Why the BTCC's unexpected star is on borrowed time

The British Touring Car Championship aficionados had been getting excited for the latest installment of Ash Sutton versus Tom Ingram at Brands Hatch last weekend, but the theme of Sunday’s first two races ended up being Sutton against another driver from the Excelr8 Motorsport stable.

Back in 2023, after the equivalent event, we published a column sympathising with drivers in the midst of the new track-limits regulations, with Ricky Collard the biggest victim of the purge, losing his maiden BTCC race victory to Sutton in the process.

During the build-up to this season, few would have predicted Collard being the subject of a post Brands BTCC musing – and that includes the man himself. He’d fallen out of love with the series at the end of 2023, contemplated hanging up his helmet at the age of 27 and moving to Australia. But he didn’t do that: he joined forces with his dad, ex-BTCC veteran Rob Collard, and together they won the 2024 British GT Championship. Last year, Collard moved into GT World Challenge Europe, but as recently as February – just three months ago – he had no idea what he’d be doing this year.

Then, in March, came a very late deal with Excelr8 – just in time to take part in the official pre-season tests. As a result, his mileage at the wheel of the Hyundai i30 N Fastback was minimal as the season opened at Donington Park. Still, third from reversed-grid pole position in the final race was a good end to the weekend.

At Brands he was on it, scrapping like the terrier he is with Sutton through the first two races, which netted him a second and a third. At this point, he sat in the championship runner-up position to the Alliance Ford Focus driver - and ahead of Excelr8 team leader and reigning champion Ingram. When he emerged from the Hyundai after his place-swapping, never-say-die fight with Sutton in race one, Collard gleefully fizzed: “Love me or hate me – I’m never going to change!”

The battles with Sutton were picking up on a healthy rivalry that dates back to their days as youngsters in the 2014 British Formula Ford Championship. “I love racing Ricky,” chuckled Sutton. “I’ll be honest with you – me and Ricky have probably got one of the best on-track relationships in terms of how we go about our racing. We’re fair, we’re hard, we never step it over the mark unless there’s other things that have gone on or you’ve been hit by someone else. It’s like racing his old man all over again!” 

Ricky Collard has returned to the BTCC this year and is immediately fighting with the usual frontrunners

Photo by: JEP

Unfortunately, the pair came into contact – again – early in the final race, when Sutton inadvertently shoved Collard onto the grass. Pitting for grass to be removed from the radiator ruined his race. “The car’s great and I’m just really enjoying working with the team, getting stuck in,” he reflected in the Excelr8 truck after that letdown, which dropped him to a still-impressive fourth in the points. “A bit unfortunate what happened in race three. He [Sutton] just texted me to apologise, which is the right thing to do. He just hit the kerb, made a mistake and pushed me off. But we all make mistakes - I’d rather sort it out not in the stewards’ office, but just go and speak to him.”

That he was racing Sutton in the first place in all three races shows a rapid climb of a near-vertical learning curve for a driver who hadn’t been in a touring car for two and a half years. Brands on Sunday was Collard’s first taste of the Hyundai in the wet – and on slick tyres to boot. “Yeah, so much to learn,” he sighed. “It just shows what a good package it is. I won a British championship two years ago and I want to put in a decent effort for this. There’s no reason why we can’t be in the top three or four. Obviously this DNF has pushed me back a little bit. But we’ll be all right – we'll come back.”

The thing is, Collard’s deal only runs to mid-season. He needs an injection of commercial support to be on the grid beyond his home round at Thruxton in mid-July, otherwise all this promise may count for nothing.

He was off to find Sutton, have a chat face to face to iron things out, and look forward to what he can do next time out at Snetterton: “At least what happened in that last race means I’ll have a little bit more boost there…” Ricky Collard

“I’d rather be doing this than GTs if I’m honest,” said a man who has clearly rediscovered his touring car mojo. “This is so much better to drive. But at the moment it’s set in stone - no chance I can make the second half of the season. I do round five and then… I haven’t got many races left.

“We need someone [a backer] to get on the adventure with us. I think we’re getting plenty of coverage out there for the right reasons – and for the wrong reasons sometimes as well! I just want to be out there really. I’ve been stood on the other side of the fence for so many years [watching his father in the BTCC]. I know I’ve got a personality that will do anything to win, but I do everything to win in a fair manner, and I race hard and fair with everyone.”

The thing is, while Tom Chilton is the BTCC’s Mr Bad Luck Magnet so far for 2026, Collard’s presence can surely help Ingram’s title charge – the man himself acknowledged last year that having race-winning team-mates in the forms of Chilton, Adam Morgan and Senna Proctor was one of the ingredients of his success. It’s in Excelr8’s best interests to keep him there if possible. “We are all working together,” said Collard. “I’m trying my best to help him, and he tries his best to help me.” 

It's uncertain if Collard can complete the full season, but Excelr8 may need him to support Ingram's title defence

Photo by: JEP

And with that, he was off to find Sutton, have a chat face to face to iron things out, and look forward to what he can do next time out at Snetterton: “At least what happened in that last race means I’ll have a little bit more boost there…”

Is Doble moving into a title contender role?

With all the excitement over the entry of Plato Racing with its brand new Mercedes A35 Saloons, and the switch of Alliance Racing’s NAPA Ford Focuses from ST hatchback to Titanium saloon, it was understandable that some overlooked the BTCC’s other new model for 2026: Power Maxed Racing’s trio of Audi A3 Saloons.

Mikey Doble’s inherited victory at Donington Park - after Ingram’s race one exclusion - was a terrific start for the project. Ironically, Doble’s troubles in the other races at the opening round meant he was the lowest-placed PMR driver in the standings at the end of the weekend. But it was eyebrow-raising that Aiden Moffat, Dexter Patterson and Doble all arrived at Brands in the top seven in the championship – and with the TOCA Turbo Boost restrictions that brings with it.

While the outright pace wasn’t quite as strong as it had been at Donington, Doble brought his Audi home seventh (second best runner on medium tyres, behind only Ingram), sixth (just behind Moffat) and third (after a tremendous battle with Sutton) across the three races. He is the guy in between Ingram and Collard in third place in the points.

“It’s been a bit more consistent this weekend,” reflected Doble. “We had the glory of the win at Donington, but today – three top 10s, a podium – is exactly what we set out to do on a track where we sort of identified the car could be a little bit better. I think Donington suited it a bit more, so to still score those points and be top three in the championship heading into the next round is just unbelievable.

“It seems like every time I’m on the podium I end up having a scrap with Ash! It was good to show that we can have some kind of a fight against him. He’s really at his best with that car. We’ve got a little bit to find, but I’m right where I want to be.” 

Mikey Doble has been the surprise package of BTCC 2026

Photo by: JEP

Like Sutton with the new Focus saloon, Doble is feeling the benefit of moving out of the ranks of the hatchback Vauxhall Astra and Cupra Leon and their inferior aerodynamics.

“This is touring cars, it’s racing at the highest level,” he asserted. “Things are always going to move forward and these cars are getting quicker and quicker. Our car is good everywhere.

“We’ve got a good straight-line package with the aero, and everyone’s just built a solid car that’s been reliable so far, it’s been quick, and it’s just allowed us to develop and get our teeth stuck into it.”

The Audi only hit the track very late in the off-season, so it’s early days yet. You can definitely put Doble in your list of top-five-in-the-championship contenders this year – or even better. 

Next up is Snetterton on 23-24 May

Photo by: JEP