Jake Hill emerged as the 2024 British Touring Car champion after a thrilling showdown on a wet Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit.
Hill battled his West Surrey Racing-run BMW 330e M Sport through from sixth on the grid to defeat title rival and 2022 champion Tom Ingram, but it was Ash Sutton who took a stunning victory in the race by over 10 seconds.
The title was pretty much a case of who out of Hill and Ingram finished ahead, and it looked to be in the hands of the Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai i30 N Fastback star in the early knockings.
After a frantic first couple of laps, Ingram was fourth while Hill was sixth, but then the Laser Tools-liveried BMW finally got the better of its battle with the Alliance Racing Ford Focus ST of Dan Cammish to move up to fifth and into Ingram’s mirrors.
On the fifth lap, Hill went around the outside of Ingram at Surtees and, as they both pressed the hybrid button on the long back straight, he was able to claim the inside line for Hawthorn’s and grab fourth place.
Ingram attempted to fight back Westfield, but had to give best to Hill. The Hyundai was suffering from a lack of grip, and Ingram was powerless to put up any more of a fight.
Up front, Josh Cook had led from pole in his Speedworks Motorsport-run LKQ Toyota Corolla GR Sport, but Sutton was throwing moves in his mirrors in his NAPA-liveried Alliance Ford.
On the sixth lap, Sutton chucked the Ford down the inside of the Toyota into Graham Hill Bend. Aron Taylor-Smith, lying third in his Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astra, then made contact with Cook, and the Irishman’s lost momentum allowed Hill up another spot into third.
Ingram was past Taylor-Smith a lap later, but the gap to Hill was now three seconds, and he was unable to erode it.
Hill, indeed, wasn’t finished, and on the ninth lap of 15, he took advantage of a slide from Cook at Graham Hill Bend to move up into second.
Heading the pack, Sutton took the flag by a monstrous 10.269 seconds from the delirious Hill, while Cook completed the podium.
“It wasn’t an ideal year for us, was it, let’s be honest?” said four-time champion Sutton who handed over his BTCC crown to Hill but who did help the Alliance squad clinch the teams’ championship.
“We unlocked performance for the last three rounds, but we just didn’t have Lady Luck with us. That win was one of what should have been three.
“A big well done to Jake – I know what it means to his family and to West Surrey Racing.”
Ingram, his grip problem worsening throughout the race, faded to drop behind Cammish and Colin Turkington – whose WSR BMW had been elbowed wide by contact from Taylor-Smith – to sixth.
Sam Osborne, his performances continuing to improve since ex-BTCC race winner Rory Butcher arrived at Alliance to coach him, put in one of his strongest drives yet to take seventh in his Ford, fending off the Speedworks Toyotas of Andrew Watson and Aiden Moffat.
Adam Morgan rounded out the top 10 from the back of the grid after his WSR BMW missed race two following its damage in the first-lap crash in race one. Along with Hill and Turkington, he helped the team clinch BMW the manufacturers’ crown.
BTCC Brands Hatch Race 3 Result
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| Cla | Driver | # | Car | Laps | Time | Interval | km/h | Retirement | Points | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 |  A. Sutton NAPA Racing UK |
Ford Focus ST | 15 |
25'36.184 |
85.53 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | J. Hill Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport |
BMW 330e M Sport | 15 |
+10.269 25'46.453 |
10.269 | 84.96 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | J. Cook LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ |
Toyota Corolla GR Sport | 15 |
+11.730 25'47.914 |
1.461 | 84.88 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | D. Cammish NAPA Racing UK |
Ford Focus ST | 15 |
+17.148 25'53.332 |
5.418 | 84.59 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | C. Turkington Team BMW |
BMW 330e M Sport | 15 |
+18.339 25'54.523 |
1.191 | 84.52 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | T. Ingram Team Bristol Street Motors |
Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance | 15 |
+21.707 25'57.891 |
3.368 | 84.34 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | S. Osborne NAPA Racing UK |
Ford Focus ST | 15 |
+23.001 25'59.185 |
1.294 | 84.27 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | A. Watson Toyota Gazoo Racing UK |
Toyota Corolla GR Sport | 15 |
+23.945 26'00.129 |
0.944 | 84.22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | A. Moffat LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ |
Toyota Corolla GR Sport | 15 |
+24.360 26'00.544 |
0.415 | 84.19 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | A. Morgan Team BMW |
BMW 330e M Sport | 15 |
+26.688 26'02.872 |
2.328 | 84.07 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 |
M. Doble Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing
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Vauxhall Astra | 15 |
+27.161 26'03.345 |
0.473 | 84.04 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 |  A. Taylor-Smith Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing |
Vauxhall Astra | 15 |
+28.569 26'04.753 |
1.408 | 83.97 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 |
D. Zelos Team Bristol Street Motors
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Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance | 15 |
+28.969 26'05.153 |
0.400 | 83.95 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | T. Chilton Team Bristol Street Motors |
Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance | 15 |
+31.603 26'07.787 |
2.634 | 83.81 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | D. Rowbottom NAPA Racing UK |
Ford Focus ST | 15 |
+31.815 26'07.999 |
0.212 | 83.79 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | C. Smiley Restart Racing |
Cupra León | 15 |
+36.646 26'12.830 |
4.831 | 83.54 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 |
D. De Duckhams Racing with Bartercard
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Cupra León | 15 |
+40.686 26'16.870 |
4.040 | 83.32 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 |
S. Sumpton Restart Racing
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Cupra León | 15 |
+42.798 26'18.982 |
2.112 | 83.21 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19 |
N. Halstead Team Bristol Street Motors
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Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance | 15 |
+46.948 26'23.132 |
4.150 | 82.99 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| dnf | R. Huff Toyota Gazoo Racing UK |
Toyota Corolla GR Sport | 9 |
+6 Laps 15'44.162 |
6 Laps | 83.50 | Retirement | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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