All to play for in BTCC finale – but only if Ingram keeps Sutton off the podium

Ash Sutton looks likely to secure his fourth British Touring Car Championship title at Brands Hatch this weekend – unless Tom Ingram can outscore him by a margin of more than two outright victories.

There is a mammoth 45-point difference between NAPA Racing’s Sutton and EXCELR8 Motorsport’s Ingram, the largest points gap going into a finale since 2008.

With a de-facto 21 points available for a win (including bonus point for leading a lap), Ingram would have to win both of the opening races, including securing pole position and taking two fastest laps, to reduce the deficit to zero going into the final race – but only if Sutton fails to score in both races.

Whilst that’s not inconceivable – Sutton’s last double non-points-finish came at Knockhill in 2019 – the Ford driver’s current form suggests it is unlikely – he has had just three non-finishes this season, and one finish outside the points. And immediately after that finish outside the points last time out, Sutton then charged through to win race two from 23^rd on the grid.

Reigning champion Ingram does have good form going into the finale. Last year, on his way to a maiden title, the Hyundai driver was supreme, claiming pole and a double victory in the opening two races of the day.

All the 30-year-old has to do is focus on replicating that form this year to keep his hopes alive, however slim they might appear.

Heading into last year’s finale, Ingram had nine podium finishes to his name. This year, he has 15 – and a higher points tally than at the same time last year – proving just how dominant his main rival Sutton has been, as Ingram has fought hard just to keep up.

“We head into the final round in a very different position to twelve months ago, but the fact remains that the title isn’t won yet, and we aren’t going to stop fighting to try and overhaul Ash in the points,” said Ingram.

“Okay so we would need luck to be on our side, but I’ve been around the BTCC long enough to know that anything can happen, and that the smallest little thing can have a massive impact on how a weekend pans out.

“We can head for Brands Hatch knowing that in recent events, we’ve had the quicker car, and that is credit to everyone in the team for continuing to work hard to extract more performance from the Hyundai.

“From our side, there is absolutely no pressure as the title is Ash’s to lose at this stage, and we’ll just focus on doing the best job possible from the moment we hit the track in first practice.

“We can’t control what happens elsewhere, so as long as we maximise what we have, we’ll be able to come away from the weekend with our heads held high regardless of the end result.”

Sutton has previously stated that he wants to have BTCC records to his name, and the 29-year-old could claim another this weekend, as he targets not only a record-equalling fourth drivers’ title, but also the most wins in a single season.

At the moment, the latter accolade is shared with Fabrizio Giovanardi, but should Sutton win any of Sunday’s three races, not only would he seal the title but he would claim a record 11^th win in a single season.

Sutton is also chasing the honour of being the first driver to win the title in both front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive machinery.

“It feels different in the respect that ultimately we lost out to Tom last year, and we’ve gone away and had a good hard look at ourselves, and we’ve come back much stronger,” said Sutton. “I think for a team, it’s the pride for the effort that’s gone in to come out and actually achieve that.

“Obviously, there’s a big chunk of it about being the first driver to potentially win [the title] in both a front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive car, that’s a massive thing for me. It’s very exciting but the nerves are still there, so we’ll wait and see.”

Although out of championship contention now, MB Motorsport’s Jake Hill could still rise in the championship standings. The West Surrey Racing-run driver will be targeting not only helping BMW to a record-breaking tenth manufacturer’s title, but he is only 23 points behind Ingram and so could still deny the reigning champion the runner-up spot in the standings.

Although Team BMW’s Colin Turkington could theoretically do the same, the gap even to Hill is 37 points and thus it seems unlikely the Northern Irishman would pass either rival. Instead, Turkington is sure to be focussed on helping BMW to clinch its coveted crown once again.

One Motorsport’s Josh Cook sits fifth in the standings going into the weekend, still without a win to his name this year, but safe in having secured the Independents’ drivers title last time out at Silverstone.

The Honda driver will be aiming to help secure the Independent Team’s championship for the Brackley-based squad this weekend – something which, based on recent form, Power Maxed Racing could still steal, given there is only a 27-point gap to close in, although realistically it would require at least one double non-finish for the One Motorsport leaders.

Sunday’s races take place at 11:30, 14:40 and 17:25 respectively (all times BST).