Evans Halshaw PMR splash their way to title glory at Silverstone

Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing enjoyed a historic outing in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship this past weekend (September 21-22) at Silverstone to secure an unassailable lead at the top of the standings across three categories.

Taking centre stage at the Home of British Motor Racing, the penultimate meeting of the season proved to be one to remember for the squad as Árón Taylor-Smith and Mikey Doble provisionally wrapped up the Independent Teams’, Independent Drivers’ and Jack Sears Trophy titles.

Set to officially be crowned champions at Brands Hatch in less than a fortnight, the achievement marked the first time the Worcestershire-based outfit have clinched the coveted Teams’ title while Doble and Taylor-Smith have also captured their maiden championship prizes in the BTCC.

Arriving at Silverstone riding a wave of momentum following a number of strong performances since the turn of the summer break, the Vauxhall Astra duo were on the pace across Saturday’s two practice sessions and went into qualifying as the one’s to watch.

Cruelly, the team would experience the highs and lows of the sport as Taylor-Smith claimed a sensational pole position - only to have it ripped away from him due to failing the post-qualifying ride height checks. Doble suffered the same fate having originally clinched third on the grid.

Tasked with starting the first of Sunday’s three wet races from the back, the two drivers endured contrasting fortunes as while Taylor-Smith progressed up the order to claim a vital Independents’ win, Doble watched on from the sidelines after sustaining a turbo failure.

Both drivers would take the start for race two and move forward as Taylor-Smith broke into the top ten to finally wrap up Drivers’ title. Doble meanwhile underlined his overtaking prowess by fighting forward into the points.

Race three around the 1.64-mile National layout undoubtedly saw the worst of the rain hit the track and after just nine laps the red flag was waved on safety grounds as conditions were deemed near impossible to drive in.

After a lengthy delay, racing resumed with Taylor-Smith powering his front-wheel-drive machine to a 19th Independents’ win of the season. Hot on his heels was Doble who dug deep to clinch 11th overall, all while battling the elements without a working window wiper.

Árón Taylor-Smith: “It’s a dream come true to be able to stand here and say I’m the Independent Drivers’ champion! This was the goal coming into the season and I’m so incredibly proud that I have a title to my name in the BTCC.

“It’s not just me though because everyone at Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing has worked incredibly hard this year to allow us to provisionally win three titles in what is renowned for being one of the toughest championships in the world.

“As for the weekend, it’s a case of what might have been. To stick it on pole position was unbelievable and who knows what we might have achieved had we started there. We didn’t let our heads drop and bounced back as best we could. It’s a special day that’s for sure!”

Mikey Doble: “I’m a little lost for words if I’m honest. That was without doubt one of the most challenging weekends I’ve had in the BTCC so to come away having done enough to wrap up the Jack Sears Trophy is brilliant.

“Frustratingly the turbo let go on the way to the grid in race one and that meant we had to fight our way from the back in races two and three. We did the best job possible but it certainly felt like everything was going against me at times.

“To be standing here now knowing I can’t be beaten in the Jack Sears Trophy is special. This has been what I set out to achieve since the start of the year so to wrap it up with a round to spare means we can have some fun at Brands Hatch.”

Martin Broadhurst, Team Manager: “There’s no denying that this weekend has tested us so to come away having provisionally wrapped up the Independent Drivers’, Independent Teams’ and Jack Sears Trophy titles is a fitting reward for everyone’s hard work.

“We showed that we had the pace to fight at the front however the smallest of margins meant we were forced to start from the back of the grid and that really changed the outlook of our race day. Árón and Mikey did the best they could in the conditions though and deserve a lot of credit.”

Adam Weaver, Team Principal: “First and foremost I’ve got to say a massive well done to Mikey, Árón and every single member of the team for what has been achieved over the course of this season; to win three titles is no mean feat and there is a lot that goes into it.

“If I’m reflecting on the weekend as a whole we can’t help but feel this has been one of those ‘what might have been’ meetings. I don’t think we’ve ever had a ride height failure in our ten-year history so it was tough to take on Saturday but we bounced back as best we could.

“We can go to Brands Hatch now with the benefit of having little to no pressure on us so the aim will be to make sure we end the year on a high and get back on that overall podium again."

The 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season concludes in less than two weeks’ time when Rounds 28, 29 & 30 play out around the Grand Prix layout of Brands Hatch on October 5-6.