The Story
After the new B-TEC series was put off for a year, Team BKR working with Team BMR, joined the British Touring Car Championship with two cars. Aron Smith would join the team for his fourth full season in the series, partnering Mark Howard, who would be making his debut in the championship. Howard faced a difficult debut season, ending the ten rounds with minus three points, whilst his team mate found success with three podiums and even a race win.
Smith immediately took the team leader role, taking points in the first race of the championship whilst Howard finished twenty third. In only the second race of the season the Irish driver took BKR’s first podium, a third place ahead of all four BMR drivers, the team he had been at the year before. Howard didn’t have the same luck, moving backwards from his P23 starting position before contact in race three led him to his first BTCC retirement.
Contact was the theme of the season for Howard, who will be remembered by many for his involvement in collisions in his debut season. The crash at the end of the Snetterton race will be one that will stay in many fans’ minds. The incident, which saw Hunter Abbot’s car crash into a television tower, occurred after Abbot tried to avoid a collision between Howard and a number of other drivers. Howard was only given a verbal reprimand for the incident.
Rockingham couldn’t have been a more different weekend for the two drivers. Smith became the twelfth different winner of the season after being given pole position in the reverse grid draw. In the very same race, Howard crashed into Jack Goff, which earned him his third strike on his license and a suspended race ban which meant he would start the first race at Silverstone from the back of the grid.
Overall, it was a mixed season for BKR, but probably better than the team had expected in their debut season. Whilst crashes and penalties will put a damper on their season, the team managed a twelfth place in the teams’ championship and Mark Howard even took a rookie race win when Ashley Sutton was excluded from the Silverstone results.
The Stats
Qualifying Positions
Finishing Positions
Position Changes
Image Credit: Caroline Rhea
