Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe
BTCC Silverstone (National Circuit)

BTCC Silverstone: Ingram overcomes last lap contact with Sutton to win delayed final race

The race was red-flagged for 25 minutes before a restart allowed the race to finish

Tom Ingram, Team Bristol Street Motors Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance

Tom Ingram, Team Bristol Street Motors Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance

Photo by: JEP

Powered by Cataclean

BTCC coverage powered by Cataclean

Tom Ingram won a thrilling final race of the day in the British Touring Car Championship round at Silverstone after a 25-minute red flag for torrential rain.

Ingram’s defeat of Ash Sutton after last-corner contact at Luffield means he goes to the final round at Brands Hatch level on points with Jake Hill, who was classified fifth after receiving a penalty.

The race looked set to be abandoned after eight laps amid worsening conditions and be declared null and void.

Ingram had taken the lead at the start from third on the reversed grid, his Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai i30 N Fastback sweeping majestically around the outside of poleman Chris Smiley and front-row starter Dan Cammish at Copse Corner.

On the fourth lap, Colin Turkington, who had already twice lost time by running wide twice at Copse, appeared to be caught out by West Surrey Racing BMW team-mate Adam Morgan getting sideways under braking for Becketts, and he revolved into the gravel trap.

Out came the safety car, and while this was circulating conditions worsened to the extent that the race was red-flagged on the ninth lap.

The field was held for 25 minutes in the pitlane before restarting behind the safety car, ostensibly to get to the 50% distance at which half-points could be awarded.

But by the time this happened, the rain had stopped and after four laps behind the safety car, the green flags waved with 13 laps of racing still to come.

Sutton had stormed from 12th on the grid to third in his Alliance Racing-run NAPA Ford Focus ST before the stoppage, and at the restart he surged past second-placed Josh Cook’s Speedworks-run Toyota Corolla GR Sport on the exit of Copse by using his hybrid.

Sutton then closed in on Ingram, and the two traded fastest laps as they circulated together, the bonus point eventually going to the Hyundai man.

It all seemed over with three laps remaining when Ingram pulled out a 1.3-second gap, but Sutton came back at him. At Luffield on the final lap, Sutton’s tighter line brought him into play with Ingram’s wider arc on the exit.

The two made contact, and Sutton appeared to back off to allow Ingram to stay ahead and prevent himself getting a penalty.

“I knew that Ash was going to come too fast – that was a given,” said Ingram.
 
“It was a case of managing risks and I couldn’t afford to make a mistake, but at the same time I had to push on – I couldn’t just drive around.
 
“Ash made a couple of mistakes and that kind of saved my bacon I think.”

Cook ran a lonely third, while Hill finished fourth in his West Surrey Racing BMW 330e M Sport after passing Rob Huff’s Speedworks Toyota at Luffield, although the former World Touring Car champion was run out of room at the exit and Hill was reprimanded for the move.
 
Huff, who had charged into contention from 11th on the grid, was then nerfed sideways at Copse in a battle with the sensational Dan Zelos, who got up to fifth on his second weekend in the BTCC in an Excelr8 Hyundai before being repassed by Dan Cammish (Alliance Ford) on the penultimate lap.
 
Cammish led for a few yards on the first lap when he repassed Ingram into Becketts, but his engine cut as he hit the brakes and he sailed wide – it then refired when he hit the gravel and he set about recovering as best he could.
 
Part of that entailed a battle with Hill, during which contact at Luffield resulted in Hill’s demotion behind Cammish in the results to fifth.
 
Morgan was seventh from Huff, but both moved up a place ahead of Zelos when the BTCC newcomer received a penalty for his Copse move on the Toyota.

Aron Taylor-Smith (Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astra) and Sam Osborne (Alliance Ford) completing the top 10.
 
While Zelos took Jack Sears Trophy honours across the weekend, PMR Vauxhall driver Mikey Doble did enough to clinch the 2024 championship for those who had never scored an overall BTCC podium before the season.
 
It completed a title treble for the Midlands team, which also added the Independent Teams’ crown to Taylor-Smith’s Independent Drivers’ honour, which he wrapped up in race two.
 
In the overall championship reckoning, six drivers remain in contention. Behind Hill – who leads on wins countback – and Ingram, Sutton is 33 points adrift, while Cammish (56), Cook (63) and Turkington (64) retain the slenderest of mathematical chances with 67 available at the Brands finale.

BTCC Silverstone: Race three results

   
1
 - 
4
   
   
1
 - 
2
   
Cla Driver # Car Laps Time Interval km/h Retirement Points
1 United Kingdom T. Ingram Team Bristol Street Motors   Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance 25

58'51.030

       
2 United Kingdom A. Sutton NAPA Racing UK   Ford Focus ST 25

+0.293

58'51.323

0.293      
3 United Kingdom J. Cook LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ   Toyota Corolla GR Sport 25

+6.234

58'57.264

5.941      
4 United Kingdom J. Hill Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport   BMW 330e M Sport 25

+12.255

59'03.285

6.021      
5 United Kingdom D. Cammish NAPA Racing UK   Ford Focus ST 25

+13.541

59'04.571

1.286      
6
D. Zelos Team Bristol Street Motors
  Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance 25

+13.966

59'04.996

0.425      
7 United Kingdom A. Morgan Team BMW   BMW 330e M Sport 25

+17.341

59'08.371

3.375      
8 United Kingdom R. Huff Toyota Gazoo Racing UK   Toyota Corolla GR Sport 25

+19.014

59'10.044

1.673      
9 Ireland A. Taylor-Smith Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing   Vauxhall Astra 25

+19.366

59'10.396

0.352      
10 United Kingdom S. Osborne NAPA Racing UK   Ford Focus ST 25

+20.986

59'12.016

1.620      
11
M. Doble Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing
  Vauxhall Astra 25

+21.317

59'12.347

0.331      
12 United Kingdom T. Chilton Team Bristol Street Motors   Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance 25

+22.693

59'13.723

1.376      
13
D. De Duckhams Racing with Bartercard
  Cupra León 25

+23.329

59'14.359

0.636      
14 United Kingdom A. Watson Toyota Gazoo Racing UK   Toyota Corolla GR Sport 25

+24.494

59'15.524

1.165      
15 United Kingdom D. Rowbottom NAPA Racing UK   Ford Focus ST 25

+26.077

59'17.107

1.583      
16 United Kingdom C. Smiley Restart Racing   Cupra León 25

+26.502

59'17.532

0.425      
17
S. Sumpton Restart Racing
  Cupra León 25

+28.261

59'19.291

1.759      
18
N. Halstead Team Bristol Street Motors
  Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance 25

+29.463

59'20.493

1.202      
dnf United Kingdom C. Turkington Team BMW   BMW 330e M Sport 3

 

    Retirement  
dnf United Kingdom A. Moffat LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ   Toyota Corolla GR Sport 3

 

    Retirement  

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article BTCC Silverstone: Hill pulls a gap out on Ingram again
Next article Podcast: The Best of Super Touring Power 2 - Jake Hill, Anthony Reid and Laurent Aiello

Top Comments

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe