Tom Ingram completed his domination of the 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship’s opening Saturday by claiming pole position in the inaugural Quick Six Qualifying session at Donington Park after topping both Free Practice periods earlier in the day.
Ingram’s pace was never in doubt at the wheel of Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS’ Hyundai i30N, as he successfully navigated the initial knockout phases despite the threat of tricky conditions amidst some light rainfall. Ingram topped the first session and finished second in the next before claiming pole position with a time of 1m07.845s on the National circuit.
Every ounce of time proved to be crucial however as, after leading by a relatively comfortable margin in Free Practice, reigning champion Ashley Sutton edged to within just five hundredths of a second. Sutton was the only NAPA Racing UK driver to make the final Quick Six session after surprise exits in the initial running for both Dan Cammish and Daniel Rowbottom – and a Q2 off-road moment for Sam Osborne.
Colin Turkington and Jake Hill were evenly matched in a pair of WSR-prepared BMWs to finish third and fourth at the close, with the former’s Team BMW entry setting a time just sixth hundredths quicker than Hills’s Laser Tools branded machine. Ronan Pearson and Andrew Watson completed the top-six for Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK respectively.
Six further drivers were eliminated from the running in the second qualifying session, which was interrupted minutes from the end when Sam Osborne’s car ran off the track and impacted with the barrier. The session resumed for a three-minute final dash, but Aron Taylor-Smith, Josh Cook, Daryl DeLeon, Mikey Doble and Chris Smiley all joined Osborne in not quite making the cut.
Earlier on, Adam Morgan and Aiden Moffat joined Cammish in being surprise early departures from the qualifying process after failing to make the top-six in the first qualifying group. Another notable absentee from the later running was former World Champion Rob Huff who will start tomorrow’s opening race from the back after failing to set a time.
Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Donington Park, Qualifying Quick Six
- Tom Ingram, Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS, Hyundai i30N, 1m07.845s
- Ashley Sutton, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus ST, +0.051s
- Colin Turkington, Team BMW, BMW 330e M Sport, +0.315s
- Jake Hill, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, BMW 330e M Sport, +0.375s
- Ronan Pearson, Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS, Hyundai i30N, +0.776s
- Andrew Watson, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +0.992s
Click here to view full times from this weekend's event.