Charles Rainford claimed victory in the final Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship race of the weekend at Oulton Park after surging from third on the grid to win in his WSR BMW machine. Rainford held off the challenges of the Team VERTU pair of Ricky Collard and Tom Ingram to seal his second win of 2026.
Pole-sitter Chris Smiley initially made a good launch off the line in his Restart Racing Hyundai i30N, followed by Rainford, who moved past the NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus Titanium of Sam Osborne into turn one. Further back, Aron Taylor-Smith spun and collected Adam Morgan out of Old Hall corner to bring out an early safety car.
When the race restarted, Rainford immediately made his move for the lead with a superb overtake around the outside of Cascades, using the advantage of his soft tyres. The fellow soft-tyre runners of Collard and Ingram surged up too, passing the Ford of Osborne before moving past the Hyundai of Smiley to make it a Team VERTU second and third.
Meanwhile, Rainford looked comfortable out front, managing the pace well to pull out a two-second lead. However, lap nine saw Tom Chilton and Lewis Selby collide and find the barriers, bringing out the safety car once again. At the second restart, Rainford absorbed the pressure from Collard well to maintain the lead, while Ingram held off the chasing Dan Cammish behind.
The WSR BMW subsequently took the chequered flag to claim Rainford’s second win of the year, followed by the pair of Team VERTU Hyundais. Cammish held off a charging Josh Cook for fourth, with the Speedworks Corolla Racing driver showing good speed to move up from 15th on the grid to round out the top five.
The battle for sixth provided plenty of entertainment, as Smiley tried to defend on his hard tyres. But it wasn’t to be, as Dan Rowbottom eventually found his way past in his Cataclean Plato Racing Mercedes A35 Saloon. Smiley claimed seventh as a result, with Dexter Patterson in eighth. Ash Sutton crossed the line in ninth, with the top 10 rounded out by the Audi A3 Saloon of Aiden Moffat.
Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Oulton Park, Race 3
- Charles Rainford, WSR, BMW 330i M Sport
- Ricky Collard, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N, +1.319s
- Tom Ingram, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N, +1.658s
- Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus Titanium +2.344s
- Josh Cook, Speedworks Corolla Racing, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +2.890s
- Daniel Rowbottom, Cataclean Plato Racing, Mercedes A35 Saloon, +11.056s
- Chris Smiley, Restart Racing, Hyundai i30N, +12.038s
- Dexter Patterson, Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing, Audi A3 Saloon, +12.451s
- Ash Sutton, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus Titanium, +12.687s
- Aiden Moffat, LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing, Audi A3 Saloon, +17.348s
Click here for full results and times from this weekend's event.