Mikey Doble will head into the final rounds of the 2023 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship in contention for the Jack Sears Trophy after a rollercoaster race day at Silverstone this past weekend (23/24 September).
The CarStore Power Maxed Racing driver clinched a maiden pole position in qualifying around the Northamptonshire circuit, before then going onto claim a hat-trick of points finishes.
Running towards the top of the times across Saturday’s two practice sessions, the 24-year-old headed into qualifying that afternoon as one of the drivers to watch – and he duly delivered as he stormed his way to the top of the timesheets.
Race one would then see Doble endure the highs and lows of motorsport as he produced a strong comeback drive from the back of the grid in mixed conditions.
Originally set to start on the front row, an error in communication from the team lead to him completing a second green flag lap, whilst the rest of the field formed up as normal on the grid.
Faced with now starting from last, Doble scythed his way up the order to clinch 11th at the chequered flag.
Doble then added to his points tally in an equally frenetic second race as he bounced back from a trip through the gravel to finish 15th.
Starting on the eighth row of the grid for the reverse grid finale, Doble brought the curtain down on his weekend with another competitive drive, this time claiming 14th overall.
Leaving Silverstone, Doble sits second in the Jack Sears Trophy standings, 18 points behind his team-mate Andrew Watson.
“I’m not sure how to put into words the mixed emotions we are feeling coming away from Silverstone," said Doble. "It was unfortunately the perfect storm with the mixed weather conditions leading into race one, that an unfortunate mistake resulted in me taking a second green flag lap.
“We fought hard to come through the field from last to 11th, followed by some fraught midfield battles in races two and three resulting in two further points finishes.
“Moving forward I hope the events which occurred today will not overshadow the remarkable achievement for me and the team of scoring a pole position in my rookie season, a statistic which no one will ever be able to take from me.
“We are still very much in the hunt for the Jack Sears Trophy title and there couldn’t be a better venue to bring the curtain down than Brands Hatch GP, we’ll be going there fighting as hard as ever.
“Thanks – as always – must go out to the entire team for all their hard work and to my friends, family and sponsors who came to support me.”
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will bring the curtain down on its 2023 season on the 7/8 October, with three races scheduled to play out around the Grand Prix layout of Brands Hatch.