The next instalment of the British Truck Racing Championship takes place this weekend (May 16-17) and all eyes are on Division 2 to see if anyone can stop the early charge that reigning champion Jake Evans has made.
Evans’ title defence began in emphatic fashion at last month’s Brands Hatch curtain-raiser, with the MAN driver claiming four wins from five races – which in-turn enabled him to walk away with a 30-point lead at the top of the standings.
Embracing the pressure that comes with being the driver that everyone is trying to beat, Evans heads to what is the fastest circuit on the calendar optimistic that he can maintain his winning form.
Remarkably, this weekend will mark the first time that the Staffordshire racer will have raced at Thruxton as an engine failure in practice last year prevented him from taking to the grid in any of the fives contests.
Former champion John Powell leads the chase for Evans in his striking Greenhous Group Racing DAF. Returning to the Division 2 ranks after a year away, Powell chalked up a win of his own at Brands Hatch and now he’s hungry for more.
Well inside the chasing pack also is the Weaver Motorsport duo of Bradley Harvey and Warren Harvey. The father-son pairing turned plenty of heads last time out and having had a taste of silverware, they’ll both be eager to add to their collections.
Sami Ojanen meanwhile made the best of a challenging weekend, netting a handful of podiums, and this weekend could see him debut his new Mercedes. The Finnish star had hoped to start the year with it, but delays forced him to revert back to his Sisu at the last minute.
Another driver that will be hoping for a smoother weekend is last year’s runner-up Callum Eason. The WDE Motorsport driver was unable to compete on the Saturday of Brands Hatch however when he appeared on Sunday, he stormed right onto the second step of the podium.
Completing the grid is another father-son pairing, Simon Cole and Archie Handy. Brands Hatch proved to be a rollercoaster of emotions for the popular duo with heavily reworked machinery not yielding the results they’d have hoped for.
While multiple race winner Cole was able to demonstrate the potential that lies within his IVECO, Handy had to watch on from the sidelines as his truck was unable to be finished in time. If the trucks are running as they should be, both will be well worth keeping an eye on.
Track action begins this Saturday morning with a solitary practice session taking place at 09:00 before qualifying decides the grid at 10:25. Race one and race two will then be held at 13:30 and 17:35 respectively later that afternoon.
Three more races – at 10:45, 14:10 and 17:20 – will then conclude the weekend’s action on Sunday. As always, all five races will be available to live on YouTube, via the official Truck Sport UK channel.
