Speedworks Motorsport's Tom Ingram claimed victory in the final Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race at Brands Hatch after getting the better of pole-sitter Rob Austin.
Austin made a stellar getaway off the line in the all-new Alfa Romeo Giulietta as he initially defended from the likes of Ollie Jackson's AmD with Cobra Exhausts Audi and Aiden Moffat's Laser Tools Racing Mercedes.
Ingram's first lap was even better as the Toyota star surged from 11th on the grid up to sixth, and he was also past Mike Bushell's VW for fourth shortly after.
James Cole's Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher Ford and Team BMW's Rob Collard had a coming together on lap three, which left the 1 Series stranded in the gravel at Druids. A safety car period followed and Ingram caught Scotsman Moffat napping shortly after the restart, moving the reigning Independents' champion into third.
Jackson began to fade and Ingram was soon into second, before he began hunting down DUO Motorsport with HMS Racing's Austin. Bushell and Moffat then made unfortunate contact at Clearways, sending the latter tumbling out of contention.
Ingram made his move for the lead stick on lap 13 as he scythed past Austin on the run down to Paddock Hill Bend, and the Toyota star would never look back – taking his first win of the season and with it the early championship lead.
"Fantastic! What a great end to the weekend," enthused Ingram. "There was a lot of pressure on us coming into this weekend, with people expecting us to qualify on pole and win the first race, but we had a bit of an uphill battle. We genuinely really struggled with pace in free practice and qualifying; the car didn’t feel fantastic, but my engineer Spencer and Christian [Dick – Team Principal] did one hell of a job to give me one hell of a race car today and it was really enjoyable out there.
"I honestly didn’t expect to win race three from that far down the grid – I’m proper chuffed. The Avensis was an absolute joy to drive, which made my life very easy – I could pick people off where I wanted. Once I had cleared Rob, my mind went into looking after the tyres and this car is just phenomenal. We put weight in it and it’s mega; we take the weight out, it’s mega. We’ve really found the sweet spot with the Avensis. It was fun being able to just throw it down the inside of people into Clearways – the car was so stable on the brakes. I can’t say enough good things about this team and all our awesome sponsors."
Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport's Adam Morgan made fantastic progress throughout the bout and he eventually got by Austin on the penultimate tour to grab second, although the HMS Racing squad would still take a memorable maiden podium with its new car.
Ashley Sutton showed his prowess during the day and duly backed-up his calibre with a solid fourth place for Adrian Flux Subaru Racing, ahead of Bushell – the Team HARD man having scored his best ever BTCC result to date.
Rory Butcher marked a memorable event for the AmD squad on home soil, as he took another top six finish result for the Essex team, whilst Matt Simpson completed arguably his most competitive BTCC weekend so far with seventh.
Race one winner Jack Goff was eighth, ahead of Team BMW's Colin Turkington and Power Maxed TAG Racing's Josh Cook.
2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 3 – Brands Hatch Indy
1 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport 27 laps
2 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport +3.237s
3 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) DUO Motorsport with HMS Racing +4.202s
4 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +8.939s
5 Mike BUSHELL (GBR) Trade Price Cars with Brisky Racing +10.376s
6 Rory BUTCHER (GBR) AmD with AutoAid/RCIB Insurance Racing +10.500s
7 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Simpson Racing +10.992s
8 Jack GOFF (GBR) WIX Racing with Eurotech +11.913s
9 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +12.068s
10 Josh COOK (GBR) Power Maxed TAG Racing +12.503s
11 Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +12.894s
12 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +14.628s
13 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team GardX Racing with Motorbase +15.033s
14 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD with Cobra Exhausts +15.127s
15 Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Power Maxed TAG Racing +15.634s
16 Chris SMILEY (GBR) BTC Norlin Racing +17.254s
17 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) BMW Pirtek Racing +17.321s
18 Tom BOARDMAN (GBR) AmD with AutoAid/RCIB Insurance Racing +20.438s
19 Jason PLATO (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +21.777s
20 Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Ciceley Motorsport +22.413s
21 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +22.831s
22 Brett SMITH (GBR) WIX Racing with Eurotech +26.435s
23 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +26.775s
24 Michael CAINE (GBR) Team HARD with Trade Price Cars +26.953s
25 Sam SMELT (GBR) AmD with Cobra Exhausts +28.041s
26 Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) Team HARD with Trade Price Cars +29.288s
27 Tom CHILTON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +2 laps
28 Josh PRICE (GBR) Autoglym Academy Racing +2 laps
29 Jake HILL (GBR) Trade Price Cars with Brisky Racing +2 laps
30 James NASH (GBR) BTC Norlin Racing +20 laps
31 James COLE (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +26 laps
32 Rob COLLARD (GBR) Team BMW +26 laps
