Power Maxed Racing’s Mikey Doble says ‘it’s all to play for’ in the battle to win the Independents’ title in the 2025 British Touring Car Championship.
Doble went into the weekend leading the Independent drivers’ standings by two points over Daniel Lloyd but left it trailing his rival by five after Lloyd outscored him in the first two races at Silverstone.
The 26-year-old had arrived at the Northamptonshire venue with confidence boosted by a recent test day at Snetterton, allowing Doble to become more familiar with his CUPRA, which he had been forced to switch to two events prior due to the team’s devastating fire at its premises.
In qualifying on Saturday, Doble made it out of Q1 but had to settle for 11th in Q2 as he lapped the short circuit just over half a second slower than the best time.
There was frustration in the opening race, however, when contact from Tom Chilton caused damage to his CUPRA whilst running in 12th, and second in the Independents, forcing him to pit for repairs and leaving him to take the finish in a lowly 21st and last, although bagging him crucial points for fifth in class.
From the back of the grid but with the soft tyre on for race two, Doble fought his way up to 11th and second in class.
He was then given a further boost when the top 12 were reversed for the finale, placing him on the front row of the grid, eventually finishing in tenth and gaining him his sixth Independents win of the season.
“Coming into Silverstone I had one aim and that was to ensure that I would be going to Brands Hatch in October with a shot at winning the Independent Drivers’ Championship and I think we can say we’ve ticked that box,” said Doble.
“In terms of overall results we haven’t done anything too spectacular but that’s alright because if I’m honest, I’m only focusing on two cars and those are the Restart Racing Hyundais of Dan Lloyd and Chris Smiley that I’m battling for the title.
“Over the course of the weekend I feel like we made good progress with the car, and had it not been for contact in race three we probably would have points in all three races.
“This CUPRA is tricky to get in the window, but everyone is working their socks off to move the car forward.
“We now go to Brands Hatch just five points off the top so it’s all to play for. We’ll see if we can unlock more out of the CUPRA and then it’ll be about throwing everything I’ve got at those final three races – we’ll be fighting until the very end that’s for sure.”