Race report
BTCC Donington
BTCC Donington Park: Chilton wins bizarre wet second race
Veteran Tom Chilton took victory in a bizarre second race of the day of the British Touring Car Championship opening round at Donington Park.
Marcus Simmons
Edited: Apr 24, 2023, 2:47 PM
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The Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai i30 N benefited from being one of those to pit at the end of the green-flag lap for wet-weather Goodyear tyres when rain made the going slippery.
Chilton was able to defeat Adam Morgan – the West Surrey Racing BMW 330e M Sport newcomer was another to pit at the same time – by 7.394 seconds as the rain increased, making it impossible for those on slick rubber.
The race began with first-race winner Dan Cammish keeping Tom Ingram at bay for the lead, but when Ricky Collard parked his Toyota on the track at McLeans with suspension damage that triggered the safety car, it gave those on grooved tyres even more of an advantage as they were able to close the gap to the stricken slicks runners in front.
Once the field was released again it took little time for Chilton and then Morgan to carve their ways to the front, and it was just a matter of time before those who had started on slicks eventually gave up the struggle and pitted.
As the race settled down, Chilton was leading Morgan and Scottish BTCC debutant Ronan Pearson, who had also pitted his Excelr8 Hyundai at the end of the green-flag lap.
In fourth spot was Nic Hamilton, with his brother Lewis watching on from the pit garage and with rain tyres he’d had fitted to his Team Hard Cupra Leon before the green-flag lap even began.
Hamilton soon fell victim to the Motorbase Ford of Sam Osborne and Stephen Jelley’s WSR BMW, but he was still leading the Independents class as the race went into its closing stages.
Nicolas Hamilton, Go-Fix with Autoaid Breakdown Cupra Leon
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Catching Hamilton was Power Maxed Racing’s Mikey Doble, making his BTCC debut, and the Vauxhall Astra passed the Cupra into Redgate at the start of the penultimate lap, only for Hamilton to get back ahead at the top of the Craner Curves.
Hamilton’s bid for Independents victory became the focal point, but it was Doble who snatched it – and sixth overall – into the chicane on the final lap.
Doble and Hamilton were among those to be promoted one position when Pearson was excluded after his Hyundai failed the post-race ride-height check. That moved Osborne up to his maiden podium in third from Jelley, Doble and Hamilton.
Nick Halstead (Excelr8 Hyundai) was a lonely seventh, while Colin Turkington was the best-placed of those to pit for wets after the safety car, bringing his WSR BMW home in eighth.
Ninth was Ingram, who got ahead of Bobby Thompson (Team Hard Cupra) and Rowbottom in the final laps.
Rowbottom was classified 11th, the last driver on the lead lap, while late stoppers Cammish, Ash Sutton and Jake Hill were among those to be lapped during their pitstops.
But with the number 12 being pulled out in the reversed-grid draw, Pearson's exclusion handed a second pole of the day for the finale to Cammish, with Rowbottom alongside.
BTCC Donington Park - Race 2 results (21 laps)
Cla Driver Car / Engine Gap 1 Tom Chilton Hyundai 2 Adam Morgan BMW 7.394 3 Ronan Pearson Hyundai 15.617* 4 Sam Osborne Ford 18.622 5 Stephen Jelley BMW 22.322 6 Mikey Doble Vauxhall/TOCA 35.360 7 Nicolas Hamilton Cupra/TOCA 35.619 8 Nick Halstead Hyundai 51.253 9 Colin Turkington BMW 59.353 10 Tom Ingram Hyundai 1'17.130 11 Bobby Thompson Cupra/TOCA 1'18.439 12 Dan Rowbottom Ford 1'18.641 13 Dan Cammish Ford 1 lap /3.694 14 Dan Lloyd Cupra/TOCA 1 lap /6.682 15 Rory Butcher Toyota 1 lap /9.426 16 Ash Sutton Ford 1 lap /15.817 17 Jake Hill BMW 1 lap /18.765 18 Aiden Moffat Honda 1 lap /24.000 19 Dexter Patterson Cupra/TOCA 1 lap /37.612 20 Josh Cook Honda 1 lap /48.686 21 Árón T.-Smith Vauxhall/TOCA 1 lap /55.876 22 Andrew Watson Vauxhall/TOCA 2 laps /2.000 Will Powell Honda Retirement Jade Edwards Cupra/TOCA Retirement George Gamble Toyota Retirement Jack Butel Cupra/TOCA Retirement Ricky Collard Toyota Retirement
*Excluded for failing post-race ride-height check
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