Race Reports

Onto the Donington Park GP circuit for rounds 19, 20 and 21, and a weekend that turned into one of the best of Dexter Patterson's season so far — three Jack Sears Trophy wins, an Independents win, and a championship lead that is getting harder to argue with.

Race to Pole. Qualifying ninth on the grid put Dexter and the Awesome-sponsored Audi S3 in a great place to extend the Jack Sears lead, bank some valuable BTCC points and start Sunday from a commanding position. A battle with DeLeon brought him up to eighth before the first of the safety cars halted his momentum. Back racing, he set his sights on former champion Tom Ingram and passed him for eighth again, only to lose the places at the hairpin. He would line up tenth for Race One — but fastest of the Audis.

Day two, and three races in the Donington sun.

Race One. Starting tenth meant some difficult passing to do. Drivers like Tom Ingram are notoriously hard to get by, so Dexter had to be quick, get a great start and stay in the fight — and he did just that. Following a heavy crash involving Lewis Gilbert the safety car was deployed, and once it came back in Dexter was unleashed, taking three places to come home 7th.

Race Two. Starting seventh, his confidence was rising with every moment he sat in the car. He gained another place, passing the ever-difficult Aron Taylor-Smith, and secured another Independent Drivers win.

Race Three. Into the final race of the day from fifth, and a genuine chance of a podium — except car 17 was on the Hard tyre while almost everyone around him ran the more favoured Softs. He started well, and within a couple of laps found himself in a podium position. What a dream that would have been, but the hards would not hold out and 17 drifted back down the order to finish 10th. It is hard not to wonder where he would have ended up on equal rubber. Either way, a hugely promising weekend for the 23-year-old.

Three races, three Jack Sears Trophy wins, and the Independent Drivers win in Race Two. Dexter now leads the Jack Sears Trophy on 366 points to James Dorlin's 289 — 77 clear, with twelve wins to six.

Aiden Moffat, in one of the other PMR Audis, took second place in Race Three along with the Independents win in that race. All in all, PMR carried away some well-earned silverware again, and will be buying more metal polish.

Next we are off to Croft on 5–6 September, and we are confident Dexter and the PMR team will take this form north with them. Come and say hello if you're trackside.

Into Scotland, and Knockhill for rounds 16, 17 and 18 of the British Touring Car Championship — Dexter Patterson's home event, and the one weekend of the year where the crowd on the banking is firmly behind car 17.

Dexter and the S3 ended free practice in a very promising 2nd, though qualifying and race conditions bring fuel loads and tyre life into play, and the session left him 12th on the grid for Saturday's Race to Pole.

That race was action-packed. An incident on lap one brought out the safety car in dramatic style, and once the track was cleared Dexter found himself in a difficult battle with the two NAPA Racing Fords, dropping three places. He kept at it, and a fantastic move brought two of them straight back — one of them over Jack Sears Trophy rival James Dorlin — to line up 13th for Sunday.

Race One. Sunday, and down came the rain for the first of the three races. Starting 13th in the Awesome-sponsored Audi, on a circuit where overtaking is hard at the best of times, Dexter dropped as low as 16th in the early scrap and fell behind Dorlin.

Then he flicked the switch, and what followed was one of the drives of the year. He picked his way through the field and back up to 12th before a safety car killed his momentum. With it coming in and just five laps remaining, Dexter knew he had to push — and he crossed the line in a magnificent 7th, the fastest of the PMR Audis. Nine championship points banked.

Race Two. The circuit was drying, and from P7 Dexter was once again in a strong position to score at his home event. Another solid drive brought him home 8th, despite Charles Rainford charging from 21st to 7th, and once again he was the leading Audi of the now four-car team.

Race Three. The reverse grid put car 17 into a commanding 5th, and a real chance of a podium. Dexter was on the charge from the start and held off Rainford for several laps in a fantastic battle. He narrowly missed the rostrum, but brought the Audi home in a brilliant 4th — ahead of the other Audis again, and enough to take the weekend's Jack Sears Trophy and the Independents honours for Knockhill.

What a result it was. Jack Sears Trophy winner at Knockhill, Independents Trophy winner for the weekend, three strong races and three points-scoring finishes — an absolutely fantastic performance from Dexter at his home event.

