Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com's Tom Ingram won the opening Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship race of the new season at Donington Park, having got the better of his BMW rivals in the opening laps.
The BTCC Hybrid curtain raiser commenced in exciting fashion as West Surrey Racing stablemates Jake Hill and Colin Turkington went side-by-side on a number of occasions during the first lap and a half.
The scrapping BMWs allowed for a five-car train going into Coppice for the second time, and with Hill run out wide on the exit of the turn, Ingram eyed his opportunity to dart past both of the front-runners.
Hyundai man Ingram managed to keep the chasing pack at bay as the 28-year-old went on to claim the 20th win of his BTCC career so far.
"That was a strong race," he said. "The pace of it all the way through was fast! At no point could I relax; I had Colin pushing me along, I could see Jake then catching onto the back of him. So at no point did I think ‘it’s okay, I can just bring this one home.’ You were always having to check on the mirrors, see how much you’ve got, how much you can take out and deploy with hybrid of course. But I’m so pleased to get that one out the way and to top it off with a win is just perfect.
"[The race] kind of had more of a dynamic about it in terms of having to think about it. From a drivers’ point of view, we’re earning our money this weekend because it’s busy, there’s a lot going on. So it’s heavy going. But the racing was fantastic. It’s nice to have an extra thing to think about and tactics to play with. I’m really pleased to get that first one out of the way, it was great to get through it with no problems. The first lap was a bit spicy, but I’m really, really pleased and to get that first win with Bristol Street Motors joining the team is just fantastic."
Hill was bumped further down the order by NAPA Racing UK's Ash Sutton and Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport's George Gamble, and the pole-sitter would spend much of the remainder making his way back past the duo.
Halfords Racing with Cataclean's Gordon Shedden was one of the fastest cars on track with the Scotsman making a number of impressive moves on his way to fourth.
The three-time champion was further boosted post-race when he was handed the final place on the podium after Hill's car was excluded for failing a ride height check.
Sutton eventually had to settle for fourth ahead of the Ciceley Motorsport-run duo of Adam Morgan and Gamble, whilst Team BMW's Stephen Jelley came home seventh.
Josh Cook enjoyed a fightback performance following a frustrating qualifying session yesterday, as the Bath racer blasted his Rich Energy BTC Racing Honda up the order to eighth. There was heartbreak for team-mate Jason Plato, whose own impressive display was scuppered by a last lap puncture.
Dan Rowbottom (Halfords Racing with Cataclean) and Tom Chilton (Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com) showed solid pace to complete the top ten positions.
Special mentions for Team HARD as the Kent squad fired both Aron Taylor-Smith and Bobby Thompson into the points, whilst Dan Cammish finished 16th after his NAPA Racing UK outfit produced an herculean to repair his stricken Ford Focus after the dramatic fuel fire during qualifying.
2022 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 1– Donington Park
1. Tom INGRAM (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com 19 laps
2. Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.659s
3. Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +4.122s
4. Ash SUTTON (GBR) NAPA Racing UK +5.067s
5. Adam MORGAN (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +5.466s
6. George GAMBLE (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +7.173s
7. Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team BMW +7.477s
8. Josh COOK (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +13.266s
9. Daniel ROWBOTTOM (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +14.668s
10. Tom CHILTON (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +16.553s
11. Daniel LLOYD (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +17.067s
12. Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero +21.532s
13. Árón TAYLOR-SMITH (IRL) Yazoo with Safuu.com Racing +21.554s
14. Michael CREES (GBR) CarStore Power Maxed Racing +21.689s
15. Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +23.967s
16. Dan CAMMISH (GBR) NAPA Racing UK +23.969s
17. Dexter PATTERSON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +24.774s
18. Ash HAND (GBR) CarStore Power Maxed Racing +25.482s
19. Nic HAMILTON (GBR) Yazoo with Safuu.com Racing +36.505s
20. Jason PLATO (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +49.372s
21. Rick PARFITT (GBR) Uptonsteel with Euro Car Parts Racing +57.207s
22. Jade EDWARDS (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +58.207s
23. Sam OSBORNE (GBR) Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan +1:00.860s
24. Jack BUTEL (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +4 laps
25. Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan +12 laps
26. Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Toyota GAZOO Racing UK +16 laps
27. Ricky COLLARD (GBR) Toyota GAZOO Racing UK +18 laps
DSQ Jake HILL (GBR) ROKiT MB Motorsport
