Mikey Doble took his second career British Touring Car Championship pole position in Silverstone‘s Race to Pole, rewarding a strong drive.
Daryl De Leon overcame a puncture to go fastest in Group 1 of the traditional timed session, following up from last year’s pole position at Silverstone. But, it was Doble who went fastest with a 56.550 in Group 2, having just announced his own Mini Challenge and JCW team for 2027.
And, as the Qualifying Race began, Doble’s lead was immediately usurped into Copse. De Leon jumped Doble before the corner and held his newfound lead through. At the other end of the field, Ryan Bensley would send Ash Sutton into a spin on the weekend where he so-hopes to be crowned a five-time Drivers’ Champion.
The NAPA Racing UK driver started his charge back through by getting past Osamu Kawashima, Nic Hamilton, and Lewis Gilbert by the end of the third tour, while Doble retook his lead at Brooklands as De Leon’s BMW struggled with low tyre temperatures. Aiden Moffat would then make it a pair of charging Audi A3s as he got past newly TOCA-powered Tom Chilton and Charles Rainford.
The debuting Kawashima took a spin into Maggotts on the eighth lap after taking too much apex under braking and would find himself beached.
The stricken Team VERTU Hyundai saw the stewards call for a safety car, and racing would resume on lap 12 with the running extended to 18 laps.
Gordon Shedden continued a fine drive through the first green flag lap, having climbed five positions throughout the Race to Pole and starting to challenge Árón Taylor-Smith in a mid-pack battle comprising P9 through P18. Much like timed qualifying and Free Practice, little could separate most of the field.
Sutton, struggling with only a second of boost to his name, was not the only NAPA Ford to suffer. Sam Osborne had picked up 15 seconds of penalties for a jump start and track limits, while Lewis Selby and Dan Cammish ran nondescriptly in the lower reaches of the points.
Having battled for his starting position of P6 throughout, Dan Lloyd would pull his Restart Racing Hyundai to P5 on lap 16, besting Charles Rainford as he also fell behind Josh Cook.
With his pace falling, De Leon would fall behind Chilton on the penultimate lap as the veteran claimed P3 – perhaps justifying his switch from Swindon Powertrains to M-Sport’s TOCA engine.
By the flag, Doble had earned a convincing victory, as Moffat made it a fantastic Power Maxed 1-2. Chilton followed, with De Leon and Lloyd rounding out the fastest five.
Cook, Rainford, Morgan, Taylor-Smith, and Shedden completed the top 10, as Dexter Patterson, Tom Ingram, Selby, Sutton, and Cammish took the remaining points.
View the full BTCC Silverstone Race to Pole results below!
| Position | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mikey Doble | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | |
| 2. | Aiden Moffat | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | +2.526 |
| 3. | Tom Chilton | Team Vertu | +3.049 |
| 4. | Daryl De Leon | WSR | +4.437 |
| 5. | Daniel Lloyd | Restart Racing | +5.088 |
| 6. | Josh Cook | Speedworks Corolla Racing | +5.649 |
| 7. | Charles Rainford | WSR | +7.815 |
| 8. | Adam Morgan | CPRL | +7.985 |
| 9. | Árón Taylor-Smith | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | +8.658 |
| 10. | Gordon Shedden | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | +9.004 |
| 11. | Dexter Patterson | Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing | +9.303 |
| 12. | Tom Ingram | Team Vertu | +10.129 |
| 13. | Lewis Selby | NAPA Racing UK | +10.716 |
| 14. | Ashley Sutton | NAPA Racing UK | +11.627 |
| 15. | Dan Cammish | NAPA Racing UK | +11.979 |
| 16. | Ryan Bensley | Speedworks Corolla Racing | +12.438 |
| 17. | Daniel Rowbottom | CPRL | +14.617 |
| 18. | Lewis Gilbert | WSR | +19.882 |
| 19. | Nick Halstead | Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing | +22.714 |
| 20. | Nicolas Hamilton | Team Vertu | +23.383 |
| 21. | Sam Osborne | NAPA Racing UK | +25.524 |
| 22. | Chris Smiley | Restart Racing | 1 Lap |
| DNF | Osamu Kawashima | Team Vertu |
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