Aaron Thompson became the first repeat winner of the 2026 Pickup Truck Racing Championship season after getting the better of Dale Gent and Eric Boulton to claim victory in the opening encounter of the weekend at Thruxton.
Making a popular return to the high-speed Hampshire circuit after a few years away, the series picked up where it left off at Brands Hatch by delivering a captivating contest in front of a bumper trackside crowd.
After pacing the opposition in qualifying, Thompson started race one from pole position and initially gapped the chasing pack as the field jostled for position around the fast section of the circuit.
Former champion Gent emerged as one to watch from the get-go as he battled past Boulton to take second early on, before then setting his sights on Thompson out front.
Further back, reigning champion Ryan Hadfield endured a frantic opening few laps as he fought to hang on to fifth. Things did momentarily come to a head on lap three as he ran wide at Allard, which in-turn sent him skating across the grass and down a handful of positions.
Back up at the front, Thompson controlled proceedings however his mirrors soon became filled by the trio of Gent, Boulton and championship leader Allen Cooper, with less than a second covering the quartet heading into the final few laps.
With drops of rain beginning to fall, Cooper was the first to lose ground, making it a three-way fight to the finish. Despite his best efforts, Gent was unable to find a way past Thompson who held firm to claim his second win of the campaign.
Gent finished second while Boulton continued his fine start to the season with a second successive podium finish. Hadfield meanwhile managed to bounce back to finish fourth ahead of Cooper, whilst Daniel Fisher completed the top six.
The experienced Mark Willis was seventh, narrowly ahead of Michael Smith, Tom Hutchins and Mark Chalmers. Just missing out on the top ten was the returning James Goldstraw, who was making his first appearance of the season,
To view the full results classification for Round 4 of the 2026 Pickup Truck Racing Championship, CLICK HERE.
