Croft BTCC: Ingram stripped of pole, Cook inherits P1
British Touring Car Championship title contender Tom Ingram has been stripped of his Croft pole position, with Josh Cook inheriting the spot for Sunday’s opening race.
Ingram’s Speedworks Motorsport-run Toyota Corolla failed the post-qualifying ride-height test, as did the third-placed Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai i30 N of Senna Proctor.
It means that two Honda Civics – Cook’s BTC Racing car and Jake Hill’s AmD-run MB Motorsport machine – will share the front row, with the BMWs of Colin Turkington and Tom Oliphant on the second rank.
Speedworks team principal Christian Dick showed Motorsport.com the cause of the problem, with a right-front wishbone failure on the Corolla lowering the ride height.
“It doesn’t make it any better in terms of the result, but it does make it better in that it wasn’t a screw-up by us,” said Dick. “It was a great effort from Tom, a great effort from the boys, and a bit of damage like that makes it a difficult pill to swallow, but there’s not a lot we can do about it.”
When asked whether the failure could have been caused by kerb-jumping, Dick replied: “It is hard on the kerbs through the chicane here, so that could be the assumption.”
The Excelr8 squad was also disappointed with Proctor’s demotion to the back row of the 26-car grid alongside Ingram.
“We came in and changed the front tyres towards the end of the session, and maybe the pressures didn’t come up as high as expected,” said Excelr8 team manager Marvin Humphries. “They came up on one side, and not the other. It’s a great shame, but we all know that weight and ride height are crucial in this lark.
“It’s a bit of a blow – we could have done without that.”
The knock-on effects of the double exclusion move the Trade Price Cars Audi S3 of Bobby Thompson up to fifth, sharing the third row with championship leader Ash Sutton, who caused the second red flag by crashing his Laser Tools Racing Infiniti Q50, and had his best qualifying time to that point deleted.
A trio of Hondas are next up – Tom Chilton (BTC), Matt Neal (Team Dynamics) and Michael Crees (BTC) – with Rory Butcher’s Motorbase Performance Ford Focus rounding out the top 10.
Croft BTCC: Ingram under investigation after chaotic qualifying
Croft BTCC: Cook wins, Sutton mounts comeback charge
Ranking the top 10 BTCC drivers of 2021
A refresh in equipment and some returning faces helped contribute to a supremely competitive 2021 British Touring Car Championship campaign. Ash Sutton was crowned a three-time champion, successfully defending his 2020 title, but faced stiff competition in the final year before the switch to hybrid. Motorsport.com picks out the best performers.
Why the BTCC's ballast increase couldn't stop champion Sutton
Ballast will be gone from the BTCC next year as hybrid power enters the scene, but for its final season the maximum was increased from 60kg to 75kg. Despite having to carry that nearly all season, Ash Sutton was always the favourite to pocket a third title - the 27-year-old getting his reward for a season of speed tempered by savvy to nail his opportunities
The much-loved tin-top superstar bowing out at 59
OPINION: It's not often that a driver achieves widespread affection for their personality, as well as their on-track performances. One such individual is Gabriele Tarquini, who will soon bring the curtain down on a remarkable career that has yielded touring car titles on the European and global stage - and, famously, in Britain too
The making of the BTCC's newest superstar
Ash Sutton is on the verge of being crowned a three-time British Touring Car Champion; he seems to have it all. But life hasn't always been straightforward for this superstar of touring cars, as Marcus Simmons has been finding out
Five key plotlines to follow in the 2021 BTCC
It’s been a busy silly season in the BTCC since the chequered flag fell to end the 2020 campaign last November. While last year’s top two have stayed put, there’s been a lot of fat to chew elsewhere, which should result in another fascinating year of tin-top action.
Why a BTCC legend remains defiant at '97 not out'
After a year of enforced absence from the British Touring Car Championship grid, Jason Plato is back and hungrier than ever. Despite stellar opposition and some familiar challenges, the two-time champion still has his eyes focused on the biggest prizes.
The Top 10 BTCC drivers of 2020
The 2020 British Touring Car Championship will go down as a classic in which new winners graced the top step of the podium and an unloved chassis was resurrected into a champion. But who were the year's top performers?
The Villeneuve-esque 'engineer's dream' who lit up BTCC 2020
The Infiniti Q50 was completely redesigned, redeveloped and revamped by BMR and Laser Tools Racing for 2020. And the flamboyant brilliance of the driver behind the wheel was enough to snatch the title at the last gasp…