TEAM VERTU SCORES THRUXTON VICTORY

Team VERTU ended a challenging weekend on a high at Thruxton with victory as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season resumed at the fastest circuit on the calendar.
The EXCELR8-run team heads into the fifth meeting of the season chasing victory for the second season in succession, with all four drivers chasing strong results to strengthen their respective positions in the championship standings.
Free practice was all about dialling in the car to the unique challenges that Thruxton provides, with Tom Ingram the best placed of the four drivers in eighth place despite running exclusively on the hard tyre that would be used across race day.
Ricky Collard and Tom Chilton would end up just outside the top ten with Nicolas Hamilton in 22nd before focus turned towards qualifying for Saturday’s Race for Pole.
Chilton would be the only one of the four drivers to head out in the opening session, which would ultimately prove to be the quicker of the two to set up the ‘odd’ side of the grid – with the sixth quickest time meaning he would head up the sixth row of the grid.
Ingram headed the times in the second session which meant, despite his lap being fourth fastest overall, that he would line up on the front row of the grid, with Collard earning a place on row four and Hamilton securing a place on row eleven.
A strong start from Ingram saw him attack pole sitter Josh Cook through the opening corners before he settled into second spot, which is where he would remain to the flag to claw back some points on title rival Ash Sutton in the standings.
It would be a tough race for the other three drivers however, with Collard forced out on lap one with an alternator issue that resulted in a brief safety car, which then resulted in the demise of Hamilton when he was hit in the rear by an over-eager Daryl DeLeon on the restart and forced to pit with damage.
From 13th on the grid, Chilton had raced his way forwards into ninth, but he too encountered an issue with the alternator that would see him forced back into the pits in the closing stages.
Despite heavy rain on Sunday morning, track conditions had dried by the time the field lined up on the grid for the opening race, with Ingram on the front row of the grid but the other three Hyundais forced to start near the back following their qualifying race woes.
Ingram’s hopes of adding to his silverware were ended on the opening lap however when he was run wide onto the grass on the high-speed run from Goodwood to Village, dropping him down to the lower reaches of the top ten.
The defending champion battled hard from that point to work his way back up the order, but was only able to recover to fifth by the finish.
From the back of the field, Chilton and Collard ran together for much of the race as they battled their way into the points scoring positions, with Chilton able to make it up to 13th place, with Collard following him home having gained eight spots from where he started.
Hamilton would end up taking the flag in 20th after he was embroiled in a race-long battle with Ryan Bensley and Lewis Gilbert for position.
From fifth on the grid for race two, Ingram got a3way well to make up a spot off the line and then battled his way into the top three with a move on the Mercedes of Dan Rowbottom.
Chasing down the Toyota of Josh Cook, Ingram drew alongside going up Woodham Hill on lap twelve and tried to go around the outside of his rival, only to be forced to take to the escape road to avoid a collision – emerging from the corner having taken second spot.
Ingram would remain in second spot to the finish but a ten second penalty for track limits would see him slip to fifth in the final results.
Chilton and Collard would both find themselves embroiled in a huge battle in the midfield, with Chilton running ahead until the final lap when Collard grabbed eleventh spot, despite a scare mid-way through when bodywork started to rub on the front left tyre.
Hamilton would repeat his race one result as he once again took the flag in 20th place, scoring more valuable points towards his Jack Sears Trophy tally.
With the top six reversed on the grid for the weekend finale, Ingram lined up on the front row of the grid and wasted little time in hitting the front as he battled his way ahead of James Dorlin on the run to the complex for the first time.
After an early caution period, Ingram was able to ease clear at the front as he secured victory at the fastest circuit on the calendar for the second successive season, despite a five second penalty for a starting infringement.
Behind, Collard would prove to be one of the stars of the race as he produced a trademark aggressive performance to rise through the pack from eleventh on the grid to take fourth spot, ending up less than half a second away from adding to his tally of podiums this season.
Chilton also maintained his race day improvement to come through into the top ten in eighth place, with Hamilton ending the weekend with his fourth points finish of the campaign in 15th; a result that moved him up into the top three of the Jack Sears Trophy and also means he has now set a new personal best for points scored in a season by the half-way stage.
Tom Chilton, #3 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“Unfortunately, the qualifying race is where things went wrong for with the alternator issue as otherwise, we’d have been up in the top ten and things would have been very different. It just shows how one small issue can have a massive impact, particularly at a circuit like this where overtaking is so difficult.
“When you’re in the field, you’re constantly losing downforce following cars through the quick stuff and then even when you hit the TOCA Turbo Boost button, it’s hard to regain the ground lost – plus the car gets hotter when you’re in traffic and you lose power.
“Saying that, we’ve improved in each of the three races this weekend which is a positive thing for us to take away, and I’ve really enjoyed the racing. I’m sad to still not have a Thruxton win in my career, so that’s one I’ll to focus on ticking off next year…”