Ingram quickest in practice as Turkington briefly returns

Tom Ingram scored a clean sweep in free practice for the British Touring Car Championship round at Croft by topping both free practice sessions.

The 2022 champion, a close runner-up to Ash Sutton in the 2025 standings, headed Excelr8 Motorsport team-mate Senna Proctor by 0.161 seconds in the first 35-minute period in a 1-2 for the Hyundai i30 N Fastback machinery.

He then turned the trick again in FP2, this time finishing up 0.575s clear of Proctor, with two laps quicker than the best managed by anyone else.

Yorkshireman Proctor, racing on his local circuit, set his quickest time in the morning period, while Ingram went faster in the lunchtime running.

“This is sort of a carryover from Oulton Park,” said Ingram, whose pace at the last round before the summer break was well beyond that of his opposition.

“Everything feels in a really nice place, but the time, in the end, isn’t really representative.

“We just went early on our new tyres so that we could get a lap and pre-empt anything, and obviously most of the others couldn’t.”

That’s because two red flags during the latter stages of FP2, the second of which brought an early halt to the session, restricted running for most.

And around those stoppages revolved another story of the day in which, bizarrely, two drivers shared one car.

Reigning champion Jake Hill stood down with illness after posting the 13th fastest time in FP1 aboard his West Surrey Racing BMW 330i M Sport.

Four-time title winner Colin Turkington, who has been working with the team in 2025 in a coaching role for Aiden Moffat, was installed in the ‘Laser Beemer’ for FP2, before Hill jumped back aboard during the first red-flag period.

“I’ve felt better,” Hill told Autosport. “I just wanted to jump back in to see if I’m feeling better, which I am, which is great news, but I’m still not sure whether I’ll be fine for qualifying.

“I’ve got to take it as it comes for the minute but, as I feel now, I feel like I’m probably OK to do it.

“If there’s anyone you want to share your car, then it’s Colin Turkington – a good friend and a fantastic colleague.”

Colin Turkington, Team BMW WSR BMW 330e M Sport

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

The first red flag was caused by Tom Chilton, whose Excelr8 Hyundai sustained heavy front-end damage in a big shunt at Clervaux.

“I went to turn right, and it didn’t turn right,” explained Chilton. “It’s very strange – I was just doing the same thing I do every single lap.”

The second stoppage, which came with only around a minute remaining, was caused by an accident at the same place for the Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Corolla GR Sport of James Dorlin, although the rookie’s damage was not as significant as Chilton’s.

Apart from Ingram and Proctor, the only other drivers below the 1m21s barrier were four-time champion and points leader Sutton plus Mikey Doble.

Both the Alliance Racing-run NAPA Ford Focus ST of Sutton and Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astra of Doble set their times in FP1.

Sutton’s eighth fastest time in FP2 means he will run in the second group for the first phase of qualifying, with title rival Ingram in the first.

Tying for third in FP2 – and for fifth on overall times – were Aron Taylor-Smith and Chris Smiley, with the Speedworks Toyota of the cheerful Dubliner getting the verdict because he set his lap before the Restart Racing Hyundai of his fellow Irishman Smiley.

Another Restart Hyundai, that of Croft local Dan Lloyd, set a time a mere 0.003s slower in FP1 to end up seventh overall ahead of yet another Yorkshireman in the form of Alliance Ford ace Dan Cammish.

Oulton Park winner Gordon Shedden was fifth in FP2 and ninth overall in his Speedworks Toyota, with Chilton’s FP1 time meaning he was the final man in the top 10.