The 2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship arrived in Leicestershire for Rounds 22, 23, and 24 at the 2.49-mile Donington Park GP circuit at the end of August.
Saturday’s Qualifying Session took place in mixed weather conditions, which rather hindered the four Napa Racing UK/Alliance Racing Ford Focus ST drivers throughout. Sam Osborne managed to stick his number 77 Ford on the ninth row of the grid, with a seventeenth place starting position.
RACE 1 (14 Laps)
He began on the unfavourable hard tyre for Sunday’s first race and, as usual, had the full quota of boost available which was eight laps on this lovely circuit.
He got away well as the lights went out to get by Dexter Patterson’s ROKiT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport Cupra Leon on the long run down to Redgate. But, Patterson returned the favour at the end of the opening lap!
Sam got back by the Cupra Leon on the third lap, as the duo fought in a four-car battle with Mikey Doble (Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing Cupra Leon) and Josh Cook’s Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with IAA Toyota Corolla GR Sport (Josh had taken the seat recently vacated by James Dorlin, following Cook’s former team One Motorsport’s withdrawal from the sport for the remainder of the season).
While battling with Doble and Cook, Sam tried to edge clear of Nick Halstead (Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing Cupra Leon), as the trio hunted down the LQK Euro Car Parts with WSR BMW 330E M Sport of Aiden Moffat.
By the ninth lap, Sam had closed to within a second of Moffat, while maintaining more than a second’s gap over Josh Cook. The number 77 Ford Focus ST was sitting right on the bumper of Moffat’s BMW 330e M Sport on the penultimate lap, but simply ran out of boost and laps to finish just outside the points paying positions (16th).
“I struggled to get going to be honest” said Sam after the race, “I made a few places and lost a few places, with a net gain of one. So, not the best start to the weekend, just one of those races unfortunately.”
RACE 2 (17 Laps)
Round 23 of the campaign saw Sam start where he finished in the earlier race, sixteenth. This time though, his Ford was booted up with the medium tyre as well as eight laps worth of boost.
He got a great launch off the grid to get by the LQK Euro Car Parts with WSR BMW 330E M Sport of Aiden Moffat, and was well in the hunt to gain additional positions on the run towards McLeans. However, as Senna Proctor spun his Team Vertu Hyundia i30N, Sam lost the rear of his Ford Focus ST in an attempt to avoid the number eighteen!
With the safety car being deployed as the Hyundia i30N was recovered, Sam was able to continue and had closed up to the rear of the field by the time racing resumed on the fifth of now 17 laps.
Once again, Sam got a great start as the track turned to green, and was up into nineteenth by the start of lap six. He got by the Powder Monkey Brewing Co with Esidock Cupra Leon of Nic Hamilton at the beginning of lap eight, and chased after Dexter Patterson’s ROKiT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport Cupra Leon and Aiden Moffat’s LQK Euro Car Parts with WSR BMW 330E M Sport.
He despatched Moffat at the end of the lap, before then overtaking the struggling Team Vertu Hyundia i30N of race one winner Tom Chilton at the end of lap ten to chase after Mikey Doble’s 15th-placed Cupra Leon.
He got by Doble with a lovely move at the final hairpin to start lap thirteen in the points (14th) after Charles Rainford spun his LQK Euro Car Parts with WSR BMW 330E M Sport while exiting that final corner.
By the time the field arrived at McLeans on the fifteenth lap, carnage ensued as many drivers slid off due to an unexpected wall of rainwater greeting them! The safety car was immediately deployed for safety reasons, which remained until the chequered flag.
Despite many excursions ahead of him, Sam still remained in fourteenth position, as he took the chequered flag behind teammate Dan Rowbottom to score two championship points in a race where misfortune struck him once again.
“It was a similar sort of story to that of race one” said Sam after the race, “I made a good start, but just lost the rear trying to avoid Senna Proctor at McLeans. Luckily, I was facing downhill so was able to drive down and out of the gravel to continue racing. Fortunately, the safety car enabled me to catch back up to the pack, and was able to get by a few to finish 14th. So, not a bad finish in the end.”
RACE 3 (17 Laps)
The reverse-grid final race of the weekend saw Sam begin in thirteenth following Chris Smiley (Restart Racing Hyundia i30N) being penalised for a ride-height infringement in the previous race). The number 77 Ford Focus ST continued on the medium tyre and had the full quota of eight laps worth of boost available.
With ITV Sport checking in with the Napa Racing UK/Alliance Racing driver on the warm-up lap, he was feeling confident of being able to fight with those ahead who were on the harder tyre.
He got away well to jump Aiden Moffat and teammate Dan Rowbottom by the first corner, only for Rowbottom return the favour further around the circuit. Sam then lost out to the recovering and fast Team Vertu Hyundia i30N of Tom Chilton at the final hairpin, to begin lap two where he started!
He overtook teammate Dan Cammish at the Melbourne Hairpin on lap three, before stealing eleventh place off of the Restart Racing Hyundia i30N of Dan Lloyd on the fourth lap.
Lap five saw Sam despatch Adam Morgan’s Team Vertu Hyundia i30N on the run down towards The Esses to edge himself up into the top ten. He was well in the hunt for eighth along with Gordon Shedden’s Toyota Gazoo Racing UK with IAA Toyota Corolla GR Sport and Jake Hill’s Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport BMW 330E M Sport, while defending well from Lloyd when the safety car halted proceedings to recover Nick Halstead’s stricken Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing Cupra Leon on lap ten.
Racing resumed four laps later, which saw the race distance increased to seventeen laps. Unfortunately, Sam got jumped by Charles Rainford and Dan Lloyd at the restart, before then losing out to Dan Cammish (Napa Racing UK/Alliance Racing Ford Focus ST) and Aiden Moffat’s BMW 330e M Sport on lap fifteen.
He went on to take the chequered flag with his number 77 Ford Focus ST glued to the bumper of Moffat, while successfully fending off the Team Vertu Hyundia i30N of Senna Proctor to finish fourteenth and collect another two championship points.
Donington Park proved to be another frustrating weekend for Sam Osborne. He dropped a place to 18th in the Drivers’ Championship table with 71 points, but does remain in third and the race for the Jack Sears Trophy with 324 points.
