Ingram Podiums at Donington but Luck Bites Collard for EXCELR8

Touring car racing gives with one hand and takes with the other, and Donington Park handed EXCELR8 a bit of everything. A podium for Tom Ingram in the middle race, two strong drives from Ricky Collard undone by a cruel late puncture, a weekend to forget for Tom Chilton that was not helped by an unlucky coming-together, and the relief of seeing a rival walk away unhurt from a frightening accident. Silverware and sighs in roughly equal measure, then, on a long and demanding Grand Prix layout that took no prisoners.

Donington hosted Rounds 19, 20 and 21 on the full GP circuit, a weekend dominated by Adam Morgan's CPRL Mercedes, with Ash Sutton extending his title lead past a hundred points and Dan Cammish climbing to second overall.

Ingram takes a podium

Tom Ingram did what the very best do on weekends where the outright pace is not quite there, which is to extract a result anyway. Ninth in the opener after a busy afternoon, he then produced the goods in Race 2, climbing onto the podium in third behind the NAPA Fords of Cammish and Sutton, a hard-earned rostrum on a circuit where the Hyundai was giving its all. A quieter ninth in the finale rounded out the weekend. The championship maths has moved against him, Cammish leapfrogging him into second as Sutton disappears over the horizon, but a podium banked is a podium banked, and the reigning champion is not the sort to stop swinging.

Collard robbed by a puncture

Ricky Collard was having the weekend his form deserves right up until the moment it was snatched away from him. Eighth in Race 1, fifth in Race 2, the sort of consistent points-scoring that has defined his part-season, and in the finale he was in the mix again when a puncture at the Fogarty Esses ended his afternoon and pitched him out of the points entirely. There is no skill involved in a puncture and no way to defend against one, which makes it the most maddening way to lose a result, but the pace that keeps putting him in contention has not gone anywhere, and neither has the argument for a full-season seat.

A rough one for Chilton

Tom Chilton endured the sort of weekend every driver has now and again, and most of it was not of his own making. In Race 1 he was scrapping at the back of the field when he made contact with Lewis Gilbert's WSR BMW, an incident that sent the young Scot into a heavy accident, thankfully without injury, and which the stewards reviewed and deemed a racing incident with no further action. Chilton's own race was compromised too, a stall at McLeans dropping him to the tail of the field before he recovered to twentieth. Fourteenth and seventeenth in the following races completed a weekend to draw a line under. Nic Hamilton, meanwhile, went about his business quietly and reliably, bringing the car home in all three races in the midfield-to-rear scrap.

EXCELR8's partners

The EXCELR8 operation is backed by brands who understand that motorsport works hardest when the partnership is properly activated, not just badged.

Team Vertu — one of the largest automotive retailers in the UK, and the title backing behind the BTCC entry.

Draper Tools — the Hampshire tool manufacturer supplying trade and workshop since 1919.

Hansford Sensors — global manufacturer of industrial vibration monitoring sensors.

HRX UK — performance racewear worn across the grid and beyond.

Millers Oils — Yorkshire-based independent lubricants and treatments manufacturer, in motorsport since 1887.

If you would like to talk about partnering with EXCELR8 or any other team in the paddock, we can help.

SuperHub trackside

SuperHub produces content for Team VERTU and EXCELR8 Motorsport through the season, and a mixed weekend like Donington is exactly where the content work matters most. A podium to celebrate, a cruel puncture to put in context, and a difficult afternoon to frame honestly, that is the real story of a racing weekend, and it is a far more compelling one than a highlight reel that pretends the bad days never happen.

The BTCC heads to Croft next on 5 and 6 September, a short and rapid North Yorkshire circuit. Ingram has a podium to build on, Collard has a point to prove after the luck he was owed went the other way, and there is a season still to be fought over.

SuperHub partners with EXCELR8 Motorsport across the 2026 season delivering content, PR and sponsor activation. To talk about motorsport sponsorship, book a call or drop us a line.

Race results sourced from the official BTCC timing partner, TSL Timing, and the official BTCC website.