Memories of Thruxton
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship rolls back into action this weekend as the fifth race meeting of the 2026 season takes place at Thruxton, the fastest circuit in the country. After an early summer break, the Hampshire “speedbowl” is exactly the kind of high-octane, white-knuckle venue fans have been waiting for.
For EXCELR8 Motorsport, this weekend is an opportunity for Tom Ingram to chip away at Ash Sutton’s 48-point championship lead, and he heads into the weekend in confident mood on the back of a triple podium last time out at Oulton Park. With Tom Chilton and Ricky Collard having also picked up podium finishes this season, and Nicolas Hamilton having bagged his first Jack Sears Trophy win, there’s every reason for fans to be excited about what Thruxton might deliver.
Before the lights go out, here’s a look at what makes this circuit so special: its history, its long relationship with the BTCC, and EXCELR8’s own story at one of the most demanding tracks on the calendar.
A quick history of Thruxton
The site on which the circuit lies was originally used by the RAF during World War II, with early races in the 1950s taking place on the runways and perimeter roads.
It would be the late 1960s before Thruxton in its current format was created, with the crumbling runways abandoned in favour of of a layout built entirely around the perimeter road, with a new sequence of corners (Campbell, Cobb, and Segrave) added along with a chicane.
The rebuilt circuit – which housed the British Automobile Racing Club after the closure of Goodwood – reopened in 1968, and remarkably, the layout has changed little in the years that have followed.
What makes Thruxton special is that combination of speed and history. With sweeping, flowing corners that reward commitment and punish hesitation, it’s widely regarded as one of the purest drivers’ circuits in Britain, a track where bravery, car balance, and a well-sorted setup are as important as raw horsepower.
Thruxton and the BTCC
Thruxton has been a fixture on the British Touring Car Championship calendar (and its BSCC forerunner) since that 1968 reopening, and it has rarely disappointed in the 149 races that have followed. The very first saloon car winner around the rebuilt circuit was Brian Muir, who took a commanding victory in his Ford Falcon Sprint, setting the tone for decades of spectacular racing that have followed.
Thruxton’s flat-out, high-speed nature means there’s precious little room for error, and unlike anywhere else on the calendar, tyre wear is such a factor that hard-compound rubber is mandated across every race of the weekend. That places a huge premium on getting the car’s setup right: aerodynamic balance, ride height and tyre management all become just as important as outright pace, and teams that get it wrong can find themselves sliding backwards through the field in a matter of laps.
It’s the most southerly stop of the season and the fastest lap of the year is invariably set here unless the weather has an impact on proceedings. Local hero Josh Cook is the self-styled “King of Thruxton,” with his record of ten victories at the track (almost all of them behind the wheel of a Honda Civic) being unmatched.
Team EXCELR8 at Thruxton
Thruxton holds a particularly meaningful place in EXCELR8 Motorsport’s history. Until last season, it was the one circuit on the calendar where the Team VERTU squad had never stood on the top step, despite having already won everywhere else. That changed in style, with Tom Ingram surviving a fierce wheel-to-wheel battle with Ash Sutton to claim victory in the opening race of the weekend, finally completing the set, and giving EXCELR8 a win at every venue on the BTCC calendar.
It capped an excellent weekend all round for the team. Ingram followed up his race one win with two further podium finishes to close out the round, while a returning Senna Proctor impressed on his comeback to the series with three top-ten finishes, and Adam Morgan showed strong early pace before misfortune intervened. It was, by any measure, one of the standout weekends of EXCELR8’s 2025 campaign.
Twelve months on, the team returns to Hampshire with fresh momentum and this weekend has all the makings of a memorable one.