Cammish survives downpour and gravel trip for victory

British Touring Car Championship points leader Tom Ingram held off everything title rival Ash Sutton could throw at him for victory in the final race at Donington Park.

Despite his Alliance Racing-run NAPA Ford Focus ST having to run on the hard tyres in this race, Sutton was able to pressurise the medium-shod Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai i30 N Fastback of Ingram to the finish.

Sutton led early on from reversed-grid pole position, while Ingram made his way up from fifth on the grid to second within a lap.

Some sensational racing between Sutton and Ingram resulted in the Hyundai finally making a move stick by the beginning of the fourth lap, after they had run side by side through several corners with Sutton refusing to back down, despite his tyre disadvantage.

Ingram appeared to have the race in the bag when the safety car appeared at two-thirds distance. A plume of smoke from the rear of Nick Halstead’s Power Maxed Racing Cupra preceded a spin into the barrier at the top of the Craner Curves, causing a neutralisation of the race.

There was scope for four more laps of action once the green flags flew, and Sutton once again went on the attack. He even tried a lunge at the Melbourne hairpin on the 15th lap of 17, but could not dislodge Ingram, who took the chequered flag 0.847 seconds to the good.

“We were confident coming into this weekend that we had a good car around Donington Park,” said Ingram, whose championship lead over Sutton is now 32 points.“It’s a heck of a machine, this thing, it really is. 

“It was no quarter given with Ash. There was a little bit of paint exchanged, but there’s no actual damage in a weird sort of way.

“We both know how hard each other races and how far we can push it. And it’s nice, because both of us can push it quite far and have a good old punch-up. Really, really good fun.”

Dan Rowbottom, after his troubles in race two, sliced his Alliance Ford through the pack from a lowly 12th on the grid to third place on lap seven, when he surged past the hard-tyred Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Corolla GR Sport of Aron Taylor-Smith at the exit of the Esses.

Rowbottom stayed close to Sutton after the safety car, but had to settle for his second podium finish of the day.

Taylor-Smith was going great guns. Despite being on the hard rubber, he conceded only two positions from his front-row grid position while medium-tyred team-mate Josh Cook fell back and finally dropped out of the top 10 on the last lap. But Taylor-Smith found himself having to fend off Jake Hill’s West Surrey Racing BMW 330i M Sport over the final laps, with the reigning champion also on the hard Goodyears.

There were numerous instances of contact in a ferocious battle, but the Irish veteran held firm to claim fourth. Behind Hill, Tom Chilton battled through from 15th on the grid to take sixth in his Excelr8 Hyundai, with Gordon Shedden just behind in his Speedworks Toyota.

Completing the top 10 were Dan Lloyd’s Restart Racing Hyundai and the WSR BMWs of Daryl DeLeon and Charles Rainford.