This was a brave new era for the British Touring Car Championship, with tweaked rules surrounding the level of influence the hybrid rules would have and it represented a strategic journey into the unknown.
Two wins for Excelr8 Hyundai driver Tom Ingram, plus a reversed grid success for the Speedworks-run Toyota of Aiden Moffat, might not have been the head-turning results many expected, but the increased impact of the regulations shows positive signs for the season ahead.
A competitive weekend from Ash Sutton in his Alliance Racing Ford Focus and podiums for Jake Hill’s MB Motorsport-branded WSR BMW meant that the top of the table had a familiar look to it heading out of the circuit on Sunday night. But the path to get there was thrilling.
Race 1
After topping the revamped qualifying session, Ingram started from pole in the sodden opening race with Sutton’s Alliance Racing Ford Focus alongside the Hyundai. The WSR BMW 330e M Sport of Colin Turkington and the MB Motorsport-branded version of Hill alongside. Ingram’s team-mate Ronan Pearson and the leading Speedworks Motorsport Toyota of Andrew Watson made up row three.
Ingram was
