Mikey Doble has been awarded victory in the opening race of this year's Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, after Tom Ingram was disqualified for an overboost infringement. Reigning champion Ingram had seemingly glided home to a comfortable victory.
Ingram launched into the lead at the start, making the most of a slow getaway from pole sitter, Daniel Rowbottom to ensure the Team VERTU Hyundai i30N was at the head of the pack as they streamed into Redgate. Charles Rainford was another quick starter in his WSR BMW, but he just had to settle for second behind Josh Cook’s Toyota, with all of them passing Rowbottom.
During the early stages, Ingram surged convincingly ahead, while Rowbottom worked his way back past Rainford to occupy third, with Mikey Doble just behind the pair of them in fifth. That quintet spent the opening laps in that order before Cook speared off the track at the Roberts chicane.
Cook’s exit didn’t just alter the picture at the front, but it also bunched the pack up, as the safety car was called for. Ingram picked up where he left off when action resumed a few laps later, but several of those behind him were on the move. Doble moved by Rainford to take third, while Ash Sutton, who’d been charging from the back of the grid in the NAPA Racing UK Ford, was up to a remarkable fifth. Sutton’s progress continued shortly after that with a moved on Rainford for fourth.
While Ingram was unchallenged at the front, Doble gave an indication of the new Audi A3 Saloon’s potential by pressuring Rowbottom for second. And just three laps from the end, he made a decisive move stick at Roberts.
The top two would run unchanged to the flag, but Rowbottom soon found his rear-view mirror was filled with the blue and yellow Ford of Sutton. But the latter wasn’t required to make a move, after Rowbottom was issued with a 10-second penalty for track limits infringements. That left Sutton clear to take a stunning podium from the very rear of the field. Rowbottom, meanwhile, was classified just 12th.
Adam Morgan ultimately pipped Rainford to fourth, with Dan Cammish rounding out the top six in the second NAPA entry. Gordon Shedden, Aiden Moffat and Dexter Patterson were next across the line, with Aron Taylor-Smith completing the top 10 after Rowbottom’s demotion.
Post-race Ingram was disqualified for a "significant" overboost infringement, while Morgan was also demoted.
Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Donington Park, Race 1
- Mikey Doble, LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing, Audi A3 Saloon
- Ash Sutton, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus Titanium, +1.749s
- Charles Rainford, WSR, BMW 330i M Sport, +5.392s
- Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus Titanium, +6.276s
- Gordon Shedden, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, Audi A3 Saloon, +7.401s
- Aiden Moffat, LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing, Audi A3 Saloon, +7.693s
- Dexter Patterson, Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing, Audi A3 Saloon, +8.102s
- Aron Taylor-Smith, LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing, Audi A3 Saloon, +8.180s
- Tom Chilton, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N, +8.417s
- Adam Morgan, Cataclean Plato Racing, Mercedes A35 Saloon, +8.775s
Click here to view full results and standings from this event.