Ingram extends lead in BTCC standings after a hard-fought victory at Donington Park

Hansford Sensors-sponsored British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) driver Tom Ingram has extended his lead in the driver’s standings, seven points ahead of Adam Morgan, after a hard-fought victory at Donington Park.

Tom qualified in 16th for Race 1 at Donington Park on Saturday. Once the race got underway, he started overtaking his rivals and by lap 5, was battling for seventh with Jack Goff, James Cole, Colin Turkington and Senna Proctor. Unfortunately, with full success ballast from Brands Hatch, Tom slowly dropped down the grid. By lap 11, he continued to drop as he saw Tom Oliphant, Rob Collard and Turkington pass. Overall only two places were gained, despite hitting as high as 11th.

For Race 2, Tom started 13th but was soon on the charge and made a number of outstanding moves. By lap 4, Tom had made up an impressive eight places and was sitting comfortably in fifth. Both Tom and Chris Smiley charged up the grid and were soon on Dan Cammish’s tail and passed to take second and first respectively. On the exit of Coppice on lap ten, a mistake from Smiley saw a gap open for Tom. He took the opportunity and made his move stick, allowing Tom to take his eighth career BTCC victory, whilst becoming the first double race winner of 2018.

Tom started Race 3 from ninth on the grid but was soon up to seventh after an opening lap melee that brought out the safety car. Thanks to an incident ahead with Smiley and Cammish, Tom jumped up to fourth but unfortunately, with a heavier car Tom slowly dropped down the grid. A move up the inside by Collard and Aiden Moffat saw Tom lose two places, he continued to be bullied down the order and had to settle for eighth.

The next three rounds of the season are at Thruxton on 19-20 May 2018. You can watch all the action on ITV4 or live stream at www.ITV.com/BTCC. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for special updates on Tom’s performances (@HansfordSensors).