Two wins, a third, and an early championship lead for Ash Sutton. Has the British Touring Car Championship reverted to 2023 form during its opening weekend of the season at Donington Park. No, because Tom Ingram looks every bit Sutton’s equal, and the chirpy champ of 2022 emerged with no wins, but three seconds. Are we back to 2024 then? Er, no, because reigning title holder Jake Hill is struggling.
Thankfully for the BTCC faithful who flocked to the East Midlands venue, the weather also bore no relation to the misery endured last year – or most other trips here, come to think of it. This had its own impact, because series organiser TOCA and tyre supplier Goodyear had been emboldened to use the soft compound as the weekend’s option rubber, rather than the traditional medium-all-the-way format. With ambient temperatures nudging above 20C and the track considerably warmer than that, the teams were faced with the unusual situation whereby the medium tyre – mandated for two races for each competitor – was actually preferable to the soft.
