BTCC Thruxton: Hill tops practice from Ingram

The diminutive Kentishman was quick out of the blocks in the early-morning FP1 session to whisk his West Surrey Racing-run Laser Tools BMW 330e M Sport around the Hampshire speedbowl with a lap that for a long time stood half a second clear of the opposition.

After a late red flag, 2022 champion Tom Ingram got down to business, rasping his Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai i30 N Fastback to a time that was 0.191 seconds adrift of Hill’s effort, with the rest over half a second behind.

The pace was generally quicker in the lunchtime FP2 – Hill’s earlier best may have proved impregnable, but virtually the whole of the rest of the field improved.

This session was headed by Ingram, who lapped 0.231s clear of the Alliance Racing-run NAPA Ford Focus ST of Dan Rowbottom’s previous FP2-topping best.

Hill was down in sixth in this session, but was unworried.

“I feel pretty strong,” he told Autosport. “We were just running a race set-up there because we’re confident with our one-lap pace. We were just going through our process.

“The improvements made to the car over the winter have made a hell of a difference. It’s not perfect, but I’ve got a lot of confidence in it. I’m very happy and I hope we can keep this up in qualifying.”

Tom Ingram (Photo by: JEP)

Ingram also looks strong, and is carrying the car #100 this weekend in place of his usual #80 in deference to the centenary of title sponsor Bristol Street Motors.

The second session was also red-flagged during its second half, in order for marshals to reinstall the much-abused tyre stack in its original place in the second apex of the chicane.

Scarcely had running got back under way when the abuse of the stack began again in earnest, with Rowbottom biffing his way spectacularly to his time, third overall across free practice.

Just 0.010s adrift of Rowbottom, with a very late effort, was the sister Ford of four-time and reigning BTCC champion Ash Sutton, who had a grassy moment at the chicane in FP1.

Aron Taylor-Smith did a good job in his Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astra to finish in the top four in both sessions, and fifth overall, ahead of the WSR BMW of Adam Morgan.

Andrew Watson was the best of the Speedworks Motorsport squadron of Toyota Corolla GR Sports in both sessions, the Northern Irishman ending up an overall seventh in his Toyota Gazoo Racing GB example, ahead of the second PMR Vauxhall of Mikey Doble.

Ninth, after an eventful morning, was the Alliance Ford of Dan Cammish. The Berkshire-domiciled Yorkshireman had an off-track excursion at Noble in FP1 and then, following a pitstop, a throttle problem stranded him in a vulnerable position, causing the red flag.

Cammish was then on a hot lap at the end of FP2 when he was badly baulked in the chicane by the oblivious Ingram, who was making his way merrily to the pitlane.

Colin Turkington, Team BMW (Photo by: JEP)

The top 10 was rounded out by the second of the Excelr8 Hyundais, in the hands of Tom Chilton.

The other main title contender, Colin Turkington, lost much of FP1 to a loose bonnet pin on his BMW, causing the WSR squad to make precautionary changes to all three of its cars before FP2.

With alternate positions from the FP2 order determining the groups for the first phase of qualifying, that puts Turkington in the second batch with Hill, while Ingram and Sutton will feature in the first.

