Ingram Bags Double Win in Season Opener

Photo courtesy of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC)

After a long winter’s break, it was finally time to go racing this past weekend as the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) marked the start of the 2024 campaign from Donington Park.

The British weather played it’s part in shaking things up at the season opener last year and, with some changes in regulations and a new qualifying format thrown into the mix, the Derbyshire circuit once again gave us a memorable weekend of action.

Qualifying

Saturday afternoon saw the debut of the new ‘Quick Six’ qualifying format, reminiscent of the strategy adopted by IndyCar.

The times set in FP2 determined the split of the field into two groups. Each group then took turns to run out for a ten-minute session, with the top six fastest runners progressing to Q2, in a twelve-car shootout. The top half from this round officially became the ‘Quick Six’ and advanced to the final ten-minute session, their final chance to bag pole position for Round 1.
It was evident early on that the new format caught a few of the early favourites off-guard, with NAPA Racing UK’s Dan Cammish and Dan Rowbottom failing to make it to Q2. NAPA’s day did not get much better when Sam Osborne crashed out during Q2 after advancing as one of the top twelve.

All eyes were also on BTCC returnee and former World Touring Car champion Rob Huff, making his first appearance for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, but his plans were scuppered early when the team failed to have his car out in the pits before the start of the first session, preventing Huff from being able to take part in qualifying.

Andrew Watson (also with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing) gave the Speedworks outfit a ray of hope by progressing to the final ‘Quick Six’ round alongside the BMW’s of Colin Turkington and Jake Hill, BRISTOL STREET MOTORS' duo Ronan Pearson and Tom Ingram, and defending four-time BTCC champion Ash Sutton (NAPA Racing UK).
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In the end, it was an ever-steady display that saw 2022 champion and last year’s runner up Ingram bagging the first pole of the season, a fraction of a second ahead of Sutton and Turkington.

Qualifying - Quick Six

1 80 Tom INGRAM Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS 81:07.845
2 1 Ashley SUTTON NAPA Racing UK 81:07.896
3 20 Colin TURKINGTON Team BMW 81:08.160
4 24 Jake HILL Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport 81:08.220
5 14 Ronan PEARSON Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS 81:08.621
6 11Andrew WATSON TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK 81:08.837

Photo courtesy of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC)

Round One

The heavens opened on Sunday morning to stop play early, causing an over-two-hour delay to all race action from the off. The circuit, TOCA and MSV crews all worked tirelessly to continuously monitor conditions on the track to ensure the fans and drivers did not miss out on the day's racing, giving the nod that the BTCC pits could finally open at around 1:35pm.

When the lights finally went out, it was the BMW's that made the best start as both Colin Turkington and Jake Hill leapfrogged Ash Sutton off the line to move into 2nd and 3rd respectively.

However, as soon as the action began it was halted after Sam Osborne became a passenger as his NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus ST left the track and collided at high speed with the tyre wall for the second time in as many days, after only three-quarter's of the first lap. Any early progress made by the front-runners was extinguished as the pack was closed back up behind pole man Tom Ingram for the next 15 laps behind the safety car.

The restart signalled a frantic final 5 laps, with Ingram moving clear almost immediately from Jake Hill. Further back, Rob Huff - wanting to make good on his last-place start after Saturday's qualifying debacle - progressed up to 14th within the next couple of laps. His progress was thwarted, however, as he was nudged off the track after getting caught as an innocent bystander when Dan Rowbottom made contact with Mikey Doble (EVANS HALSHAW POWER MAXED RACING).

With Ash Sutton being forced to defend for much of the remainder after nabbing 2nd place from Hill, all Ingram had to do was keep his machine moving and clear of drama as he brought it home and claimed the first victory of the season.

2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 1 – Donington Park
1. Tom Ingram, Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS 21 Laps
2. Ash Sutton, NAPA Racing UK +2.485s
3. Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport +4.239s
4. Colin Turkington, Team BMW +8.148s
5. Ronan Pearson, Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS +9.153s
6. Josh Cook, LKQ Euro Parts with SYNETIQ +11.511s
7. Árón Taylor-Smith, Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing +13.249s
8. Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK +14.382s
9. Aiden Moffat, LKQ Euro Parts with SYNETIQ +19.036s
10. Andrew Watson, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK +19.488s

Photo courtesy of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC)

Round Two

Much like the first race, it was the rear-wheel power of the BMW 330e M Sport that propelled Laser Tools Racing's Jake Hill to the front of the pack from the line, taking the lead from third on the grid by the first corner, whilst a lock-up by BMW team-mate Colin Turkington further back handed fourth place to Josh Cook (LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ).

Hill's pace at the front left his title rivals Ash Sutton and Tom Ingram battling over second. On the fifth lap, Sutton made a brave play going into the Old Hairpin but Ingram tussled to maintain his place.

NAPA Racing UK team-mate Dan Cammish, meanwhile, continued turning his weekend around as he benefited from Ronan Pearson running wide onto the grass. Pearson gifted sixth place to Power Maxed Racing's Aron Taylor-Smith momentarily before Cammish made his own move on the Vauxhall Astra and took the place for himself.

