Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS had to settle for second place in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship standings after a rollercoaster weekend of action at Brands Hatch saw the battle for title honours go down to the wire.
The EXCELR8-run team headed into the season finale sitting level at the top of the championship standings with Tom Ingram equal on points with Jake Hill, whilst Tom Chilton - on a weekend where he made his 500th BTCC start - was looking to wrap up a top ten championship finish for the first time since 2020.
Like his rivals at the front of the grid, Ingram went with the soft tyre in race one but there was drama on the run up to Druids when, having been overhauled by Ashley Sutton going through turn one, he was left with nowhere to go when the #80, Sutton and Josh Cook clashed.
It meant Ingram was forced to take avoiding action on the outside to prevent his car from going into the gravel and dropped him down to ninth spot, with rival Hill having benefited from the chaos to to vault up into second as the safety car was deployed.
When racing resumed, Hill was allowed past team-mate Colin Turkington, with Ingram launching an astonishing recovery drive through the pack as he picked off the cars ahead to storm back through to third a the finish, adding the bonus point for fastest lap to minimise his points loss to Hill.
Further down the pack, Chilton, Dan Zelos and Nick Halstead were all about to bring home points finishes, with Chilton in particular putting on a strong performance in what was his 500th BTCC start as he fought his way up into the top ten, taking the flag in ninth to retain his hopes of moving up the championship order.
Zelos also maintained his impressive form since stepping up from the MINI CHALLENGE as he raced his way to eleventh, with Halstead in 14th scoring points for the third time this season.
Aware that the opening laps of race two would be key to his chances, Ingram was on a charge from the moment the lights went out and grabbed second from Turkington with a fine move round the outside at Hawthorn on the opening lap.
That put him directly behind rival Hill and Ingram wasted little time in going for the lead, sliding down the inside at Paddock Hill to grab a lead he would retain to the flag - adding a bonus point for fastest lap to bring the gap between the top two down to a single point.
Chilton was able to replicate his result from the opening race as he again took ninth spot having been part of a huge dice for the top six in the final stages. Zelos had been part of that battle for much of the race before a trip through the gravel at Paddock Hill cost him ground, but he was able to once again pick up points in 14th, with Halstead finishing in 17th spot.
By the time the final race of the campaign came around, conditions had taken a turn for the worse with all the cars forced onto wet tyres with rain falling for the reverse grid finale. On a charge in the early stages, Ingram jumped ahead of rival Hill going into Paddock Hill Bend and also quickly cleared Dan Cammish’s Ford, and then got ahead of Turkington’s BMW into fourth spot - which at that stage gave him the championship lead.
Unfortunately for Ingram, the weather conditions would work against him and in favour of Hill, who ultimately managed to get ahead on the road to secure the points he needed to wrap up the title, with Ingram ending the campaign in second place - marking the fifth time in his career that he has finished inside the top three in the standings.
Having just missed out on the reverse grid draw, Chilton would also suffer with the conditions as he ended the year with a 14th place finish although crucially he was able to outscore Dan Rowbottom to move ahead of the Ford driver and end the year tenth in the championship standings.
Zelos rounded out his campaign with 13th to ensure he scored points in each of the nine races he contested - putting him ahead of two full season entrants in the standings - whilst Halstead’s second full season in the series ended with 19th place. As well as finishing second in the standings with Ingram, Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS ended the campaign as runner up in the BTCC Teams’ Championship.
Tom Chilton, #3 Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said: “After a tough qualifying session, my 500th BTCC race was really positive and it it was brilliant to come through the field to finish ninth and it set us up for a strong result in race two. We should have been in the mix for the reverse grid but contact from Josh Cook damaged the car and we missed out.
“As it was, the conditions in race three didn’t favour our car, and unfortunately for Tom, were better suited to the BMW. Despite that, I’ve ended the season inside the top ten which marks my best result since I joined up with the team. I’ve had plenty of bad luck but I’ve been on the top step of the podium and had some really strong results, and the focus now turns to next season to come back strong.”
Nick Halstead, #22 Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said: “It’s been a really enjoyable weekend to round out the season, and I was able to stay out of trouble and pick up some points which was the goal coming into the final round.
“Brands Hatch GP is a tough circuit but once I got up to speed, I feel I put on a solid performance and when you compare my pace to last season, it’s a further sign of the progress I’ve made in my second full season.
“It’s been another amazing year when you look at who I’m out there racing, and I’ve been able to get involved in some good battles along the way.”
Dan Zelos #45 Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said: “If you’d told me before Donington Park that I’d go on to do three rounds in the BTCC, take a Jack Sears Trophy win and score points in every race, I’d have bitten your hand off! This has been the most mental season, and to win the MINI CHALLENGE and then compete in nine BTCC races had been the most amazing year of my career.
“I think my expectations rose after Silverstone but this has been a more difficult weekend, which is just how it goes in a series like this when you are still learning. The moment in race two when I went through the gravel is the first mistake I’ve made, but it shows where there is room for improvement and in Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS, I’ve been with the best team to learn.
“I have to remember that there are people on the grid who were racing in this championship when I was only just old enough to understand what I was watching and it’s been a dream to be part of the grid. It only whets the appetite more to be on the grid full-time but for now, I can proud that I got here.”
Tom Ingram, #80 Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said: “Obviously there is disappointment with the end result, but we can’t be disappointed with the way we have performed across the season. We’ve been the strongest that we have ever been and each weekend, we have rocked up with a car that been fantastic - which is credit to all the hard work that has gone on behind the scenes.
“If you look at the our pace in the dry in the first two races were were staggeringly fast and had it not been for the contact at the start of race one and then getting caught up behind Colin, we could have scored two wins and it been a different story going into race three, but that is how it goes in racing sometimes.
“It was a shame that the conditions in race three were perhaps the only conditions where the car isn’t at its best and even though I’d done the hard work to get up ahead of Jake at the start, I knew from about three laps in that we were in trouble as I was starting to struggle with the front end.
“That is something we can focus on over the winter, but I we can go into the off-season proud of our record when you consider we scored more pole positions than we ever had, set ten fastest laps and were on the podium in half of the races. We’ve just got to make sure we come back even stronger in 2025.”
Justina Williams, Team Owner, said:
“Obviously we went to Brands Hatch hoping to come away with the title but we can still be very proud of what we have done this season when you look at the facts. We have won races with three different drivers, had a car that has been quick at every circuit and we have taken the fight to the last race.
“Things didn’t fall in our favour on the final day but as a team we have performed well all year and every single person has played their part in the success we have enjoyed. In 2025, we’ll be even stronger and looking to reclaim the title.”
