to lead from lights-to-flag; all while the likes of Bowler and ten-time champion Stuart Oliver scrapped for the remaining podium places.
333 Motorsport’s Steven Powell became a repeat winner in race three, although only after his team-mate Neil Yates was an unfortunate retirement following a collision with Michael Oliver while leading.
Yates had been on course for a maiden victory but a heavy impact at Hatchet’s Hairpin put pay to his bid for glory. Following a brief red flag, Powell expertly upheld honours for the squad to score his second victory of the year, with Stuart Oliver and Reid behind in second and third.
The penultimate bout of the weekend saw Terry Gibbon then become the latest driver to step into the winners’ circle. Substituting for Ricky Collett who is recovering from major surgery, Gibbon took advantage of his front row start to win by more than ten seconds.
From the dominance of Gibbon to the defensive masterclass of Tom O’Rourke, the Division 1 action concluded with the MV Truck Racing ace soaking up a torrent of pressure from John Bowler to claim a popular win.
