DOUBLE DELIGHT FOR TEAM VERTU IN BTCC FINALE
Team VERTU signed off for the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season with a double win at Brands Hatch, and it could have been more following a dramatic final race of the campaign.
The EXCELR8-run team headed into the weekend looking to wrap up second in the standings, with Tom Ingram bidding to also defeat closest rival Dan Cammish to secure the runner-up spot in the Drivers Championship.
Reverting back to the original four-car driver line-up for the season finale, the team enjoyed a solid start to the weekend in the single free practice session as Ingram narrowly missed out on the quickest time, with Tom Chilton also lapping inside the top five as he prepared for his final weekend in the series.
Ricky Collard was 17th quickest as he re-acclimatised himself to the Grand Prix layout with Nicolas Hamilton in 21st spot.
Collard, Chilton and Hamilton all headed out on track for the first qualifying session, with Collard going second quickest in the group to earn a P4 start for the qualifying race, with Chilton ending up twelfth and Hamilton in 22nd.
Running in the second session, Ingram would end up posting the third best time, which translated into fifth on the grid for the Saturday afternoon race.
Despite being on the third row of the grid, Ingram was on fine form when the qualifying race kicked off as he rocketed up the order on the opening lap to move into second – a position he retained through to the finish to put him on the front row of the grid for Sunday’s opening race.
Collard ran third in the early stages after a strong start of his own but would find himself shuffled back to fifth before the finish, with Chilton in 15th and Hamilton 23rd – the latter having dropped off the back of the field early on when he struggled to get away from the line.
Ingram made a strong start to the opening race on Sunday morning to hit the front of the field ahead of Aiden Moffat before the Audi driver managed to reclaim the lead when he dived down the inside on the GP loop.
However, Ingram refused to let his rival break away and despite having less TOCA Turbo Boost at his disposal, made a move around the outside at Clearways to reclaim a lead he would retain to the finish.
Moving up into fourth on the opening lap, Collard held position throughout the race to finish just off the podium on the road, but a penalty for Moffat would see him promoted into third spot to give the team a double podium finish.
Chilton climbed to 13th place before he was handed a time penalty that dropped him a spot in the results, with Hamilton rounding out the finishers in 20th spot.
From pole for the second race of the weekend, Ingram controlled proceedings from the front to make it two wins from two, although Collard was unable to replicate his earlier result as he faded to seventh having been overhauled by a number of drivers running the soft compound tyre.
Chilton would find himself embroiled in a huge battle I’m the midfield pack before being classified in twelfth, with Hamilton dicing with Ryan Bensley and Nick Halstead throughout before finishing in 21st.
The final race of the season would start in disappointing fashion as both Ingram and Chilton were forced out after an incident going into turn one, leaving Collard to fly the flag for Team VERTU as he blasted his way to the front on the opening lap from the second row of the grid.
From there, Collard was able to maintain his position at the front of the pack despite huge pressure from behind to cross the line first before an unfortunate penalty for a restart infringement dropped him back to eighth place.
Hamilton meanwhile rounded out the season with 16th place to just miss out on an overall points finish.
Tom Chilton, #3 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“The weekend hasn’t gone the way I wanted it to in terms of the results, but I’ve felt a lot of love from everyone – from the fans, from colleagues and former colleagues, and from my family and friends.
“It’s been a hugely emotional experience and at one point, I though the stars might align and we’d be on reverse grid pole with the soft tyres. I’m pretty confident that we could have gone for the win and achieved the dream of starting and ending my BTCC career with a trophy, but instead I signed off with a Vertu pirouette into the gravel with Tom!
“A huge thank you to everyone who has supported me through the years as I’ve had an absolute blast as a professional racing driver. Competing in the BTCC for so long has been the most amazing experience and I’m going to miss it, but I love this series and you can rest assured that I’ll still be watching on as a fan and cheering on!”
Ricky Collard, #11 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“I can honestly say this has been one of the best weekends I’ve ever had in motorsport. Regardless of the final result, I’ve enjoyed every single moment of it. Of course, we all race to win, but sometimes the memories, the people and the journey mean far more than any trophy ever could.
“This season has been an incredible chapter in my career. To think I wasn’t even expecting to be on the grid at the start of the year, to then come back and fight at the front with some of the best drivers in the country, is something I’m incredibly proud of.
“I also want to wish my team-mate Tom all the very best in his retirement. It’s been a privilege sharing the garage with him and being part of his final season. He’s achieved so much in this sport and deserves to enjoy whatever comes next.
“I’ve had the biggest smile on my face all weekend, and that’s how I want to remember it. I love what I do, I love racing. I’m excited for whatever the future holds.”
Nicolas Hamilton, #28 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“It’s been a tough weekend for me to end the season but that is what touring cars is all about. Not every weekend is going to be smooth sailing but I kept fighting until the end and we had a good race to finish things off.
“I’ve never known from year to year if I would get the sponsorship and the partners to go racing, and I am hugely privileged and honoured to be part of this grid. No-one else has to drive with a disability like I do, and it’s a massive achievement to even be out there competing.
“Moving into one of the top seats on the grid, I knew there would be people who would question me this year but I think everyone can see the progress I’ve made and how I’ve developed as a driver. This has been the best season of my touring car career by some margin and I feel I’ve proved a point with some of my performances on track.
“The highlight is obvious and getting on the podium at Snetterton is an experience that will live with me forever. It’s something I want more in the future and the hard work has already started behind the scenes to try and ensure that I can return next season to build on the foundations we have put in place this year.”
Tom Ingram, #80 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“The final race wasn’t how I expected the season to finish but it almost sums up our year as something completely outside our control prevented a good weekend from being a great one!
“Before the final race, things had been going really well and the car was absolutely mega earlier in the day. The fight with Aiden in race one is what the BTCC is all about as it was hard but fair racing that I really enjoyed and to come out on top of a battle like that was particularly pleasing, especially given the different levels of TTB we had.
“Leading race two from the front was also great and was further indication of the pace we’ve had all season but – for whatever reason – we haven’t been able to show.
“The season as whole obviously hasn’t delivered what we were looking for at the start, but I’m hugely proud of the team for the way they’ve continued to fight hard when things weren’t going our way.
“Ash deserved the championship this season as he’s had a fantastic year, but I don’t plan to let him have it all his own way in 2027.”
Justina Williams, Team VERTU Team Owner, said:
“Two victories is a good way to end the season at Brands Hatch, although it’s a shame we missed out on a hat-trick in race three. I think it’s fair to say Ricky has some unfinished business after that one, and maybe he’ll be back next year to try and make it onto the top step. It’s also unfortunate for Tom Chilton to see his time in the BTCC end in the way it did but sadly, that is what touring car racing car be like and it won’t take away from what has been a fantastic career.
“Overall, it’s been a challenging season for many reasons, but there has also been a lot of highs along the way. Although we wanted to secure the championship, finishing second in such a competitive series in no mean feat and helping Nicolas to earn his first ever podium this year is something that will never be forgotten.
“We’ll take a little bit of time to regroup before we turn our full focus to 2027, with our goal being firmly to reclaim the titles next season.”
