The British Truck Racing Championship is set for a tantalising title showdown in a little over one months’ time after the stars of Division 1 and Division 2 served up a blockbuster penultimate event of the season at Le Mans this past weekend (September 20-21).
Taking centre stage in front of more than 100,000 fans at the world-famous French circuit, the UK’s biggest motor racing series capped off a unique double-header with a quartet of races that had everyone on the edge of their seats.
In Division 1, reigning champion Ryan Smith and David Jenkins shared the spoils whilst the pairing of Jake Evans and Callum Eason emerged as the big winners in Division 2.
Those results have guaranteed that both the Division 1 and Division 2 titles will now be decided at the final round of the season, which takes place at Brands Hatch on November 1-2.
Hot on the heels of an action-packed meeting at Snetterton, all eyes were on the lead contenders in Division 1 and it didn’t take long for championship leader Ryan Smith to make his mark as he charged to the top of the times in Saturday’s qualifying session.
Wet-to-dry conditions ensured that the track continued to improve as the session wore on and it culminated in the Daimler Freightliner driver narrowly pipping Team Oliver Racing’s Martin Gibson to the Giti Pole Position Award in the closing moments.
Smith would be perfection personified in the weekend’s opening encounter as he held the lead off the start and then promptly bolted into the distance to triumph comfortably. Behind him, Stuart and Michael Oliver ran line astern to round out the remaining places on the podium.
Drama ensued at the very beginning of race two as Smith, Gibson and Michael Oliver found themselves in strife while trying to navigate the Dunlop Chicane on the opening lap. All three drivers would continue however they faced an uphill task to battle back up the order.
At the front of the field, David Jenkins wasted no time in dispatching front-row starter Steven Powell and once out front he cruised to victory ahead of ten-time champion Stuart Oliver and the experienced Richard Collett, who tallied his first podium of the season.
While the top-three each enjoyed a stellar drive to the rostrum, many eyes were fixed on the recovering Smith as he produced a feisty overtaking masterclass to come from the very back of the field to finish in fourth place.
Sunday’s track action would ultimately see Smith take a big step towards becoming a record-equalling ten-time British champion as he dominated proceedings by snaring pole position yet again and then two wins.
The Worldwide Truck Racing driver blitzed the opposition to top qualifying and he duly streaked clear of the field in race three to beat the father-son Oliver duo by more than ten seconds.
Race four would be somewhat less straightforward for the multiple title winner however as he had to get his elbows out to fight his way to the front of the field.
Both Powell and Gibson enjoyed stints in the lead although the juggernaut of Smith soon saw him dispatch them both as he cantered towards a pivotal weekend. Gibson would claim his season-best finish of second while Oliver Snr was again on the podium.
One of the undoubted stars of the show on Sunday was Neil Yates who piloted his 333 Motorsport to a fourth and sixth place finish respectively. His efforts were rewarded as he was subsequently voted the Le Mans Driver of the Weekend by fans on social media.
Like the series’ premier class, Division 2 is poised for a grandstand finish at Brands Hatch in early November after two drivers stood on the top step of the podium at Circuit de la Sarthe.
WDE Motorsport’s Callum Eason may have had a new truck to contend with for the weekend but that certainly didn’t stop him from continuing his superlative form from Snetterton which had seen him move into the lead of the championship.
Hitting the ground running in his DAF, the Tool Maniac-backed driver edged out his rivals to claim the Giti Pole Position Award during Saturday qualifying and he then converted it into a commanding lights-to-flag victory in race one.
Jake Evans would come to the fore in race two as his longstanding applied pressure to Eason finally paid off as he found a way past before cantering to the chequered flag. Eason meanwhile secured runners-up laurels ahead of The Flying Dutchman, Willem Breedijk.
Evans’ sublime form continued into Sunday as he blasted his way to pole position in the weekend’s second qualifying session and he then looked as though he would cruise to victory in race three, only to be handed a time penalty for a track limits offence.
That indiscretion promoted Eason to up the order to claim his third race win in just seven days with Evans and Breedijk – who was enjoyed a superlative guest appearance – filling the remaining places on the rostrum.
Not to be disheartened by losing a race win earlier in the day, Evans bounced back in style during the weekend’s finale as he drove a wheel-perfect race to win decisively ahead of his fellow leading lights, Eason and Breedijk.
While Le Mans proved to be fruitful for the aforementioned double winners, the weekend did see fellow title contenders Simon Cole and Bradley Harvey suffer unfortunate mechanical woes which in-turn saw them lose vital ground in the race for the title.
