SILVERWARE ALL ROUND FOR TEAM VERTU AT SNETTERTON
Team VERTU secured a sizeable haul of silverware as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship headed for Snetterton for the third meeting of the season.
The EXCELR8-run team secured three podium finishes through Tom Ingram, Tom Chilton and Ricky Collard whilst there was a hugely popular – and emotional – win in the Jack Sears Trophy for Nicolas Hamilton.
An extended 60 minute practice session on Saturday morning to allow the teams to bed in fresh brakes ended with Ingram and Chilton in second and third spots, with Collard and Hamilton having a little more work to do in qualifying having posted the 17th and 18th best times.
Chilton then topped the times in the first qualifying group with a time that would be good enough to secure pole for the qualifying race with Collard back on the tenth row having lost two quick laps for track limits that would have put him higher up the order.
Running in the second session, Ingram would have to settle for a place on the second row having lost his quickest lap to track limits, with Hamilton lining up alongside Collard on the grid for the eight lap qualifying encounter.
Chilton’s hope of converting his position at the start into pole for Sunday’s opening race ended on the opening lap when he was forced wide whilst dicing with Charles Rainford’s BMW and dropped down the order, with a five second penalty for being out of position at the start ultimately leaving him to finish in eighth.
It meant Ingram led the team’s challenge as he rose to third place on lap one and held station throughout, gaining ground on points leader Ash Sutton when he was forced to retire.
Collard and Hamilton both made strong progress to finish inside the points, with Collard battling his way to twelfth and Hamilton taking 15th.
Whilst Saturday had been warm, conditions were even hotter on Sunday as the drivers lined up for the opening race, where Ingram led the team’s challenge, fighting ahead of the Toyota of Josh Cook on lap one and running in second spot throughout.
Chilton elected to run the slowed medium tyre but still gained a position to take seventh place, one place clear of Collard who used the soft tyre to storm through the field to eighth having gained twelve places.
Hamilton meanwhile bounced back from a difficult start that saw him lose places to finish in 17th having battled his way ahead of race winners Aiden Moffat and Aron Taylor-Smith.
Despite being on the medium tyre in the second race, Ingram surged into the lead by the end of lap two but his hopes of victory would be ended by a power steering issue the started to cost him time before alternator failure forced him to park his car on the edge of the circuit.
That left Collard and Chilton to bring home trophies for the team as they benefitted from strong pace in the Hyundai on soft tyres to rise through the field to take second and third positions, with Collard in particular making a number of impressive moves as he minted his record of a podium at every event this season.
As in race one, Hamilton recovered from a slow start to come close to overall points in 16th place, finishing second amongst those drivers fighting for the Jack Sears Trophy.
The reverse grid finale saw Ingram star from the back of the grid as he raced his way from the back of the grid to take third place, only to be handed a ten second penalty after the chequered flag for exceeding track limits that dropped him down to eighth in the final results.
It meant seventh for Chilton on limited turbo boost was the best result of the finale, with Collard also suffering from a lack of TTB as he dropped down to outside the top ten, with a ten second penalty for a false start ultimately leaving him in 21st.
Hamilton meanwhile produced another highly competitive drive as he recovered from a slow start for the third successive race to battle back to 16th with his Jack Sears Trophy points for the weekend seeing him secure the award – marking the first silverware of his racing career.
Next stop for the team is Oulton Park in two weeks.
Tom Chilton, #3 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“I got pole in qualifying which was good as it showed our pace but unfortunately in the qualifying race, I got hit by Rainford which damaged the car and dropped me down the order so we were out of a position going into the three races on Sunday.
“In race one, I made up a spot on the slower tyre which I was happy with and then a podium in race two was great even though I found myself in the wrong place a few times on lap one, which is crucial when you’re fighting for position round here.
“A double podium for the team was great and then in race three, I felt confident we could fight for the top three again but the lack of TOCA Turbo Boost compared to cars behind meant I was a bit of a sitting duck and we dropped back to seventh by the finish.
“We’ve seen this weekend that we have a quick car in qualifying and for us as a team to come away with a trophy for every driver is fantastic. I’m so happy for Nic in particular as this is what he has dreamed of and to see him up on the podium was amazing.”
Ricky Collard, #12 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“It’s been a bit of a mixed weekend where we showed we were quick again, but we were on the back foot a bit after a difficult Saturday left us further down the order that we hoped to be.
“Race one was a strong recovery that set us up for the podium in race two, which is what really matters as it keeps my record of being in the top three at every circuit we’ve visited so far this season.
“Race three was always going to be difficult with limited boost and the penalty then didn’t help, which meant a bit of a disappointing finish. However, we got the podium and its been a solid weekend for the team in terms of trophies.”
Nicolas Hamilton, #28 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“I honestly cannot believe what has happened this weekend as I never expected to walk away from Snetterton as winner of the Jack Sears Trophy. My whole focus was on developing and improving myself and to end the weekend up on the podium was the most amazing experience.
“Thanks to the team and the car, but also through hard work from myself, I’ve been quicker here this weekend than ever before I’m so proud of how I have driven. I’ve always said that I wanted to win a trophy, but I didn’t want to just be gifted it, and this weekend I feel like I earned it and deserved it. I know I need to work on my starts, but I was able to work my way forwards because I had the pace to do it and that is something I am massively proud of.
“I’m not going to, but I could happily hang my boots, gloves and helmet up after this weekend knowing that I have achieved the dream of a little boy who was told he would never walk. The amount of support from the BTCC paddock and from the whole community around the championship has been incredible and it was truly a surreal moment to be there on the podium seeing the everyone cheering.
“This is for everyone who has stuck by me and supported me, and even those who have doubted me as it has only fuelled my desire to reach my goal. For all those in the disabled community, hopefully this will provide further inspiration of what is possible.”
Tom Ingram, #80 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“I think disappointing is the only way to word the weekend because we showed that the car is quick but we come away from Snetterton having lost ground in the standings and having not picked up the three strong results we know we are capable of.
“The qualifying race was a solid result when you consider that we had so little turbo boost to play with, and the fact that Ash was at the back meant we had a chance to gain ground in race one, which is what we did. Obviously I’d have preferred the win, but second was a strong result in really difficult conditions with the heat.
“Race two was one of the most challenging I’ve done after we lost the power steering and it was a huge battle to try and keep fighting on track until the alternator failed, and that’s one of situations where there was literally nothing else I could have done.
“The final race was fantastic from my point of view and to finish on the podium from the back was brilliant, which made it all the more frustrating to then get the penalty and undo all the effort that had gone in to come through the field.
“We can see where our opponents are strong at the moment and we’ll keep working hard to take the fight to them, starting at Oulton Park in a few weeks.”
Justina Williams, Team VERTU Team Owner, said:
“This is a weekend that really shows what being part of the BTCC is all about. Obviously on the one hand there is a some disappointment that our results could have been even better, but on the other, we’ve come away from Snetterton with silverware for every driver which is a fantastic achievement.
“For Nic in particular, I’m massively proud that we have helped him to realise his childhood dream this weekend and it is richly deserved as people don’t see all of the effort and hard work that he puts in behind the scenes, never mind when he is in the car. To see members of other teams in tears when he got out of the car and then celebrated on the podium was the most amazing thing. This was most certainly a very special moment for us all.
“From a championship perspective, we know there is work to do, but we’ll be pushing hard to close the gap at Oulton Park in a few weeks time.”
