Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Avensis driver Tom Ingram produced a victory and a second place finish in the MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at Silverstone to keep his title hopes alive going into the season finale.
Ingram entered the event 43 points behind points leader Colin Turkington, and lost further ground to the BMW racer when he finished 15th in a tough opening race, with Turkington eighth. But Ingram stormed from 14th on the grid to take glory in race two, and then held off Turkington in a thrilling scrap for second in the day’s final race. That means he trails Turkington by 34 points heading into the season finale at Brands Hatch on 30 September.
Sam Tordoff (Ford Focus) and Aiden Moffat (Mercedes A-Class) were also winners at the Northamptonshire track. Both drivers took their first victories of the season to make it 16 different winners from 27 races.
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Tordoff’s victory in the opening race came after he resisted an early push from BMW driver Ricky Collard – standing in for his injured father Rob. But Collard slid wide at Copse, allowing Tordoff’s Motorbase team-mate, Tom Chilton, into second. Chilton hounded Tordoff, but couldn’t find a way past.
BTCC VIDEO | EXCLUSIVE: R25 in 60 secs...Live on ITV4 now #BTCC pic.twitter.com/hDVyjih4iW
— BTCC (@DunlopBTCC) September 16, 2018
Andrew Jordan had looked set for third in his BMW, but a power problem put him out of contention, and allowed Collard to charge back and claim his first BTCC podium.
Tordoff held the lead early in race two, but much attention was on the charging Ingram. The Toyota man stormed quickly through the pack, passing Chilton and Adam Morgan (Mercedes) in one move to grab second. Laden with success ballast, Tordoff couldn’t offer much resistance, and he slipped to third behind Morgan. Collard was fourth, with title leader Turkington eighth for the second race in a row.
BTCC VIDEO | EXCLUSIVE: R26 in 60 secs...ish Live on ITV4 now #BTCC pic.twitter.com/6Ba1wbwt6l
— BTCC (@DunlopBTCC) September 16, 2018
Tom Ingram and the other young guns of the BTCC
Moffat found himself at the front of the grid for race three, and made no mistakes to lead from start to finish. There was some intense battling behind, with Ingram and Turkington in the thick of the action. The pair worked their way up to second and third, and even ran side-by-side in the closing stages.
#BTCC VIDEO | EXCLUSIVE: R27 in 60s... pic.twitter.com/SX82SzTXk4
— BTCC (@DunlopBTCC) September 16, 2018
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