BTCC 2021: Ingram denies Oliphant a Brands Hatch brace Car News

BMW driver Tom Oliphant claimed a dominant victory in the first of the British Touring Car Championship races at Brands Hatch, but was denied a double victory after being passed by Hyundai’s Tom Ingram on the last lap of race two .

Ingram’s victory helped ExcelR8 i20 N Fastback rider move within three points of championship leader Ash Sutton.

Adam Morgan of Cicely Motorsport also picked up a victory at Brands, securing his first victory since the team switched to driving a BMW 330i M Sport.

Here are the main takeaways from the weekend.

Oliphant refused the double at the last breath

Oliphant had a masterful race in the opening race, taking the lead from pole sitter Daniel Rowbottom (Honda Civic Type R) at the start, and building up a big lead. Once he fought until the second three-time champion Gordon Shedden (Civic Type R) chomped on Oliphant’s lead, but the BMW WSR withstood the pressure and controlled the gap until the ‘arrival.

With the ballast full on board for the second race, Oliphant would still face a difficult task scoring a double, but he came terribly close. The BMW man again built an early advantage as his rivals battled it out, and this time it was Ingram who started to put the pressure on once in second.

It seemed like Oliphant had just enough in hand, but on the final lap Ingram got close enough to peek inside Paddock Hill Bend, and a light touch between the two pushed Oliphant in the distance. Ingram took the lead, while Oliphant was then pushed to the finish line in drag racing with the Infiniti Q50 race Sutton.

Sutton collects points

This second place for Sutton followed a solid fifth place in the opening race, and the defending champion would add a seventh in the third race.

While Sutton didn’t appear to be a contender for the win at any point over the weekend, three good results gave his title bid a huge boost, especially with Ingram unable to make it through. rank only 12th in the final race.

Sutton also enjoyed an unusually disappointing weekend for his perennial title rival Colin Turkington. The four-time champion was never satisfied with the set-up of his BMW and qualified far below the order. He was unable to progress in all three races and fell to fourth place in the title race, 39 points behind Sutton.

Morgan’s decision in Munich pays off

Morgan’s victory in the inverted-grid final race was the ninth of his BTCC career, but the first since Ciceley switched from a Mercedes Class A to a BMW. There was a fresh take on the top three, with Jack Goff taking second place to secure the first BTCC podium for the Teah Hard Cupra Leon.

Aidan Moffatt finished third in his Laser Tools Racing Q50.

The next BTCC event will take place at Oulton Park on August 1st.

READ MORE

BTCC 2021: why Shedden is back in the BTCC

BTCC 2021: Josh Cook snatches double from Thruxton

BTCC 2021: Sutton shines at Snetterton