The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship made its annual trip north of the border this weekend, as the action unfolded at the tight and twisty Knockhill Circuit in Fife. As proud sponsors and partners of Aron Taylor-Smith, we were right behind him as he battled hard in the #40 Toyota Corolla GR Sport for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK.
Fresh from two strong top-ten finishes at Croft, Aron arrived in Scotland with momentum and confidence – and Saturday’s running only reinforced that. He delivered his best practice performance of the season so far, going fourth fastest in FP1 and an impressive second in FP2. Qualifying continued the form, with Aron securing P7 on the grid, narrowly missing out on the pole position shootout.
Sunday’s opening race saw Aron take on the challenge of the less favourable medium tyre. Despite the disadvantage, he held his ground with some superb defensive driving – even catching the eye of ITV’s cameras – to finish a fighting ninth and bag more championship points.
Race 2 was all about staying in the hunt for the reverse-grid draw. Aron battled through rising engine temperatures in the warm Scottish sunshine to cross the line in P11, adding more points to his tally. Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on his side for the reverse-grid selection, leaving him starting from row six for the final race of the day.
Race 3 looked promising after a strong launch, but a technical issue forced an early pit stop and premature retirement. Despite the setback, Aron still ended the Knockhill weekend as TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK’s highest points scorer – proof of both his consistency and determination.
Speaking after the weekend, Aron reflected:
“This was one of those ‘what could have been’ weekends, but there are still positives to take. The car felt strong after the progress we made since Croft, and qualifying showed we’re moving in the right direction. We’ll regroup, work through the challenges, and come back stronger at Donington.”
We couldn’t agree more. Aron’s resilience and fighting spirit are exactly why we’re proud to support him this season, and Knockhill once again proved why he’s one of the BTCC’s most respected racers.
Next stop: Donington Park on 30–31 August, as the championship takes on the Grand Prix layout. We’ll be there cheering him on – and we can’t wait to see what’s next.