Tom Ingram made it two out of two as the Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com star held off title rival Jake Hill to win another Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship bout at Brands Hatch.
Having previously failed to win around the legendary Grand Prix circuit, like London buses, two have come along at once for Ingram.
Although it was another lights-to-flag triumph for the 29-year-old, Ingram had to contend with pressure from ROKiT MB Motorsport's Hill after he had finally squeezed by reigning champion Ash Sutton and Toyota GAZOO Racing UK's Rory Butcher.
Sutton's NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus is seemingly struggling for race winning pace when it really matters, and he slipped further behind Team BMW's Colin Turkington in the latter stages, who himself completed the rostrum after getting by Butcher.
Despite Turkington's impressive podium he is now out of mathematical contention to win a record fifth title, leaving a trio of contenders going into this afternoon's thrilling finale.
Ingram now leads Hill by 11 points, while Sutton is a further three in arrears with 22 still on the table.
Adam Morgan (Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport), Josh Cook (Rich Energy BTC Racing), Dan Cammish (NAPA Racing UK), Bobby Thompson (Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero) and Daniel Lloyd (Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com) completed the top ten positions.
Tom Ingram said: "I’m out of puff from that one! That really was hard work. I didn’t have the pace against Jake [Hill]; I really didn’t. The only way I think we had the pace was on hybrid deployment, so I had to save my hybrid and use it where it was going to hopefully open up a gap. Jake lost his hybrid a lap before me, so that’s where the gap came from at the end. Another one down!
"[Race three] is going to be a little bit of a case of damage limitation. But we need points. I need to have a little bit of a think, but I’d rather have an 11-points advantage than not have 11 points. It’s quite a nice little buffer but by no means is it a secure one. And by no means can we just drive round for this last race. It’s all coming down to this one!"
Jake Hill said: "It was nice, when it was just me and Tom [Ingram], it reminded me of my junior days really. It was nice, I enjoyed it. Credit to him, he drove an incredible race. We were so fast in the middle, I thought I could keep coming at him, but I just rinsed my rear tyres I had nothing left of them. I just couldn’t attack him in those last three laps, so fair play to him. Huge credit to my MB Motorsport crew, my ROKiT ship, it’s been fantastic. We’ve just got to give our all in this last race now.
"For us, the weather has a big part of it. We’ve just done what was ideally our best conditions, the hottest it’s been all day, but we’ll tweak it a little bit to try and make it last a bit longer."
Colin Turkington said: "Again, another really good race. Lap one was probably the hardest bit, going round the outside at Graham Hill, but immediately, my car felt a half second quicker than it was in race one. Just so much more compliant with the changes we made; it just felt racy!
"I’m pleased, but probably lost a bit too much time behind Ash [Sutton] and then behind Rory [Butcher] and Tom [Ingram] and Jake [Hill] were too far up the road. But I was always fighting a losing battle today, so it was just about ending the season on a high and I’m pleased with the two races so far. BMW have claimed the Manufacturers’ Championship, which is great, and Jake’s going to go toe to toe with Tom, so it’s going to be a good final. Hopefully they can just crack on with things and I don’t need to get involved."
2022 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 2 – Brands Hatch GP
1. Tom INGRAM (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com 15 laps
2. Jake HILL (GBR) ROKiT MB Motorsport +0.673s
3. Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.981s
4. Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Toyota GAZOO Racing UK +4.693s
5. Ash SUTTON (GBR) NAPA Racing UK +6.758s
6. Adam MORGAN (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +6.908s
7. Josh COOK (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +9.854s
8. Dan CAMMISH (GBR) NAPA Racing UK +10.177s
9. Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero +11.301s
10. Daniel LLOYD (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +11.786s
11. George GAMBLE (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +12.415s
12. Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +12.812s
13. Daniel ROWBOTTOM (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +13.553s
14. Tom CHILTON (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +13.877s
15. Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team BMW +14.204s
16. Ricky COLLARD (GBR) Toyota GAZOO Racing UK +14.988s
17. Ash HAND (GBR) CarStore Power Maxed Racing +17.666s
18. Jason PLATO (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +18.046s
19. Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +19.543s
20. Dexter PATTERSON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +19.772s
21. Michael CREES (GBR) CarStore Power Maxed Racing +26.729s
22. Sam OSBORNE (GBR) Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan +27.126s
23. Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan +27.786s
24. Jack BUTEL (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +28.916s
25. Jade EDWARDS (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +33.184s
26. Rick PARFITT (GBR) Uptonsteel with Euro Car Parts Racing +34.302s
27. Árón TAYLOR-SMITH (IRL) Yazoo with Safuu.com Racing +4 laps
28. Nic HAMILTON (GBR) Yazoo with Safuu.com Racing +14 laps
29. Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero +15 laps
