Árón Taylor-Smith rounded out his Independent title-winning season in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship with a 20th Independent win, a strong haul of points at Brands Hatch and a record-breaking 7th in the overall championship.
The Irish racer arrived at the Kent venue's world-renowned Grand Prix circuit fresh from securing the Independent crown in the UK's premier motorsport category at Silverstone last time out, and with the sole aim of bringing down the curtain on the 2024 campaign with yet another strong showing. Having comfortably cleared both knockout rounds to secure a fifth consecutive "Quick Six" appearance, Taylor-Smith's efforts in the final part of qualifying were enough to head up the third row of the grid, in fifth.
Starting in the thick of both the manufacturer-backed entries and the contenders for the overall title, Taylor-Smith raced his way to a hat-trick of points finishes on Sunday. Two equally hard-fought contests netted the Dubliner a brace of sixth-placed finishes in Races 1 & 2, with the latter also marking Taylor-Smith's 20th Independent win of the season. That - plus the end-of-season Independent title celebrations for both Taylor-Smith and Power Maxed Racing - provided a fitting backdrop on which to draw a line under 2024, and begin preparations for 2025.
Aron Taylor-Smith (#40) said: "This season has been everything I'd dreamed of since I was a small child. "To win any championship in the BTCC is no easy feat, and without a doubt what we've achieved this year, both as Independent champions but also in how we've taken the fight to the manufacturer teams, is definitely the highlight of my career to-date. But make no mistake - my aim is still to keep pushing, keep improving and get back to winning races overall and, eventually, fight for that overall title."
