The BTCC arrived at Brands Hatch with the top3 drivers separated by just 7pts and with 3 races on the Sunday, the anticipation was very high for a thrilling day of racing.
I had expected that I would be watching the racing on the tv, but I was fortunate enough to win tickets in a draw organised by the WSR BMW Team.
I set my alarm early, so I could have breakfast and make my sandwiches for the day and then set off to arrive at Brands in plenty of time to beat the expected large traffic queues - something I achieved easily, and which set me on my way to a great day. I saw the sunrise while driving to the Circuit and I knew I would see the sunset before leaving and, despite a cold start, it was a glorious morning when I arrived, and the day stayed that way (sunny and cool).
A large crowd had gathered by the time the support races got underway at 10am, withe British F4 series first on track. It only took a couple of corners before an incident required a safety car and that seemed to set the tone for the support categories for the day - plenty of incidents and safety car interventions, but luckily no resulting injuries despite the scary nature of a couple of those incidents.
The Porsche Supercup competitors were next out and contributed their own incidents to delay the programme a bit, before the first of the three BTCC races hit the track.
I am not trying to belittle the support races, but all the excitement and anticipation of the majority of the spectators surrounded the BTCC races and their likely outcomes.
Tom Ingram sat 3rd in the points but obliterated the qualifying lap record to secure pole position and would have taken pole with any one of his 4 fastest laps, such was his dominance of Saturday afternoon session. Rory Butcher claimed the other front row spot, with current Champion Ashley Sutton in 3rd. Intriguingly, the 3 main title contenders were actually in line astern on the grid - Ingram in P1, Sutton P3 and Jake Hill in P5.
Ingram made a great start to lead the way in the Exceler8 Motorsport Hyundai i30, with Butcher's Toyota Corolla slotting into 2nd. As the race went on, Ingram continued to lead and it was only Butcher who was able to maintain a close watch on him. Hill's position yo-yoed a bit, but he made progress as the BMW seemed to come alive in the second half of the race. He got to 4th and began harrying Sutton, before executing a really smart overtake to claim 3rd.
Ginetta Juniors, then the Mini Challenge and the Ginetta G4 Supercup all had their races before the even more highly anticipated second BTCC race. The earlier race had altered the championship leader board order and closed the points even further. Ingram again made a great start from pole, with Butcher his closest challenger again initially. Hill was the man on a charge this time around, making up places before catching Butcher and taking 2nd. There was already a bit of a gap to Ingram, but Hill eroded that gap and was soon close to the tail of the Ingram Hyundai. He couldn't quite find an opening for an overtake and had to settle for a fighting 2nd to set up a last race decider for the end of the afternoon.
Following the culmination of the various support races and the settling of their various championship crowns, the final race of the 2022 BTCC came to the grid.
The 'post race 2' reversed grid draw had reversed the top 10 from the results of race2 for the grid for this race - so Hyundai driver Dan Lloyd (twice a winner at Croft earlier in the season) lined up on pole with the Seat Cupra of Bobby Thompson alongside. Sutton would set off from P5, while Hill and Ingram were P9 and P10 and likely to need good progress during the race, with Ingram 11pts clear of Hill in the standings and Sutton 4pts further back.
Lloyd made the best start and went on to claim a lights to flag victory to finish his season in style, while Thompson's challenge ended with mechanical problems and a retirement which fortunately didn't affect his Jack Sears Trophy position in the championship. Josh Cook emerged in 2nd with the BTC Racing Honda Civic Type R and was Lloyd's only challenger for the remainder of the race. Ingram and Hill were seemingly glued together in 7th and 8th as they battled and things got even spicier when they made progress to sit on the tail of Sutton's Ford Focus. Hill had eventually found a way past Ingram and was desperately looking to get ahead of Sutton to try to improve his championship chances. Time after time he tried at various points around the lap, and then as they started their last lap he had a look to the outside entering Paddock Bend after a good run out of Clark Curve. That move was brave but ultimately failed and he got edged wider by the following Ingram who nipped ahead, while the resulting flirtation with the gravel cost him another place and would eventually mean the difference between finishing 2nd or his final 3rd in the championship points.
So concluded a thrilling day of racing at the end of what has been an extraordinarily close and exciting season, as the battle has raged over 10 rounds each consisting of 3 races and at various tracks around the country.
Hill won the season long Goodyear Wingfoot Award that is determined by qualifying at each round over the season, his quick and consistent quali laps putting him well clear of his rivals for this award.
Ingram had finally realised his dream, after a few 'near misses' in recent seasons and his experience was probably key to maximising his potential at each round - he is quick to realise that somewhere in the top 6 or so in races one and two and maybe a fortunate race 3 draw to claim decent points might be his best bet at circuits where his front wheel drive is maybe at a little disadvantage - Hill's time will undoubtedly come, this was his first season with a really top team and car, and he has matured and improved rapidly over the course of the year.
Sutton and the Motorbase team have vowed to back fighting for honours next year, and rumour has it that they may well have a new rear wheel drive car with which to mount that challenge. With other changes bound to occur over the Winter months, there is much to look forward to for BTCC in 2023.
More photos and more detailed report to follow soon ............
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