BTCC: Sutton vs Ingram- Tactics at Oulton Park

The 5^th round of the BTCC season took place at Oulton Park with Ash Sutton and Tom Ingram looking to cement their championship lead over the rest of the pack.

Qualifying for both drivers saw them advance through the first two phases but neither could top Restart Racing’s Chris Smiley in either session as it looked to be a strong day for the Independent outfit before their hopes of pole was squandered by Ingram who goes nearly half a second clear of Smiley in the Quick Six session to take pole by a significant margin. Sutton would qualify 4^th behind teammate Dan Cammish as the NAPA squad lock out the second row.

Race 1 would see Ingram maintain his lead off the start while Smiley, Cammish and Sutton fought over second with both the Ford’s passing the Independent Hyundai entry. Ingram would try to build the advantage over the rest of the first lap trying to make it as difficult as possible for Cammish and Sutton further back. But it would all be for nothing as the Safety Car would be deployed on lap 2 for Stephen Jelley and Sam Osborne.

Once the race would get back underway, Ingram would stay ahead of Cammish cleanly while Sutton tried to hunt down his teammate but with how difficult it is to overtake, Sutton could not do anything. Ingram would go on to take victory with the margin built to the cars behind but Sutton decided to back off and let Smiley through for third place so he did not have to start on the Hard tyres in Race 2, ensuring he can use his second set of softs to get by the top 3 and maximise points while also putting pressure on Ingram to maintain as high of a position as possible.

Race 2 would see Ingram come under pressure almost immediately from both the NAPA’s as Ingram managed to defend from Cammish all while Sutton managed to pass both Smiley and his teammate giving him a clear road to fight Ingram while on the softs in comparison to the hard tyres of Ingram. Sutton would go for a move on lap 2 down at the hairpin with a late dive as he managed to get by his title rival. Adam Morgan, who was also on the softs, used the two rivals fighting to get by his Team Vertu teammate and sit on the back of now race leader Sutton. Ingram would also drop another position to allow Tom Chilton to pass on the softs as both his teammates look to pressure Sutton. However, the race would be brought to a halt due to Dan Lloyd ending up in the barrier so a Safety Car would be deployed.

Off the restart, Sutton would manage to defend from Morgan all while Ingram came under pressure from Cammish and Jake Hill as the BMW manages to find a way by Cammish. Hill would keep pressure on Ingram as the BMW on the softs had superior grip to the Hyundai. With both championship leaders under pressure, they would manage to defend their positions throughout the remainder of the race meaning Sutton would take victory while Ingram would manage to bring home 4^th place.

For Race 3, the top 9 was reversed leaving Gordon Shedden to start on pole while Ingram would start 6^th and Sutton 9^th as both would be looking to climb through the field in wet conditions. Sutton would initially drop a few places down to 11^th while Ingram was able to get passed Senna Proctor off the line putting him in 5^th place. Sutton would son find his way passed Chilton, Morgan and Miket Doble to put himself in 8^th place before Josh Cook went off the road at the final corner gifting both Ingram and Sutton an extra place. Ingram would start to lose ground over the next few laps being passed by Sutton who was on a charge. Ingram would continue to drop coming under pressure from Doble all while Sutton passes Cammish and Proctor to put himself into 4^th place.

Ingram would lose another few places to drop all they way to 12^th place before a Safety Car would be deployed to recover Max Hall’s Cupra which had ended up in the gravel. Off the restart, Sutton would make the most of it as he would get by Rowbottom straight away and almost got by Hill as well before the BMW managed to make an excellent defence. Ingram meanwhile would make up two places due to an incident between Chilton and Doble leaving the Vauxhall in the barrier and the Hyundai needing to pit. The Safety Car would be deployed once more keeping the field bunched up.

Off the restart, Sutton would try and make the move on Hill but the BMW continued to defend hard all while Ingram would make a double move on Dorlin and Rainford to move to 7^th as his pace begins to come alive as the track gets dryer. Ingram would make another move to pass Cammish and then later on to pass Proctor. Up front, Hill would make an error losing the back end giving Sutton second and Ingram 4^th in the final 2 laps. Sutton would come home to finish just behind Shedden while Ingram would be looking for a way by Rowbottom but just ran out of time to take the final podium spot.

At the halfway point of the season, the top 5 in the standings is as follows:

1^st Sutton: 233

2^nd Ingram: 223 (-10)

3^rd Cammish: 161 (-72)

4^th Rowbottom: 159 (-74)

5^th Hill: 143 (-90)