BTCC Thruxton - Practice results

FP2

Main Information Additional Data Driver Info

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Main Information
Cla	Driver	#		Car	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	T. Ingram Team Bristol Street Motors	100		Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance	16	1'15.436		112.434
2	D. Rowbottom NAPA Racing UK	32		Ford Focus ST	16	+0.231 1'15.667	0.231	112.091
3	A. Sutton NAPA Racing UK	1		Ford Focus ST	16	+0.241 1'15.677	0.010	112.076
4	A. Taylor-Smith Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing	40		Vauxhall Astra	14	+0.289 1'15.725	0.048	112.005
5	A. Morgan Team BMW	33		BMW 330e M Sport	19	+0.375 1'15.811	0.086	111.878
6	J. Hill Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport	24		BMW 330e M Sport	17	+0.483 1'15.919	0.108	111.719
7	A. Watson Toyota Gazoo Racing UK	11		Toyota Corolla GR Sport	17	+0.588 1'16.024	0.105	111.565
8	M. Doble Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing	88		Vauxhall Astra	16	+0.733 1'16.169	0.145	111.352
9	D. Cammish NAPA Racing UK	27		Ford Focus ST	17	+0.737 1'16.173	0.004	111.347
10	T. Chilton Team Bristol Street Motors	3		Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance	16	+0.755 1'16.191	0.018	111.320
11	R. Huff Toyota Gazoo Racing UK	12		Toyota Corolla GR Sport	18	+0.897 1'16.333	0.142	111.113
12	C. Turkington Team BMW	20		BMW 330e M Sport	16	+0.924 1'16.360	0.027	111.074
13	J. Cook LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ	66		Toyota Corolla GR Sport	12	+0.944 1'16.380	0.020	111.045
14	A. Moffat LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ	16		Toyota Corolla GR Sport	17	+1.340 1'16.776	0.396	110.472
15	R. Pearson Team Bristol Street Motors	14		Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance	14	+1.466 1'16.902	0.126	110.291
16	S. Osborne NAPA Racing UK	77		Ford Focus ST	17	+1.657 1'17.093	0.191	110.018
17	C. Smiley Restart Racing	222		Cupra León	15	+1.822 1'17.258	0.165	109.783
18	D. De Duckhams Racing with Bartercard	18		Cupra León	16	+2.109 1'17.545	0.287	109.376
19	S. Sumpton Restart Racing	29		Cupra León	16	+2.810 1'18.246	0.701	108.397
20	N. Halstead Team Bristol Street Motors	22		Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance	19	+3.795 1'19.231	0.985	107.049
View full results

FP1

Main Information Additional Data Driver Info

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Main Information
Cla	Driver	#		Car	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	J. Hill Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport	24		BMW 330e M Sport	15	1'15.341		112.576
2	T. Ingram Team Bristol Street Motors	100		Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance	19	+0.191 1'15.532	0.191	112.291
3	A. Taylor-Smith Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing	40		Vauxhall Astra	17	+0.832 1'16.173	0.641	111.347
4	A. Morgan Team BMW	33		BMW 330e M Sport	16	+1.009 1'16.350	0.177	111.088
5	A. Watson Toyota Gazoo Racing UK	11		Toyota Corolla GR Sport	17	+1.120 1'16.461	0.111	110.927
6	C. Turkington Team BMW	20		BMW 330e M Sport	14	+1.137 1'16.478	0.017	110.902
7	T. Chilton Team Bristol Street Motors	3		Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance	18	+1.156 1'16.497	0.019	110.875
8	A. Sutton NAPA Racing UK	1		Ford Focus ST	17	+1.176 1'16.517	0.020	110.846
9	D. Rowbottom NAPA Racing UK	32		Ford Focus ST	15	+1.265 1'16.606	0.089	110.717
10	D. Cammish NAPA Racing UK	27		Ford Focus ST	13	+1.437 1'16.778	0.172	110.469
11	M. Doble Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing	88		Vauxhall Astra	17	+1.808 1'17.149	0.371	109.938
12	R. Pearson Team Bristol Street Motors	14		Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance	17	+1.918 1'17.259	0.110	109.781
13	J. Cook LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ	66		Toyota Corolla GR Sport	14	+2.010 1'17.351	0.092	109.651
14	R. Huff Toyota Gazoo Racing UK	12		Toyota Corolla GR Sport	17	+2.023 1'17.364	0.013	109.632
15	A. Moffat LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ	16		Toyota Corolla GR Sport	16	+2.108 1'17.449	0.085	109.512
16	C. Smiley Restart Racing	222		Cupra León	17	+2.197 1'17.538	0.089	109.386
17	S. Osborne NAPA Racing UK	77		Ford Focus ST	14	+2.547 1'17.888	0.350	108.895
18	D. De Duckhams Racing with Bartercard	18		Cupra León	17	+3.316 1'18.657	0.769	107.830
19	S. Sumpton Restart Racing	29		Cupra León	15	+3.705 1'19.046	0.389	107.300
20	N. Halstead Team Bristol Street Motors	22		Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance	18	+4.221 1'19.562	0.516	106.604
View full results