Damien Smith

Just nine points separate title rivals Ash Sutton and Tom Ingram as the British Touring Car Championship arrives in Cheshire this weekend for three more races at Oulton Park.

- Damien Smith

At the season's halfway mark, Sutton has three wins to Ingram's single victory, but the Excelr8 Hyundai driver's consistency, taking six runner-up finishes, has pitched him as the biggest threat to the Alliance Ford ace's bid for a record fifth BTCC crown.

But is this season really turning into a two-horse race? Sutton’s team-mate Dan Rowbottom is up to third after wins at Snetterton and last time out at Thruxton. He’s 49 points off the top, but all it takes is a bad weekend for either or both Sutton and Ingram and the picture will change, with so many hard-racing miles left to run.

REAL CLASS ACTS

Sutton and Ingram’s pre-eminence in the BTCC was on full display at Thruxton, during a fraught weekend at the UK’s fastest circuit. Sutton took his first pole position of the campaign on a wet Saturday but lacked power in the dry race one as Ingram finally scored his first win of the season. They made contact twice at the chicane. Ingram was unlucky that the safety car was called just seconds before his well-executed first pass for the lead and that meant he was forced to give the place back. Second time around, late-braking Sutton forced the pair wide to cut the chicane completely, but Ingram had fully earned his win before a blocked air intake cost Sutton speed and dropped him back to finish only fourth.