He now leads the Jack Sears Trophy by 17 points, with nine wins to James Dorlin's six after a tricky weekend in Scotland for his rival. What a drive. What a weekend. What a result.

Next up is Donington Park GP on 22–23 August, and we cannot wait — come and say hello if you're trackside. Our prize draw for VIP tickets to the Silverstone rounds on 26–27 September has now closed — see the prize draw details here. See you there!

After a summer break that seemed to last for ever, we were back with Power Maxed Racing and Dexter Patterson for rounds 13, 14 and 15 of the British Touring Car Championship. With the sun still shining at the very quick and very unique Thruxton circuit in Hampshire, Saturday was set to host free practice, qualifying and the new-for-this-year Race to Pole.

A difficult free practice left car 17, the Awesome-sponsored Audi S3, down in 20th with work to do, and qualifying left it there — Dexter would start the Qually Race from the back half of the grid.

The Race to Pole ended with him in a far more promising 14th, after incidents left five drivers and cars with a DNF. That put Dexter in a much better position to score points in Sunday's opening race.

Sunday was a little cooler in the morning, but the heat was still on to convert 14th into valuable Jack Sears Trophy points. Race 1 saw Dexter unfortunately drop two places to 16th and out of the championship points, leaving the team with work to do across the two races that followed.

Race 2, and from 16th on the grid no positions could be gained — out of the points for a second time.

The final race of the day always brings some extra excitement, as the drivers put everything they have out on the circuit to end the weekend as well as it can go. Starting from 16th, Dexter knew he had to push hard for much-needed points, with Restart Racing's James Dorlin having scored well throughout the afternoon. After an event-filled race he gained seven places to finish 9th, taking seven valuable championship points and cutting the Jack Sears gap to just 2 points.

It was a difficult weekend for Dexter and the team, but he trails Dorlin by only those 2 points with both drivers on six wins each. This one looks to be going down to the wire, and the championship is still very much within his grasp.

In other PMR news, Mikey Doble secured an Independents race win in Race 1, though the difficult weekend for both LKQ PMR drivers was clear too, with a DNF for Aiden Moffat in Race 3.

Although it was a tough weekend, there are plenty of positives to take away. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn, and the team has gained valuable data and experience that will only make them stronger.

Now all eyes are on Knockhill in two weeks' time. We'll be back with renewed determination, ready to fight harder than ever and push for the results the team and Dexter are fully capable of achieving. We still have five events to go, so there is much more to come — and you can join us in VIP for the Silverstone rounds by entering our competition. See you soon!

For event four of the BTCC we travelled to our most local circuit, Oulton Park in Cheshire. Looking to regain his place at the top of the Jack Sears Trophy, Dexter Patterson had to put behind him the difficult weekend of Snetterton.

After a strong FP1 he put the number 17 car in 8th, two places behind his closest JST rival James Dorlin in 6th. Qualifying for the Race for Pole went well — 3rd in the second group, and a 5th-place start for the Qualifying Race.

Dexter finished Saturday 8th overall, with Jack Sears Trophy rival James Dorlin down in 17th — giving the Awesome-sponsored PMR Audi a great start and a commanding position heading into Sunday's Race 1.

At the end of Race 1 the PMR Audi (17) was 11th, but with valuable data banked for the next two races of the afternoon. Race 2 saw Dexter drop to 13th at one point before driving a great race back to a fantastic 8th — and into the points.

The reverse grid put the Awesome-sponsored car (17) 4th on the grid. As temperatures dropped at the Cheshire circuit we saw some amazing action, with two collisions bringing out safety cars. Dexter eventually finished 8th, securing the lead of the Jack Sears Trophy and a strong position to extend it as both car and driver improve. Dexter now leads the JST by 7 points!

The two other PMR Audis had a mixed bag of results, but some fantastic recovery drives, with finishes of 5th and 6th, 5th and 21st, and 10th and 11th.

After the break we return to racing with a visit to Thruxton, where again the PMR Audis should be strong. All images in this report were taken by members of our staff or their families — we took 65 staff and guests with us to this event. Enjoying the season so far and fancy an amazing VIP experience? Enter our competition to win VIP tickets to the BTCC at Silverstone.

