Tom Ingram charges to victory in BTCC opener
Tom Ingram reigned supreme in the opening round of the 2026 British Touring Car Championship season as he charged to a commanding win ahead of Mikey Doble and Ash Sutton.
Starting on the outside of the front row, the EXCELR8 Motorsport driver out-dragged pole sitter Rowbottom as the lights went out and from there, he was relatively untroubled out front.
Josh Cook emerged as the closest challenger to the reigning champion during the first half of the contest however his charge was brought to an abrupt end as a rear left puncture sent him into the gravel at the final chicane.
Following a brief safety car period to recover Cook’s Toyota, the race resumed with Ingram controlling proceedings out front while Rowbottom, Doble, Charles Rainford and Ash Sutton battled for honours behind him.
Doble was the first to make a move as he dispatched Rainford and he was quickly followed by four-time champion Sutton, who went from the back of the grid to the podium – and with the fastest lap to boot.
The Power Maxed Racing Audi of Doble continued his charge in the closing laps as he chased down Rowbottom and found a way past for second as they charged down the back straight.
Rowbottom’s troubles continued late on as Sutton caught up to him however the Ford driver didn’t need to make the pass as the Mercedes driver was hit with a ten-second time penalty for exceeding track limits. He would ultimately drop to
Adam Morgan hustled his Mercedes up to fourth overall while Charles Rainford, Dan Cammish, Gordon Shedden, Aiden Moffat, Dexter Patterson and Aron Taylor-Smith completed the top ten.
