Resilient Taylor-Smith battles to points hat-trick at Snetterton

All photos: Jakob Ebrey

Aron Taylor-Smith battled to a hat-trick of points finishes on an otherwise frustrating trip to Snetterton in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship last weekend [24-25 May].

The Irishman touched down at the 2.96-mile Norfolk venue keen to banish a difficult start to the current campaign, his first with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK, in which the reigning Independents champion had scored points from only three of the opening six races amidst numerous technical problems.

Despite some initial promise with two top-ten showings across Saturday’s free practice sessions, Taylor-Smith’s #40 Toyota Corolla GR Sport struggled for straight line speed in qualifying trim, and the reigning BTCC Independents Champion was only able to secure a P17 starting slot for the first of three ITV4-televised races on Sunday.

The opening contest proved to be a typically hard-fought affair, as it so often is in the UK’s premier motorsport series, with Taylor-Smith digging deep amidst the action to get his elbows out and move up two places into the points-paying positions, with P15 his eventual reward at the chequered flag.

That gave the 35-year-old from Dublin a platform to improve yet further in race two, and he gradually scaled the order as far as P12, crucially earning Taylor-Smith a spot in the coveted reverse grid draw. On this occasion, he missed out on benefiting from the reverse but nevertheless started just outside the top ten for the finale, with the aim of ending the weekend on a high.

Despite an early setback, in which Taylor-Smith was nudged wide in the thick of the pack at Wilson Hairpin on the opening lap, the #40 Toyota quickly rallied and charged back up the order to an eventual P11, completing a hat-trick of points finishes.

The next three rounds of the 2025 BTCC season take place at Thruxton, the UK’s fastest circuit, on 7-8 June.

Aron Taylor-Smith (#40) said:

“I always like to focus on the positives, so to come away with three solid points finishes is something to build upon.

“We had a good run in practice but couldn’t quite make the performance jump everybody else did in qualifying, and then that left us with quite a lot to do on Sunday. The car was better in race trim, so we were able to get our elbows out, put on a show and come away with something for our efforts.

“But it’s been another frustrating weekend from my side. As a team, we need to go away and have a real look at things before Thruxton.

“Everybody at TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK is trying their very best to fix the issues we’re having at the moment, but fundamentally we’re not able to extract the best from the engine or the chassis, and it’s making life hard for us on track.

“This is one of the most successful cars in the BTCC over recent seasons, so something isn’t adding up. Hopefully some solutions can be found, and we can kickstart our season next time out at one of my favourite circuits on the calendar.”