Tom Ingram made his pace clear in the weekend’s only Free Practice session as the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship descended on the Donington Park GP Circuit.
The fast and frenetic 50-minute session saw all 23 cars take to the track, completing hundreds of miles around the famous Leicestershire venue.
There was one stoppage during the single practice session as Josh Cook's Speedworks Corolla Racing's machine came to a halt after the Old Hairpin. The momentary pause saw Charles Rainford's WSR BMW lead the way, but the times came tumbling down after the green flag waved once more.
When the chequered flag fell it was Mikey Doble second behind Ingram, ahead of Dan Rowbottom (CPRL), Rainford and Knockhill race winner Adam Morgan (CPRL).
As a reminder, the finishing order of Free Practice is now split into two groups, odd-finishing-numbers (Group 1) and even-finishing-numbers (Group 2), for a 15-minute qualifying session to set their fastest times.
The group with the fastest qualifying time will occupy the odd-numbered grid positions for the Qualifying Race, ordered by their respective qualifying times. The other group will occupy the even-numbered grid positions, also ordered by qualifying times.
15 minutes after the qualifying session for Group 2 has concluded, the standard grid procedure for a race start begins, and the pit lane opens. The finishing order of the shorter nine lap ‘Race to Pole’ will determine the grid for the first of Sunday’s traditional trio of races.
Half-points are awarded for the Qualifying Race. There are no bonus points for leading a lap, the fastest lap, or for pole position for the Qualifying Race, whereas the bonus points for leading a lap and the fastest lap are still available on Sunday.
Qualifying and the Qualifying Race can be found LIVE on the ITV Sport YouTube Channel worldwide from 13:50 later today.
Tom Ingram, Team VERTU, said:
Donington Park – Free Practice – Classification:
| P/ | No/ | Name/ | Entry/ | Laps/ | Time/ | Gap/ | On/ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 80 | Tom INGRAM | Team VERTU | 19 | 1:33.490 | 17 | |
| 2 | 88 | Mikey DOBLE | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | 16 | 1:33.592 | 0.102 | 16 |
| 3 | 32 | Daniel ROWBOTTOM | CPRL | 18 | 1:33.716 | 0.226 | 14 |
| 4 | 99 | Charles RAINFORD | WSR | 22 | 1:33.816 | 0.326 | 15 |
| 5 | 33 | Adam MORGAN | CPRL | 19 | 1:33.829 | 0.339 | 18 |
| 6 | 50 | Árón TAYLOR-SMITH | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | 16 | 1:33.949 | 0.459 | 14 |
| 7 | 116 | Ashley SUTTON | NAPA Racing UK | 17 | 1:33.953 | 0.463 | 9 |
| 8 | 11 | Ricky COLLARD | Team VERTU | 18 | 1:34.013 | 0.523 | 18 |
| 9 | 3 | Tom CHILTON | Team VERTU | 19 | 1:34.089 | 0.599 | 18 |
| 10 | 66 | Josh COOK | Speedworks Corolla Racing | 7 | 1:34.101 | 0.611 | 7 |
| 11 | 27 | Dan CAMMISH | NAPA Racing UK | 17 | 1:34.136 | 0.646 | 17 |
| 12 | 52 | Gordon SHEDDEN | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | 15 | 1:34.280 | 0.790 | 13 |
| 13 | 77 | Sam OSBORNE | NAPA Racing UK | 20 | 1:34.299 | 0.809 | 18 |
| 14 | 2 | Daryl DE LEON | WSR | 17 | 1:34.411 | 0.921 | 15 |
| 15 | 15 | Lewis SELBY | NAPA Racing UK | 20 | 1:34.644 | 1.154 | 18 |
| 16 | 22 | Chris SMILEY | Restart Racing | 18 | 1:34.697 | 1.207 | 9 |
| 17 | 123 | Daniel LLOYD | Restart Racing | 15 | 1:34.724 | 1.234 | 13 |
| 18 | 16 | Aiden MOFFAT | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | 16 | 1:34.922 | 1.432 | 16 |
| 19 | 17 | Dexter PATTERSON | Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing | 14 | 1:35.071 | 1.581 | 13 |
| 20 | 29 | Lewis GILBERT | WSR | 18 | 1:35.424 | 1.934 | 15 |
| 21 | 7 | Ryan BENSLEY | Speedworks Corolla Racing | 17 | 1:35.505 | 2.015 | 13 |
| 22 | 28 | Nicolas HAMILTON | Team VERTU | 18 | 1:35.682 | 2.192 | 5 |
| 23 | 55 | Nick HALSTEAD | Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing | 18 | 1:36.882 | 3.392 | 17 |
