PODIUM SILVERWARE FOR TEAM VERTU AT OULTON PARK

Team VERTU enjoyed a successful end to the first phase of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season with a total of four podium finishes from the latest rounds of the campaign at Oulton Park.

The EXCELR8-run team headed into the final event before the summer break keen to try and add to an impressive record at the Cheshire venue, and with all four drivers full of confidence after trips to the podium two weeks earlier at Snetterton.

Free practice on a drying circuit provided the opportunity for the four Team VERTU drivers to prepare for qualifying, with Tom Chilton the best placed of the quartet with the second quickest time.

Defending champion Tom Ingram also lapped inside the top ten, with Ricky Collard close behind in eleventh and Nicolas Hamilton setting the 20th quickest lap.

Ingram and Collard went out in the first qualifying session before Chilton and Hamilton headed out in Q2.

The fact that Group 2 has the quickest lap overall meant Chilton was best placed Team VERTU driver on the grid for the qualifying race in seventh, with Ingram directly alongside on the grid.

Hamilton and Collard would line up 19th and 20th positions, with both aiming to make up ground when the qualifying race kicked off.

Ingram made a solid start when the race kicked off to climb to sixth on the opening lap, although there was disappointment for Chilton who was run off track on the run down to the hairpin and dropped to the rear of the field.

An off for Hamilton at the same place a lap later saw the safety car deployed and after the restart, Ingram went on the attack, going wheel-to-wheel with title rival Ash Sutton before having to settle for fifth place – which then became fourth due to a penalty for one of the drivers ahead.

The safety car had helped Chilton to catch up with the field and he used the pace of his Hyundai to recover to eleventh, one spot head of Collard who gained eight spots – more than anyone else – to finish in twelfth.

Gaining a spot on the opening lap of race one, Ingram ran in the top three throughout to grab a podium finish, taking points out of Sutton who was back in seventh after a moment on the opening lap.

Chilton continued his fight back from the qualifying race dramas as he climbed up into eighth, with Collard and Hamilton in 14th and 19th having both elected to run the slower hard tyre at the first possible opportunity.

Ingram’s podium finish meant he was forced onto the hard tyre for race two, with a solid start seeing him grab second spot on the run through turn one. Shuffled back to third spot as Sutton charged forwards on the soft tyre, Ingram produced an astonishing run on the slower tyre to retain a podium position, and grabbed second spot on lap twelve when he dived down the inside of Dan Cammish at Lodge.

Chilton also made a solid start to the race having stuck with the soft tyre, climbing up into fifth spot by the end of lap two. Heading into Cascades on lap four however, Chilton was forced onto the grass and suffered a spin that dropped him to the back of the field and left him outside the points in 17th.

It meant Collard would end the race as the second-best of the Team VERTU cars as he raced his way through to a strong seventh place, with Hamilton taking the flag in 20th spot.

With the top eleven reversed on the grid for race three – and three of the Team VERTU cars on the soft tyre – hopes were high of a positive end to the weekend, with Collard the best placed of the four drivers in fifth spot.

Gaining a spot on lap one, Collard then went on the attack after an early caution period, overhauling Sam Osborne and Chris Smiley to move into spot. Behind, Ingram was also on a charge in the early stages and by the end of lap six, had worked his way from tenth into third behind Collard – with the pair going on to bag a double podium finish.

A tough weekend for Chilton ended in disappointment when a clash with Lewis Selby at Cascades saw him go off into the barriers, but Hamilton’s decision to run the hard tyre early on paid dividends as raced his way through to finish inside the points in twelfth place.

That came despite more than one scare during the race whilst fighting in the pack, most notably when part of a three-way battle for position going up Clay Hill just after a caution period to recover Chilton’s car.

The weekend also saw Hamilton awarded the Goodyear Wingfoot Award for the previous round at Snetterton, where fans voted him as the Driver of the Weekend for his winning Jack Sears Trophy performance.

Going into the early summer break, Ingram is best placed of the Team VERTU drivers in second overall, with the Hyundai squad second in the Manufacturers’/Constructors’ championship and third in the Teams’ standings.

