Tom Ingram has won a gripping second race of the day following a hasty last lap overtake to clinch his first win of the day at Brands Hatch.
Off the start, it was fairly clean until they reached halfway through Clearways where Gordon Shedden was spun by Jake Hill as he closed off any space that would allow Hill through on the inside.
A recovering Sheddon threw a move up the inside of Stephan Jelley’s BMW on Lap 3, resulting in Jelley being stranded in the gravel and bringing out the first safety car period the BTCC has seen since Round 2 at Thruxton.
Oliphant’s lead that he built up was therefore cut, however once Jelley’s car had been recovered, he was able to start trying to build his gap to the ever dangerous Tom Ingram.
Jake Hill manages to beat out Ingram for third place on Lap 10, however Hill would only last another eight laps as he would take too much kerb at Surtees and puncture his rear left tyre.
Daniel Rowbottom was fighting valiantly with Oliphant’s BMW, however he would eventually lose out to Ingram’s Hyundai on Lap 19.
Aiden Moffat was driving the inside of the circuit for the majority of the race and blocking the CUPRA of Jack Goff for tenth. With Moffat holding Goff up, it allowed BTC Racing’s Senna Proctor to squeeze out Jack Goff for tenth.
Oliphant put on a defensive masterclass from Lap 1 until the final lap, holding off attack after attack.
Ingram would end the streak however after a brave tap on the rear right-quarter of Oliphant’s BMW would send him wide allowing Ingram through at Paddock bend on the final lap of the race.
Oliphant would fall further that lap however, with Ash Sutton beating him right on the line to second position, relegating Oliphant to third. With 75kg of extra weight on board, Oliphant was pleased with the outcome despite the contact.
Setting up for the final reverse grid of the day, Ingram will start 12th and Adam Morgan will be on pole with Jack Goff in the CUPRA second.
With all the work to do, Oliphant and Ingram will undoubtedly aim to carve their way through the field and give each other an authentic fight on track in the process.
Position | Driver | Team |
1 | Tom Ingram |
EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars
|
2 | Ash Sutton |
Laser Tools Racing
|
3 | Tom Oliphant | Team BMW (C) |
4 | Daniel Rowbottom | Team Dynamics |
5 | Josh Cook | BTC Racing |
6 | Dan Lloyd |
Power Maxed Racing
|
7 | Chris Smiley |
EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars
|
8 | Jason Plato |
Power Maxed Racing
|
9 | Aiden Moffat |
Laser Tools Racing
|
10 | Senna Proctor | BTC Racing |
11 | Adam Morgan |
Ciceley Motorsport
|
12 | Jack Goff | Team HARD |
13 | Tom Chilton |
Ciceley Motorsport
|
14 | Rory Butcher |
Toyota GAZOO Racing UK (C)
|
15 | Árón Taylor-Smith | Team HARD |
16 | Ollie Jackson |
MB Motorsport (C)
|
17 | Colin Turkington | Team BMW (C) |
18 | Sam Smelt |
Toyota GAZOO Racing UK (C)
|
19 | Sam Osborne |
Motorbase Performance (C)
|
20 | Carl Boardley |
Laser Tools Racing
|
21 | Jack Butel |
EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars
|
22 | Gordon Shedden | Team Dynamics |
23 | Jade Edwards | BTC Racing |
24 | Rick Parfitt Jr. |
EXCELR8 Trade Price Cars
|
25 | Andy Neate |
Motorbase Performance (C)
|
26 | Nicolas Hamilton | Team HARD |
27 | Jake Hill |
MB Motorsport (C)
|
28 | Glynn Geddie (DNF) | Team HARD |
29 | Stephen Jelley (DNF) | Team BMW (C) |