Mikey Doble charges to maiden BTCC victory at Snetterton
Mikey Doble enjoyed his ‘day of days’ at Snetterton this past weekend (May 24-25) as he produced a masterful drive in race three to claim his first-ever victory in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.
After previously coming close on a number of occasions, the Motor Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing driver was not to be denied in the reverse grid encounter as he drove a flawless race to realise a childhood dream and become a BTCC race winner.
In becoming the latest driver to triumph in the UK’s premier motorsport series, the 26-year-old’s victory was the first for an Independent team in 1001 days and the first for Power Maxed Racing in 156 races.
Coming off the back of a strong start to his season, Doble arrived at the Norfolk venue brimming with optimism and his aspirations were raised further when he delivered a stunning set of laps in qualifying to secure fourth on the grid for race one.
Deciding to adopt a different strategy to those around him and run the less favourable hard tyre in race one, the Vauxhall Astra racer produced a battling drive to take the chequered flag in ninth place.
With the pain of that tyre now out the way, the front-wheel-drive ace got his elbows out and managed to fight his way up to sixth place in race two. That would then become pole position for the day’s third and final contest following the reverse grid draw.
Making a perfect start as the lights went out, last year’s Jack Sears Trophy champion was peerless as he broke clear of the chasing pack to build up an early lead - however as is the way in the BTCC, he wouldn’t have things all his own way.
Heading into the closing stages, Doble was hunted down by four-time champion Ash Sutton and with the Ford Focus ST driver looming in his mirrors, the Surrey-based racer needed to be wheel-perfect all the way to the finish.
Doble did just that and he crossed the line to raptures of applause as he became the latest first-time winner. In addition, he also moved to the summit of the Independent Drivers’ Championship and now sits tenth in the overall Drivers’ Championship.
Mikey Doble: “I’m lost for words really. I’ve never been one to show too much emotion but I think everyone that’s been on this journey with me has demonstrated just how much this means. To now be able to call myself a BTCC race winner is absolutely incredible.
“I come from a racing family and simply being in this championship is a feat in itself. We don’t take anything for granted so this win means the world to us; coming into this season this was always the aim and I’m so proud to have got it done.
“Qualifying in P4 I sort of knew that I probably wouldn’t have the outright pace to run with the three in front of me so I thought let’s be a bit different and run the hard tyre in race one - all in the hope of playing the long game.
“Hanging onto P9 was a great result in race one and then to move up to P6 on the soft tyre set us up perfectly for race three, especially when we got drawn onto pole position. I just got my head down and tried to build a gap as those on hard tyres provided that buffer to the other soft runners.
“I’ll admit that those last few laps were a bit nerve-wracking but that’s to be expected when arguably the best driver of this generation is chasing you down. Thankfully I just focused on the job in hand, hit my marks and brought it home.
“It’s going to take a little while to sink in but I’ve got say a massive thank you to everyone at Power Maxed Racing as they truly deserve this win. I’ve also got to thank my family, friends and sponsors for their continued support on this journey.”
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship next heads to the fastest circuit in the UK, Thruxton, for Rounds 10, 11 & 12 on June 7-8.










