BTCC: The Final Countdown
The final countdown for the biggest prize in British Motorsport has started as the last weekend in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship awaits. Brands Hatch GP in Kent is the place where the title will be decided after a long season of ups and downs and classic touring car action.
Only three drivers remain with a mathematical chance of claiming the title. Team BMW's Colin Turkington, Speedworks Motorsport's Tom Ingram and the Motorbase Performance Ford of Tom Chilton.
Last time out at Silverstone, the current Independents Champion Ingram, produced a stunning drive through the field to win and to keep the title alive once more and put a bit more pressure on the Northern Irishman Turkington.
Colin's lead in the championship after the trip to Silverstone is 34 points, but with 67 on offer over the course of this weekend, absolutely anything can happen.
Ingram is confident that his Toyota will work well around the GP layout at Brands Hatch and Chilton has also had some good results there in the past, so this championship is by no means over just yet.
Speaking to BTCC.net, Turkington had this to say: “I’ve been here before and I’m really enjoying it this year,” said Turkington. “Last year, I was the one doing the hunting, trying to claw the points back on Ash (Sutton) but I wasn’t really getting there, and that’s where you start taking risks. I enjoy these moments, it’s what we live for."
It would be fair to say that Ingram has been a pretty good match for the BMW man over the course of the season and apart from the few moments of bad luck that were out of his control, this championship table could look a lot different. Ingram also spoke to BTCC.net about his chances this weekend. “We’re the hunter, while Colin is the hunted. The pressure is on him, not us and he’s sitting on two strikes, so he can’t afford to take any major risks whereas we can throw caution to the wind a bit more."
In terms of the other championships, Chilton is also just 20 points shy of Ingram in the Indy standings, with his team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher just 10 behind Speedworks in the Independent Team's standings.
BMW look set to retain the manufacturers title this weekend and also have a good chance in the Team's table with WSR in the running. Dan Cammish has already claimed Jack Sears honours.
So couple all of the drama of the title battle, with the drivers who just want to go out with a bang in this 2018 season and this weekend could be an absolute cracker.
Who's your money on?
