BTCC 2022: Ingram dominates despite huge crash
Hyundai racer picks up two wins before huge crash in final race
Hyundai i30 Fastback N racer Tom Ingram bolstered his British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) title challenge with a dominant pair of victories at Oulton Park.
Ingram's strong weekend started when he claimed Excelr8 Motorsport's maiden pole position (which was also a first for a Hyundai), and he shone in the opening two races to move up to second in the points table.
It wasn't a perfect weekend for Ingram, though: he was one of a number of drivers involved in a big accident early in the incident-packed final race.
Team BMW's Stephen Jelley kept calm during the chaos and emerged to claim his fourth career BTCC win.
*Ingram untroubled in opening race*
Before last weekend, Ingram hadn't taken a win at Oulton Park since racing in the Ginetta GT Supercup there back in 2013 – but that wasn't reflected in his performance. He was briefly challenged by Toyota Corolla racer Rory Butcher at the start, but after brief contact, Ingram pulled clear and won comfortably.
It wasn't quite so straightforward behind, with Daniel Lloyd (Excelr8 Hyundai), Ash Sutton (Napa Racing Ford), Adam Morgan (Ciceley Motorsport BMW) and Gordon Shedden (Dynamics Honda) all in the mix.
Eventually, Morgan was tapped into a spin by Shedden while battling for fifth, sparking a brief safety-car period. Sutton then put in one of his typical charges, with Shedden in rapid pursuit. Both drivers worked their way past Lloyd, before teaming up to fight past Butcher the claim the final two spots on the podium – on the track, at least.
Shedden was handed a time penalty for his clash with Morgan, which dropped him to sixth behind Butcher, Colin Turkington (Team BMW) and Dan Cammish (Napa Ford).
*Ingram cruises again, with Turkington on the move*
Ingram was again untroubled in the second race, putting in another commanding performance to claim the 22nd victory of his BTCC career.
Sutton resumed battle with Butcher early in the event, before pulling clear to finish in the runner-up spot again.
Turkington then challenged Butcher but had to really work to find his way past on the tight, twisting Cheshire track. He eventually pulled off a move on the outside of the hairpin, securing the final podium spot.
Butcher, Shedden and Cammish then completed the top six.
*Jelley survives final race drama*
After the relatively calm of the first two races, the BTCC reverted to type in a dramatic reverse-grid finale.
Opening lap contact between Lloyd and Ricky Collard (Toyota Gazoo Racing) resulted in Lloyd being pitched into the barrier at high speed, before spinning back across the track. Lloyd's car was then hit by Turkington, with Ingram, Sutton and Michael Crees also taken out of the race in the ensuing pile-up.
Both Lloyd and Turkington were taken to the medical centre for checks, with Lloyd eventually sent to the hospital for X-rays. Thankfully, we was released with only heavy bruising.
At the restart, Jelley was able to pull clear of the pack and build a lead over Leaser Tools Racing Infiniti Q50 driver Aiden Moffatt that he held until the end.
Collard finished third on the road but was handed a five-second time penalty for the opening lap contact. That gave the final podium spot to BTC Racing Honda Civic Racer Josh Cook – a late boost for the championship leader after a comparatively quiet weekend.
That added to his eighth and ninth-place finishes in the opening two races, Cook left Oulton with a 15-point lead over Ingram.
The next BTCC event is at Croft on June 26.