BTCC battle set to ramp up at Thruxton

The fight for the British Touring Car Championship title heads to Thruxton this weekend for the third round of what is already becoming an intriguing season.

After mixed weather hit the weekend at Brands Hatch last time out, Josh Cook became the first double winner of 2022 whilst there was also a first win of the campaign for Colin Turkington’s BMW.

Heading to Hampshire however it is Tom Ingram who remains the man to beat, having maintained his strong start to the campaign at the wheel of the EXCELR8 Hyundai.

Ingram was a podium finisher at Thruxton last season on what was his first outing in the i30 Fastback N and he returns this time around hoping to make the most of the improvements made to the car since then to retain his position at the head of the pack.

“I feel we are in good shape going into the weekend as we had a solid run in testing at Thruxton, and we showed strong pace last season to score a podium finish on my first outing in the car,” he said. “Since then, we have improved the Hyundai substantially, so I’m feeling pumped up and ready for the challenge.

“As with both Donington Park and Brands Hatch, we’re taking a bit of a step into the unknown when it comes to the hybrid system and I think we might see people deploying it in a slightly different way at Thruxton given the speeds are so much higher.

“Although we all tested at Thruxton, we need to wait and see how people perform when the chips are down, but the aim for me is to just focus on ourselves and make sure that we do the best job possible across the weekend. Do that, and I’m confident we’ll be in the mix.”

Cook’s success at Brands Hatch means he is now Ingram’s closest challenger in the standings, and he goes into the weekend eight points down on his rival. Cook is one of two drivers chasing a record-breaking eighth Thruxton win this weekend, and you wouldn’t bet against him given his previous form at the circuit.

What might work against Cook however is how the new M-Sport engine performs, with the team having struggled with top end speed at Donington in the season opener.

Third in the standings is Ash Sutton with the defending champion still on the hunt for a first win of the year for Motorbase. The NAPA Racing-branded Ford has been quick in both of the opening two meetings, with Sutton consistently scoring well to stay in contention at the sharp end ahead of the two BMWs of Jake Hill and Colin Turkington.

The West Surrey Racing pair have a win apiece so far in 2022 and our level pegging in the points with six of the 30 races run.

“We’ve had a good start to the year and we’re all working hard to keep that going,” Hill said. “I really enjoy Thruxton as you’re truly on the limit for every corner of every lap. It’s really fast and it’s a great circuit for the fans as well. I’m looking forward to getting out there – we were strong when we were here for the season launch so hopefully we can replicate that form this weekend.”

Just two points behind the BMW pair sits Gordon Shedden to round out the top six. Shedden has already taken a win this season and, like Cook, he is chasing a record-breaking eighth victory this weekend.

The Scot will also hope to make up ground lost at Brands Hatch where both he and team-mate Dan Rowbottom found the going tough.

“Brands was disappointing for me as typically the Indy layout is one of our strong circuits,” he said. “I picked up a misfire going to the grid in race one and that then meant I had no boost, so did well to finish where I did.  But we now go to Thruxton, a circuit that requires a well handling car, which we have, so I’ll be going all out to get more podiums and points.”

Shedden’s brother-in-law Rory Butcher sits seventh and will hope for better luck than last season in the Speedworks Toyota Corolla, with Ciceley pair Adam Morgan and George Gamble, and EXCELR8’s Dan Lloyd rounding out the top ten.

Close behind, Dan Cammish is closing in on the top ten and will hope to benefit from the fact he will be the first driver in the points to be carrying full hybrid into the weekend.

“I always love racing at Thruxton and the challenge it provides,” he said. “You need to be as one with the car to find the lap time there, the balance must be right and you’ve got to have confidence to push the limits through the fast stuff like at no other track we visit with the BTCC. Brands was obviously good for us, a strong response from the first round at Donington, so I’m hoping to continue that momentum and further climb the points table.”

Others to watch include Tom Chilton, Stephen Jelley and Jason Plato – all of whom find themselves down the championship standings for various reasons after the opening two meetings but with cars underneath them that are more than capable of fighting for front-running results during the weekend ahead.