Over to Snetterton for the next round of the BTCC championship — and the heat was not only on the track, but in the air playing its own part in the event.

Saturday practice gave us plenty to be hopeful about — Dexter showed his speed in the Awesome-sponsored Audi S3 and ended the session fourth overall. Qualifying for the BTCC Qualifying Race left him 12th, a fair platform to keep pushing for the Jack Sears Trophy. The Qually Race itself went well; Dexter gained a place to start Sunday's Race 1 in 11th.

Onto Sunday and the hot British sun shone down, creating a tricky day for all teams and drivers. Race 1 was a frustrating one — Dexter eventually crossed the line in 16th, but the team and driver were determined to push on. Race 2 was equally frustrating, leaving the S3 in 19th. The last race of the day brought a small improvement to 17th, but it was a difficult weekend with results not going the way the team had hoped — that's motorsport.

Dexter is now 15th overall in the BTCC standings and remains 2nd in the Jack Sears Trophy, just 10 points behind leader James Dorlin. The Power Maxed Racing team also still lead the Independent Teams' standings.

Onto Oulton Park next, where the Awesome team will be out in full support of Dexter and PMR. Pop over and see us — and don't forget to enter our competition to win VIP tickets to the BTCC at Silverstone. A quick thank you and well done to the marshals out there in the heat all weekend.

After a great opening round at Donington, Dexter and the team headed to Brands Hatch looking to extend the Jack Sears Trophy lead and grow the Independents advantage alongside the other two PMR Audis.

Saturday practice went well — Dexter second overall in the Awesome-sponsored Audi S3 and looking good for a strong weekend. After qualifying 8th for the BTCC Qualifying Race, Dexter gained a place to start Sunday's Race 1 in a promising 7th.

Lady luck didn't smile on the team early in Race 1 — Dexter unfortunately left the track with a damaged wheel. After a visit to the pits, the car was retired; too much gravel from the trap had worked its way into the brakes and cooling ducts to safely continue.

That left the S3 starting Race 2 from second-to-last on the grid in wet conditions. With a determined Dexter and a team that had the car ready to climb the order, he managed a fantastic 9th — and into the points. The ITV commentators picked the driver, team and car out in a very positive light throughout the day.

The grid draw for the third race wasn't kind either; Dexter started 10th and finished 11th with another very strong performance.

Dexter is now 2nd in the Jack Sears Trophy, a narrow 5 points behind rival James Dorlin. The Power Maxed Racing team lead the Independents standings, with the two other PMR drivers 1st and 2nd in the Independents drivers' standings after six races — another podium for Mikey Doble following his Donington win last time out.

Next up is Snetterton on 23–24 May, where we're hoping the team, drivers and cars can keep building points across all the competitions. And keep your eyes peeled for the Awesome PMR RS3 road car out on the road — see below for the Silverstone prize draw.

Brands Hatch — full session results

What a fantastic opening weekend for the PMR #17 car driven by Dexter Patterson. Saturday saw the first ever BTCC qualifying race, where Dexter qualified 10th for Sunday — a promising start for the first proper outing of the new Audi S3.

Come race day, Dexter crossed the line 9th in Race 1 and was elevated to 7th following rule infringements from other drivers — a fantastic result that he equalled in Race 2. BTCC rules then placed him on the front row for the final race of the day; a tricky start dropped him to fourth before he clawed his way back to an amazing 6th at the flag.

Dexter sits 6th in the BTCC drivers' standings and, importantly, 1st in the Jack Sears Trophy. He described it as his "best ever weekend in BTCC" — and we're sure this is only a sign of what's to come.

Mikey Doble in one of the other PMR cars (LKQ) won the first race of the season outright — a perfect start for the seasoned BTCC driver and an incredible achievement for a team who lost everything in a fire towards the end of last season and miraculously built three unbelievable Audis in time for the opener.

"We're incredibly proud of the team's efforts, and we're all looking forward to the next round at Brands Hatch."

Mark Ash — Managing Director, Awesome

Follow the car's progress on Saturdays via ITV's YouTube channel, then on ITV4 and ITVx on Sunday. We'll also be sharing behind-the-scenes video across our own channels — we'd love to hear your thoughts as the season unfolds.