Celebrating his first full year in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), Daryl DeLeon has now found his footing in one of the most competitive motorsport events in the UK. And he marked the special occasion at Croft Circuit by finishing in the points, which he’s now able to do more consistently in 2024.
Driving the #18 Duckhams Racing with Bartercard Cupra León, Daryl was on pace straight away. The work put in by Un-Limited Motorsport allowed the Filipino-British driver to set the 16th fastest time in Free Practice, which gave him full confidence going into Qualifying. Although he wasn’t able to advance into the Top 12, his best lap was only a second off pole and earned him P14 on the grid.
A good getaway in Race 1 placed him in the middle of the Top 10 battle and was now able to put up a fight – something he couldn’t do previously due to recurring technical woes. Now with a proper setup and the #18 Cupra León finally running at 100%, Daryl enjoyed the 15-lap race as he clashed with the other Independent entries. He would later cross the line in a solid P13, but was later demoted to 18th place due to a jump start penalty that was no fault of his own.
Knowing his true potential, Daryl fought even harder in Race 2. He made his way from P18 on the grid to 14th place at the finish – this time with no penalties to secure points towards the 2024 championship
Starting from P14 gave Daryl the best opportunity to get into a Top 10 spot. He got his elbows out and muscled his way past his closest competitors in the Independents and Jack Sears Trophy to take the chequered flag in P10. It was definitely one of the best performances from the 18-year-old, which unfortunately was taken away once again due to a jump start that dropped him to 17th.
It was later determined that his infringements were due a technical fault that caused on his #18 Cupra León to creep off the line. Although it robbed him of a Top 10 finish, Daryl is determined to maintain his momentum into Knockhill on the 10th to 11th of August with his line lock hopefully fixed.
Daryl DeLeon: “It was good to get back out there again. I’ve now had a full year in the BTCC and the car is getting ever so stronger. The team around me is getting stronger as well and I feel like I’m driving much better. It’s all positive and ready to go again at Knockhill, but Croft was another round where we showed our potential. And hopefully, fingers crossed, we have a really strong end to the year with the last 4 rounds.”
Daryl DeLeon is supported by Un-Limited Edition and Train Maintenance Services (TMS).