23 JUNE: BTCC OULTON PARK
The three races at Oulton Park took the British Touring Car Championship to the halfway stage of a fascinating season - with an unofficial race to see which driver will reach the summer break with a lead in the Drivers Championship.
The smart money was on Jake Hill who had driven his West Surrey Racing Prepared BMW to four wins in the last six races.
However, it was fellow “Cobra Seat” driver Tom Ingram who took pole in his Team Bristol Street Motors (EXCELR8) Hyundai i30N.
Fellow “Cobra” stalwart, four times BTCC Champion Colin Turkington, had a nightmare start to the day when his BMW refused to move from the grid, but at the front of the field Tom Ingram put in a feisty performance to claim a pole to flag victory having endured a yet another classic elbows out tussle with Ash Sutton to secure his 30th BTCC win.
Behind Tom, Jake Hill also had an interesting race – having a massive lock up as he tried to move into third, he used the escape lane to rejoin the race in sixth before moving back up to fifth – and what would prove to be an invaluable points haul.
In Race two it was another Cobra driver who took centre stage: Josh Cook in his LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ Toyota Corolla GR Sport.
While Ingram and Sutton were having yet another private duel from one and two on the grid, behind them there was first corner chaos which left Adam Morgan’s BMW facing the wrong way and an octet of cars taking evasive action.
Cook who had started eight on the grid took full advantage of the confusion to take the race lead as he crossed the line at the end of lap one. From then on Cook never looked back, taking the chequered flag a full eight seconds ahead of Tom Ingram in second and Jake Hill in third.
In Race 3 it was Jake Hill’s turn to ensure that drivers using Cobra seats would take the top step on the podium for all three of the days races, making an audacious move at the chicane on the final lap to take his fifth win of the season, while behind him, Tom Ingram took fourth place to secure an impressive points haul for the day.
Those results mean that at the halfway stage of the British Touring Car Championship season, drivers using Cobra seats are one and two in the standings with Jake Hill just four points ahead of Tom Ingram … and Josh Cook and Colin Turkington are still very much in the mix, lying fifth and sixth in the standings.
