Árón Taylor-Smith, powered by @ROKiTOxygen celebrated victory in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship last weekend [9-10 May] in treacherous conditions to rise from the midfield to the winner’s circle at Brands Hatch.
Mark Blundell’s outfit arrived at the 1.2-mile Indy circuit keen to build on a podium and an Independent victory courtesy of Gordon Shedden at the Donington Park season opener a fortnight ago, and banked yet more solid points during Saturday’s Qualifying Race, and the first ITV4-televised race of the day on Sunday.
Rain had threatened the skies above Brands Hatch all day, and began to fall moments before the start of Race 2. With the majority of the field opting to keep the slick compound Goodyear tyres on - including Taylor-Smith and Shedden - the stage was set for a modern-day BTCC classic, and started in duly chaotic fashion, as drivers struggled to extract what little grip was on offer.
As conditions continued to worsen, Taylor-Smith’s pace started to light up the timing screens. Having quietly worked his way through the chaos to run inside the top five at half-distance, he then passed Tom Ingram and Ash Sutton - six BTCC titles between them - with moves into Druids and on Cooper Straight on the same lap, before relieving Ricky Collard of the race lead with a bold dive to the inside at Paddock Hill Bend two tours later.
Once released out front, Taylor-Smith continued unabated and extended the gap out front to an eventual 3.4 seconds, before a late-race red flag for two stricken cars at Druids cut short the contest and, with no time to resume, the Dubliner was duly declared the winner to spark jubilant scenes in the garage.
The result was momentous on three fronts, as it not only marked Taylor-Smith’s first triumph for ROKiT Oxygen with MB Motorsport and the first for the team’s new-look, two-car effort, but was equally the popular Irishman’s first win in the BTCC since Rockingham in 2016, some 3,542 days ago. It also secured the team a second Independent win in as many race meetings to cap off an encouraging start to the year.
Snetterton’s 300 circuit hosts the next three rounds of the 2026 BTCC season on 23-24 May.
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