The 2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship rolled into Cheshire for Rounds 13, 14, and 15, as the series finished the first half of the season at the lovely Oulton Park circuit.
Sam Osborne began the weekend in fifteenth place in the BTCC Drivers’ Championship table with 35 points, and fourth place in the Jack Sears Trophy table with 147 points.
Saturday’s Qualifying Session on the 2.23-mile circuit saw the drivers head out onto a damp circuit, following rain earlier in the morning. However, the humid conditions ensured that the track dried quickly and Sam qualified his number 77 Ford Focus ST in a respectable fourteenth position.
RACE 1 (16 laps)
The narrow circuit started off with damp in sections from more rain on Sunday morning, and the cooler weather meant that it took a little longer to dry than the previous day.
Despite that though, all drivers started the first race of the afternoon on slicks, with Sam being one of only four starting on the less favourable hard compound tyres. As usual, he also had the full quota of eight laps worth of boost available to him as he started from the seventh row of the grid.
The start was delayed after Finn Leslie’s Toyota Corolla GR Sport (Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with IAA) suffered a driveshaft problem, meaning that an additional warm-up lap was required (and deducted from the 15-lap race distance).
Sam got a good launch off the grid as the lights went out and remained fourteenth, as he stuck to the back of Mikey Doble’s Vauxhall Astra (Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing), while fending off the rather lively WSR BMW 330E M Sport of Daryl DeLeon.
However, the latter tapped Sam wide at Cascades on the second lap, allowing himself, Aiden Moffat (LKQ Euro Car Parts with WSR BMW 330E M Sport), and Napa Racing UK/Alliance Racing teammate Dan Rowbottom to get through. Then Stephen Jelley’s One Motorsport Honda Civic Type R tried to pinch the number 77 Ford Focus ST on the exit of the hairpin, sending Sam into the tyre barrier!
The safety car was deployed, while Sam managed to get going again, albeit at the back of the grid with Jelley and Finn Leslie (who had returned two laps down following his Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with IAA team repairing the Toyota Corolla GR Sport).
Racing resumed on the fifth (of now 16) laps, and Sam was up into 20th place after Max Hall was forced to pit his ROKiT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport Cupra Leon on the eighth tour.
Sam set about chasing Nic Hamilton’s Powder Monkey Brewing Co with Esidock Cupra Leon and Gordon Shedden’s Toyota Corolla GR Sport (Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with IAA), but would finish right behind the former but ahead of Stephen Jelley’s Honda Civic Type R at the chequered flag, in what was a difficult opening race of the afternoon.
“I got tapped into the hairpin on lap one, which had a concertina effect. But, I managed to control it on the slippery stuff. I got sent in again on the next lap and managed to control it. However, coming out (of the hairpin), I got tapped a sent backwards into the barrier.
“Fortunately, it was just a glancing blow and I was able to continue, otherwise our Jack Sears Trophy score would have been in tatters!”
He continues, “We’ve gotten rid of the hard tyre now, so hopefully we’ll get a good start in Race Two and move forwards on the soft tyre. Hopefully, we can get into the top twelve and be a factor in the reverse grid Race Three.”
RACE 2 (18 laps)
With the wind picking up for the second BTCC race of the afternoon, Sam started 20th on the soft tyre and had the full quota of eight laps of boost available.
He got away well and got by Nic Hamilton’s Powder Monkey Brewing Co with Esidock Cupra Leon, before chasing down Mikey Doble (Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astra) and Aiden Moffat’s LQK Euro Car Parts with WSR BMW 330E M Sport.
Nineteenth became eighteenth after Dan Lloyd crashed his Restart Racing Hyundia i30N on the fifth lap, thus bringing out the safety car. The clean-up took a while on this occasion, meaning that racing didn’t resume until lap ten of a now 18-lap race.
Sam made another good restart to send the number 77 Ford Focus ST past Moffat’s BMW, James Dorlin’s Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with IAA Toyota Corolla GR Sport, and the BMW 330e M Sport of Daryl DeLeon. And by lap eleven, he was up to 14th after Charles Rainford crashed his LQK Euro Car Parts with WSR BMW 330E M Sport, leaving Sam to hunt down the Hyundia i30N (Restart Racing) of Chris Smiley.
He got by the Hyundia on the fifteenth lap, before being promoted into 12th after Aron Taylor-Smith’s Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with IAA Toyota Corolla GR Sport pulled off into retirement with two laps left to run.
Sam then knuckled down to bring his Ford home in a respectable 12th place, which earned him four Championship points.
RACE 3 (18 laps)
The final race of the weekend saw the drivers head out on a wet track, which meant that the grid was booted with the wet tyre.
As usual, Sam had the full quota of eight laps worth of boost available, as he started on the sixth row (12th position).
Unfortunately, he dropped down a few spots during the opening couple of laps with Daryl DeLeon, Aiden Moffat, Max Hall (ROKiT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport Cupra Leon), Charles Rainford (LKQ Euro Car Parts with WSR BMW 330E M Sport), and Dan Lloyd (Restart Racing Hyundia i30N) all getting by.
However, Sam soon settled into a rhythm and was back up to 15th after passing Rainford’s BMW and Josh Cook outbreaked his One Motorsport Honda Civic Type R.
Both Sam and Charles Rainford got back by Daryl DeLeon on the fourth lap, enabling Sam to focus on hunting down Dan Lloyd’s Hyundia. However, the latter dropped down the field a lap later, thus elevating the number 77 Ford into 11th.
Tom Ingram’s Hyundia i30N (Team Vertu) was struggling at this point, which allowed Sam to get past at Island Bend on the 7th lap. However, racing was halted by the safety car shortly afterwards, due to Max Hall beaching his Cupra Leon in the gravel.
The racing resumed on lap 10 of now 17, whereby Sam lost out to Ingram and Rainford. However, Mikey Doble ended up with his Vauxhall Astra in the barrier following an altercation with the Team Vertu Hyundia i30N of Tom Chilton, which elevated Sam into the top ten.
The accident resulted in another interruption by the safety car on the eleventh lap, before racing resumed three laps later for a four-lap shootout.
The number 77 Ford was swarming all over the back of Tom Ingram’s Hyundia i30N at the restart. However, the latter gave himself breathing space by putting both Dorlin and Rainford between himself and Sam.
While battling with Aiden Moffat’s BMW 330e M Sport, Sam outbreaked himself at the chicane. However, he managed to retain his spot to see the chequered flag and collect another six Championship points.
By the time the curtain closed on the first-half of the season, Sam went into the summer break with 45 points in the Drivers’ Championship (17th place). His three races at Oulton Park also saw him step up to third in the Jack Sears Trophy table, with a total of 193 points.
It’s all to drive for when the second-half of the campaign resumes, as Sam chases down the BMWs of Charles Rainford and Daryl DeLeon for the Jack Sears Trophy.