A little further back, both Dan Rowbottom and Rob Huff continued their own progress up the pack, battling each other for twelfth position by the mid-way point of the race.

Despite still battling each other for second place, Ingram and Sutton continued closing the gap on leader Jake Hill, with Ingram passing through masterfully on the inside to regain the lead with four laps to go, taking Sutton with him and sending the Laser Tools man back to third.

The runners-up fight was far from over, however, as Hill and Sutton exchanged positions in quick succession on the sixteenth lap, leaving Ingram only needing to once again stay safe and crossing the line for his second win of the day.

Dan Rowbottom and Rob Huff continued their resurgence for the remainder of the race to both secure Top Ten finishes, with the reverse grid draw rewarding former World champion Huff with pole position for Round Three.

2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 2 – Donington Park
1. Tom Ingram, Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS 18 Laps
2. Ash Sutton, NAPA Racing UK +0.917s
3. Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport +1.845s
4. Josh Cook, LKQ Euro Parts with SYNETIQ +5.725s 
5. Colin Turkington, Team BMW +6.775s
6. Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK +8.378s
7. Adam Morgan, Team BMW +9.004s 
8. Aiden Moffat, LKQ Euro Parts with SYNETIQ +11.653s
9. Rob Huff, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK +12.697s
10. Dan Rowbottom, NAPA Racing UK +13.294s

Photo courtesy of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC)

Round Three

For the third straight race, it was the BMW's that made the best start when the lights went out, with Team BMW's Adam Morgan surging forward past the all-Speedworks front row of Huff and Moffat to nab the lead, with Colin Turkington going with him to take third. By the end of the first lap, Moffat reclaimed the position for himself from the Ulsterman.

Champion Ash Sutton continued his earlier battle with Jake Hill and made a move on the inside. Hill tried to close the door but the four-time titleholder kept his cool and moved on through to fifth.

Daryl DeLeon, having turned in some remarkable displays over the weekend for his new Duckham's Racing team, left the track at speed and ended up in the gravel trap, bringing out the safety car.

Two laps later, Morgan held on to the lead on the restart but one lap later, a lock-up handed the lead back to Rob Huff. Returning the favour of the BMW double-play at the start of the race, Aidan Moffat followed Huff's path and returned to second place ahead of Turkington.

Moffat kept up the pressure on his Speedworks stablemate for the next couple of laps, narrowing the gap before taking the lead through Mclean's. The battle ensued and the two exchanged the lead twice more over the next lap, at one point with six cars in contention at the front with Hill, Morgan, Turkington and Sutton all still firmly in the mix.

Momentum would soon retreat from Huff as his ran wide to let Adam Morgan back into second, before losing another place to an ever-tenacious Ash Sutton. A couple of laps later, Huff found himself on the wrong end when avoiding getting caught in a tussle between Ingram and Hill and soon found himself down in seventh.

Come the end of a thrilling race, Aidan Moffat pulled out every ounce of everything he had for the remainder of the race, fending off challenges from Turkington and Sutton, to bring home the win - the fifth of his career and the first for the new Speedworks satellite LKQ Euro Car Parts team, followed by Turkington in second and Ash Sutton, who completed the day with a hat-trick of podiums.

Aiden Moffat: “The car has felt great all weekend. We started at the back of the grid for the first race but that wasn’t the pace of our car. The aim was the podium and I had to be aggressive early on. I was trying to be clever with hybrid – I knew we were weaker in the second half of the lap so I was trying to deploy there when I could.
“Everyone at Speedworks has done such a great job, it has been a really hard few weeks, lots of long hours ahead of the season. After two top tens finishes earlier today, it would have been great just to fight for a podium, never mind standing on the top step.
"It has been a few hard seasons for me, and it's important this year for me to show my pace and win again, so to do that at the first weekend means so much."

After his double-win earlier in the day, Tom Ingram ends the first meeting at the top of the Driver's championship standings, 9 points ahead of defending champion Ash Sutton.

Tom Ingram (Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS): “What an absolutely perfect weekend for Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS, we couldn't have asked for anything more from qualifying, to race one, to race two, it's been fantastic. It's so hard to know when to keep your powder dry as to when to use your hybrid."

2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 3 – Donington Park
1. Aiden Moffat, LKQ Euro Parts with SYNETIQ 20 Laps
2. Colin Turkington, Team BMW +0.520s
3. Ash Sutton, NAPA Racing UK +1.625s 
4. Tom Ingram, Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS +1.981s
5. Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport +2.284s
6. Rob Huff, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK +4.041s
7. Adam Morgan, Team BMW +6.158s 
8. Dan Rowbottom, NAPA Racing UK +6.304s
9. Josh Cook, LKQ Euro Parts with SYNETIQ +9.322s
10. Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK +9.819s

Photo courtesy of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC)

The competition continues in two weeks' time at Brands Hatch (Indy) on 11th/12th May.

Chris Tetreault-Blay
BTCC Journalist @ F1 Journal