Tom Ingram has been crowned the 2025 BTCC champion after claiming a dominant race two victory. His win in race two is his seventh win of the year as he led title rival Ash Sutton over the line.
A champions drive to crown Ingram
After using the medium tyres in race one, it always felt like Ingram was going to try and claim the championship with a victory in race two. Ingram was the highest starting soft tyre runner and had a brilliant chance to wrap the title up in style. The Team Vertu driver had a briliant start from fifth on the grid and battled up to third on the opening lap. However, he didn’t expect to see his title rival Sutton right behind him in fourth place that early on. The pressure from the NAPA Ford didn’t bother Ingram as he managed to pass Charles Rainford for second position into Paddock Hill Bend. He then passed his teammate Tom Chilton for the lead of the race into Surtees to complete his charge.
It wasnt plain sailing from then on for the new champion. Ingram had to deal with two safety car restarts throughout the eighteen lap contest.
Rainford hits trouble
After a brilliant race one, Charles Rainford was poised to take a commanding lead in the Jack Sears Trophy. Rainford started in fourth whilst championship rival Daryl DeLeon started last after his engine change. Despite his brillaint getaway, Rainford’s race ended in the gravel at Paddock Hill after a nudge by Gordon Shedden. Rainford hit the barriers hard which saw the safety car called upon. Rainford’s DNF was DeLeon’s opportunity to claw some points back and he managed to finish 13th overall and second in the Jack Sears class. This means that DeLeon reclaims the lead by just five points over Rainford. With just one race to go it is all to play for between the pair.
Taylor-Smith crashes after contact with Cook
Aron Taylor-Smith and Josh Cook collided with eachother on the way up to the Druids hairpin. The contact saw Aron Taylor-Smith fly across the road after colliding with the barrier and eventually coming to rest in the gravel trap. The contact between the two teammates saw the safety car called out for the second time of the race on lap 10. This safety car was a fork in the road for Ingram as not only did it cut down his two second lead, but his teammate Tom Chilton also dropped out of the race. Chilton slowed up towards Druids and dropped out of the race which let Sutton cruise up behind Ingram.
Safety Car in on lap 14
The safety car disapeared and so did Tom Ingram at the front of the field. He used his soft tyres to good effect and managed to pull a 1.6 second gap by the end of the first lap. Sutton’s larger turbo boost allocation couldn’t overturn the advantage of Ingram’s soft tyre.
In the battle for third place, Senna Proctor managed to get past race one winner Dan Cammish at Surtees. Proctor also had the soft tyres and plenty more hybrid than Cammish who eventually finished in fifth position.
Reverse Grid Draw
The newly crowned champion Tom Ingram pulled out the number nine draw for the final race of the 2025 season. This means that Aiden Moffat will start on pole with Josh Cook alongside him on the second row. Keep an eye out for Jake Hill in third place who will be desperate to win in his last BTCC outing. He starts on the soft tyre for race three.
The Top 15:
1. Tom Ingram 2. Ash Sutton 3. Senna Proctor 4. Gordon Shedden 5. Dan Cammish 6. Dan Rowbottom 7. Jake Hill 8. Josh Cook 9. Aiden Moffat 10. Adam Morgan 11. Chris Smiley (Independant Winner) 12. Sam Osbourne (Jack Sears Winner) 13. Daryl DeLeon 14. Mikey Doble 15. Dan Lloyd
Image Credit: BTCC