Tom Ingram won the final Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship race of the day at Donington Park this afternoon (Sunday) after defeating title rival Ash Sutton in a dramatic fight at the front.
Sutton holds initially took the lead from his reverse grid pole position, with Josh Cook’s Toyota slotting into second ahead of Aron Taylor-Smith’s sister car. Ingram’s Team VERTU Hyundai was off to a flyer though and he dispatched both Cook and Taylor-Smith to seize second by the end of the first lap.
Ingram made the most of the slightly faster medium Goodyear tyre to close down on Sutton on the hard rubber and by lap three he was right on his tail. A lively side-by-side duel followed with Sutton refusing to give up in his Valvoline liveried NAPA Racing UK Ford.
Sutton could only keep his rival behind him until lap five however when the Hyundai surged up the inside at Redgate. The 2022 champion was then able to pull up the road from the four-time title winner into a lead he wouldn’t lose.
The pack was bunched up late on when an off-track incident for Nick Halstead summoned the safety car, but despite running closer to Ingram’s pace in the final laps, Sutton was forced to settle for second place.
Behind the leading duo, Taylor-Smith held third early on after following Ingram past Cook at the start of the second lap. He was able to hold onto the place for much of the opening half of the race before Daniel Rowbottom took it from him on lap seven. Rowbottom ultimately claimed the final step on the rostrum with Taylor-Smith coming home fourth.
Taylor-Smith had to work hard for the result though, with Jake Hill pressuring him late into the race in his Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport BMW. Hill was right on the Toyota’s bumper through the final corners but couldn’t make a move. Tom Chilton was likewise on Hill’s case all race and crossed the line just behind last year’s title winner.
Gordon Shedden was seventh with Dan Lloyd, Daryl DeLeon and Charles Rainford rounding out the top-10.
Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Donington Park, Race 3
- Tom Ingram, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N
- Ash Sutton, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus ST, +0.847s
- Daniel Rowbottom, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus ST, +2.658s
- Aron Taylor-Smith, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA, +6.502s
- Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, BMW 330i M Sport, +6.680s
- Tom Chilton, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N, +7.426s
- Gordon Shedden, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK with IAA, +7.740s
- Dan Lloyd, Restart Racing, Hyundai i30N, +9.186s
- Daryl DeLeon, WSR, BMW 330i M Sport, +10.086s
- Charles Rainford, LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR, +12.023s
Click here for full times and results from this weekend.