Round 12 of the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship brought the curtain down on a dramatic weekend at Oulton Park, as WSR’s Charles Rainford claimed his second victory of the season.
Restart Racing’s Chris Smiley started the reverse-grid finale from pole, but with a pack of soft-tyre runners lining up behind him, holding onto the lead was always going to be a tough ask.
Rainford made a superb start in his BMW 330i M Sport, launching up to second by the time the field reached Old Hall Corner for the first time.
There was immediate drama behind as Árón Taylor-Smith slid through the opening corner on cold tyres before collecting Adam Morgan’s Mercedes, bringing both of their races to an early end.
After the safety car was called to clear the stranded cars, Rainford wasted little time making his move for the lead, getting a strong run out of Old Hall before sweeping around the outside of Smiley on the approach to Cascades.
Ricky Collard and Tom Ingram soon followed Rainford past the fading Hyundai, setting up a Team VERTU chase at the front, but the WSR driver had enough in hand to control the race from there.
A second safety car followed after contact between Tom Chilton and Lewis Selby sent both cars into the barrier at Cascades, but Rainford remained composed at the restart and pulled clear to take a commanding win.
Collard and Ingram completed the podium, while Dan Cammish and Josh Cook came home fourth and fifth after another strong showing at the Cheshire circuit.
Further back, Dan Rowbottom produced one of his best drives of the season, hounding Smiley in the closing stages before making an impressive move stick to secure sixth.
Dexter Patterson, Ash Sutton and Aiden Moffat rounded out the top ten, as Rainford became only the second repeat winner of the 2026 campaign.
Don’t forget to like and subscribe for more BTCC content throughout the 2026 season.
#charlesrainford #oultonpark #btcc #britishtouringcarchampionship #round11 #btcc2026
