[BTCC] Brands Thread

[Protonman]

Well done to Jake H. I was leaning towards Tingram but mostly hoped that all would be settled fairly and controversy free. Had Jake driven Tom off the road in the early duel then all hell would have let loose . Well done to both for keeping it clean. Ash was very unlucky all year but even so he would have probably been third . Races 2 and 3 just proved what a class act he is. The other potential worry had was that the final victory would in some way be twisted by the points Bobby T took at Snet but I don’t think it had any bearing on things unless I am mistaken . Next year we need more of the same with an improved Toyota and ATS in a true front running car . No point in taking Indy wins if you don’t progress onwards , just ask Cookie .

[redshoes]

Ingram's comeback in race 1 was a big highlight and potentially worthy a championship winning drive. Slightly controversial opinion maybe but races 2 and 3 felt like a bit of let-down.

In race 2, once Ingram got in front it was basically static from that point onwards. Turkington wasn't going to overtake Hill and the gap back to 4th was too much for anyone to close. Short of someone else grabbing fastest lap the points weren't going to change.

In race 3 it was quickly clear that Ingram just didn't have the pace to match Hill and short of Hill throwing it at the scenery it was game over.

I'm not saying I was expecting it all to end in a wheel-to-wheel battle and maybe I should just be satisfied that it did genuinely come down to the last race.

Looking back at the year, Hill had 2 non-scores, Ingram had 3 non-scores (would have been 4 if not for the fastest lap bonus point). Crazy to think that any one of those could have changed the outcome of the championship.

[Evantra]

They made Ingram’s car out of strong stuff! Survived Doble at Donington, Sutton and Silverstone, and probably a few other sizeable assaults.

Sutton may well have taken it had he not had the silly little bodywork problems and Silverstone drive-through.

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by Evantra

They made Ingram’s car out of strong stuff! Survived Doble at Donington, Sutton and Silverstone, and probably a few other sizeable assaults.

Sutton may well have taken it had he not had the silly little bodywork problems and Silverstone drive-through.

And Cook spearing him at Brands

[crmalcolm]

One thing that has me wondering when watching back the coverage - did Ingram lose the title when he went off during the green flag lap?

The reason I ask?

Post-race, he mentioned that something didn't quite hook up in the front of the car - and this seems to be a deviation from his comments about the car for the majority of the season (or even comments after R28 & R29). Is it possible that the minor excursion put something, even minuscule, out of line at the front of the car and resulted in the loss of the front end in the second half of the race?

[hen henths]

Hill's emotions after winning the championship really showed how much this meant to him. At times earlier in the day it looked like he thought Tingram was going to get it and to have to keep pushing right through to the last race with the points so close must make it extra overwhelming. Actually a lot of people seemed to have extra heightened emotions at this finale, not just Jake. I see that as a good thing. They love this championship just as we do and feel honoured to be a part of it.

[hen henths]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Post-race, he mentioned that something didn't quite hook up in the front of the car - and this seems to be a deviation from his comments about the car for the majority of the season (or even comments after R28 & R29). Is it possible that the minor excursion put something, even minuscule, out of line at the front of the car and resulted in the loss of the front end in the second half of the race?

It could be that or could it be WSR and Alliance having better wet setups at this point in the season, affecting his performance relative to their cars? Or perhaps they made a new adjustment to Ingram's setup for the final race that didn't work out, though that wouldn't make much sense to take a risk like that.

[SV8Predator]

Originally Posted by hen henths

Hill's emotions after winning the championship really showed how much this meant to him. At times earlier in the day it looked like he thought Tingram was going to get it and to have to keep pushing right through to the last race with the points so close must make it extra overwhelming. Actually a lot of people seemed to have extra heightened emotions at this finale, not just Jake. I see that as a good thing. They love this championship just as we do and feel honoured to be a part of it.

Great post! All the teams and all the team members feel that way. It really is a great championship.

[porsche962fan]

Jack Hill on his BTCC debut back in 2013

[Sodemo]

How did he do on his first race? I remember him being very impressive in the Rob Austin Audi.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

How did he do on his first race? I remember him being very impressive in the Rob Austin Audi.

18th, 17th and Retired for the weekend.

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

18th, 17th and Retired for the weekend.

Rob Austin or AmD Audi?

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

Rob Austin or AmD Audi?

Neither - he was driving a Ford Focus that you can see him pictured in front of.

[S griffin]

True, but he did also drive in the final event of that season in a RAR Audi. I seem to remember he qualified well, but got taken off on the 2nd lap and never really recovered. But it was still a sign of things to come

I'm so glad Jake took the title. Years of hard work have paid off. Took him a while to get in a regular front runner and the last few years he has shown he is a force to be reckoned with

Overall the final meeting was a great event. Brilliant recovery by Tingram to recover from that first lap incident in R1, to keep his title hopes alive. Just a shame for him that BMW for once found their form in the wet. But he proved why he's already a champion. And it was nice to see both him and Jake kept in clean in battle, so we had a fair fight to the end.

Other great recovery drives were both Sutton and Cookie. But what happened to Huffy? He made no progress from his R1 incident. Good teamwork by Turkington to play wingman for Hill.

Been a great season this year and really let's see what 2025 brings