Jake Hill ignited his championship defence with a lights to flag win in round four of the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch.
BMW teammate Charles Rainford followed for a one-two finish for the WSR team; a record breaking 133rd win making them the most successful team in BTCC history. Tom Ingram claimed third place, and while briefly threatening the BMW’s in front, he managed his race well for third.
Hill and Rainford got away well at the start, settling into a formation which wouldn’t be breached for the duration of the 24 lap race. Ash Sutton was the one who started best, making three places off the grid from 13th. Dan Lloyd was given a five second penalty for a false start, taking him from seventh to ninth.
Ingram started to pressure the BMW duo on lap two, the Team Vertu driver had a promising opening weekend at Donington Park last time out, and pulled away from teammate Adam Morgan in pursuit of the leaders.
The BMW hadn’t shown much pace at Donington, but with Brands favouring rear wheel drive, they came to life here. Rainford set a new lap record not once, but twice; showing Donington was just a blip.
By lap nine Hill had settled into a rhythm, while Rainford had Ingram to deal with. The Hyundai driver putting pressure on Rainford, the rookie who was starting his fourth BTCC race.
After a few laps of pressure, Ingram decided to play the long game, and eased off, settling for third. This led to Morgan closing in, and the Excelr8 drivers running in formation.
Hill strolled to his first win of the season, in the process kick-starting his championship defence. Rainford followed home six tenths behind for his first BTCC podium. With a performance like that, it will surely be the first of many.
Ingram and Morgan followed behind with Dan Cammish having a quiet race, coming home fifth. Mikey Doble was sixth for Power Maxed Racing with Lloyd finishing seventh on the road, but dropping to ninth once his penalty was applied.
Daryl Deleon and Sam Osborne were the beneficiaries of Lloyd’s penalty, finishing seventh and eighth. Ash Sutton rounded off the top ten for NAPA Racing. Ronan Pearson, Chris Smiley, Michael Crees took points finishes with the two ONE Motorsport Honda’s of Stephen Jelley and Josh Cook taking the final points places.
Tom Ingram takes the lead of the championship, capitalising on Sutton finishing lower down the order, with Jake Hill now third. The BMW man will be starting on pole for race two, which will give him an advantage and a chance to climb further up the table.
|
Pos |
Name |
Team |
Car |
|
1 |
Jake HILL |
Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport |
BMW 330e |
|
2 |
Charles RAINFORD |
LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR |
BMW 330e |
|
3 |
Tom INGRAM |
Team Vertu |
Hyundai i30N |
|
4 |
Adam MORGAN |
Team Vertu |
Hyundai i30N |
|
5 |
Dan CAMMISH |
NAPA Racing |
Ford Focus |
|
6 |
Mikey DOBLE |
Power Maxed Racing |
Vauxhall Astra |
|
7 |
Daryl DELEON |
Team WSR |
BMW 330e |
|
8 |
Sam OSBORNE |
NAPA Racing |
Ford Focus |
|
9 |
Dan LLOYD |
Restart Racing |
Hyundai i30N |
|
10 |
Ash SUTTON |
NAPA Racing |
Ford Focus |
|
11 |
Ronan PEARSON |
Toyota Gazoo Racing |
Toyota Corolla |
|
12 |
Chris SMILEY |
Restart Racing |
Hyundai i30N |
|
13 |
Michael CREES |
Team Vertu |
Hyundai i30N |
|
14 |
Stephen JELLEY |
ONE Motorsport |
Honda Civic Type-R |
|
15 |
Josh COOK |
ONE Motorsport |
Honda Civic Type-R |
|
16 |
Aron TAYLOR-SMITH |
Toyota Gazoo Racing |
Toyota Corolla |
|
17 |
James DORLIN |
Toyota Gazoo Racing |
Toyota Corolla |
|
18 |
Dan ROWBOTTOM |
NAPA Racing |
Ford Focus |
|
19 |
Dexter PATTERSON |
RoKIT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport |
Cupra Leon |
|
20 |
Aiden MOFFAT |
Team WSR |
BMW 330e |
|
21 |
Gordon SHEDDEN |
Toyota Gazoo Racing |
Toyota Corolla |
|
22 |
Tom CHILTON |
Team Vertu |
Hyundai i30N |
|
23 |
Max HALL |
RoKIT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport |
Cupra Leon |
|
24 |
Nick HALSTEAD |
Power Maxed Racing |
Vauxhall Astra |
|
DNF |
Nicholas HAMILTON |
Powder Monkey |
Cupra Leon |