Tom Chilton, #3 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“This weekend pretty much summed up the way the first part of the season has gone for me, as we’ve had the pace but absolutely no luck. Things started well in practice but being run onto the grass in the qualifying race put me on the back foot for race day, particularly at a circuit where it is so difficult to overtake.

“Despite that, we gained ground in race one to put us back in the mix inside the top ten but that was as good as it got, with the incident in race two being really frustrating as we could have been on the podium there. The other driver got a penalty, but that doesn’t give me the result back.

“The final race was always going to be difficult on the hard tyre and it was unfortunate that things ended as they did, as I just got a wheel onto the kerb going side-by-side through Cascades which unsettled the car and that was that.

“I’m going to use this break to reset ready to come out fighting at Thruxton, which is a circuit I love, when racing resumes.”

Ricky Collard, #11 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“I’d not driven this car here before and I think that was reflected in qualifying where I didn’t really get the most out of it, and it meant starting the qualifying race back in Manchester! However, I got my elbows out when we got racing and making up eight spots on Saturday afternoon gave us a chance to get into the mix on Sunday.

“Ultimately I think we made the right call to run the hard tyre first and get it out of the way, particularly when we also had limited boost in the first race, and it was a case of minimising the losses. The fact we were first car home on the hard tyre meant it was mission accomplished and I could focus on fighting forwards in the final two races.

“Race two was really positive to rise to seventh, and then race three was where our tyre strategy really paid off and we could fight for podium number five of the season – keeping our record of some silverware from every weekend.

“It’s no secret that I don’t have the budget for the full season, and I’ll be doing everything I can during this break to try and make sure that we can continue beyond Thruxton. A huge thank you to those who have helped me so far, and if anyone else wants to get involved then please get in touch!”

Nicolas Hamilton, #28 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“The final race was a great way to end a tricky weekend, and I’m pleased to have been able to put some more points on the board at the end of it. Although Saturday proved to be challenging with the way the qualifying race ended, I was nearly a second quicker than I had been last season in the earlier session, which was a sign of the continued progress I’m making.

“With such a big difference between the hard tyre and the soft tyre, it made sense to run the hard tyre in race one, and it was the right decision because it meant when we got to race three, we had the soft tyre when a lot of others didn’t.

“There was a bit of a scare at the start with some spinning cars, and then after the second safety car period when I was going wheel-to-wheel up Clay Hill, but I feel I drove well and it was great to not only score points, but also be second driver home in the Jack Sears Trophy.

“I can use the break now before Thruxton to reflect on what has been a positive start to the year, and aim to keep progressing when we return to action.”

Tom Ingram, #80 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“I think we got as much from this weekend as we could do really, as the goal was to try and score as many points as we could. We managed to get a pretty decent haul and closed the gap slightly to Ash at the top, so I’m pleased.

“We could maybe have done a slightly better job in qualifying on Saturday but it was always going to be a challenge with the amount of TOCA Turbo Boost we were carrying. However, on Sunday, the car was just unreal and we are able to show our true pace.

“If anything, that’s perhaps the disappointing thing about this first part of the season as we’ve had that car at all four rounds but we’ve also had a huge amount of bad luck. When we remove that bad luck, we’ve come away from the weekend with three podium finishes to our name and couldn’t have asked for much more.

“There are a few things we’ll look to do with the car over this month long break that we haven’t had time to do so far and I’m looking forward to getting back out at Thruxton for the second half of the year, where I feel we’ll be even stronger.”

Justina Williams, Team VERTU Team Owner, said:
“We’re pleased to come away from Oulton Park with some more trophies to our name, and with Tom Ingram having managed to close the gap at bit at the top of the standings. Clearly we have the pace in the car as both Tom and Ricky showed this weekend, whilst it was also great to see Nic fighting into the points in race three with a really strong performance.

“It was a tough weekend for Tom Chilton with more misfortune but this break will allow us all to reset so that when we get to Thruxton, we’re ready to push for more victories.”