Tom Ingram claims first BTCC win of 2026 at Brands Hatch Race 3

Tom Ingram rose from P5 to claim his first British Touring Car Championship victory of 2026 in reverse-grid Race 3 at Brands Hatch.

It was James Dorlin who started on pole, with the top eight from Race 2 being reversed. However, Tom Ingram got away fantastically to take the lead before the end of the first lap.

From there, it was academic. The Team Vertu driver ran away with it under no challenge to finish seconds clear of the pack.

Mikey Doble claimed yet-another independent crown for the weekend, continuing his strong season-start in his Audi.

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Tom Ingram runs away with Race 3 at Brands Hatch

Mercifully, Sunday’s rain did not impede the start of Race 3 at Brands Hatch.

While James Dorlin got away well, Ashley Sutton got away excellently to put himself in contention after the first few corners.

Tom Ingram also started well, and pipped Sutton to then pip Dorlin at Paddock Hill Bend. After one lap, it was Ingram, from Dorlin, from Sutton at the front.

Nicolas Hamilton boxed early after having an extracurricular first lap, and emerged one lap down.

The Plato Racing cars of Adam Morgan and Daniel Rowbottom started strong, putting themselves up into the last two places of the top 10.

Unfortunately for Ricky Collard, his early extracurriculars forced him to box and retire from the race with a garden-full of grass in his front bumper.

Mikey Doble restored his P3 position with a pass on Sutton. While Ingram pulled away at the front, P2 to P11 were separated by only a couple of seconds.

Doble then continued his run by slipping past Dorlin before Paddock Hill, looking for his second independent victory of the weekend.

Daryl De Leon notched himself into the top five heading into lap 10, with his BMW’s traction allowing him to shoot past Josh Cook out of Clark Curve.

Morgan continued his run with a prolonged move on Árón Taylor-Smith into Druids, with Race 3 proving far more enjoyable than the rest for both Plato Mercedes cars.

Morgan then got past Dorlin a lap later, with a fine move around the outside of the Hyundai on entry to Surtees. After 12 laps, the Plato man had pulled himself from P15 to P6.

Race 3 showed little drama compared to its earlier counterparts, but Doble and Sutton had been engaging in a multi-lap battle for P2.

Over three seconds behind Ingram by lap 19, Doble’s Audi was keeping Sutton behind, although the Ford Focus was setting fastest laps.

However, with 5 laps to go, Sutton completed a wonderful switchback on Doble through Paddock Hill to take P2.

Gordon Shedden and Taylor-Smith enjoyed a tight intra-team battle through the closing laps, with Shedden getting by the Irishman using his excess of boost through the Brabham Straight.

At the chequered flag, it was Ingram who claimed his first win of the 2026 season with a controlled drive. Sutton ended his day on a high with P2, while Doble got a strong P3 in his independent Audi.

De Leon finished behind after a good drive through the field, with Cook and Morgan behind. Shedden finished P7 while Dorlin could only secure P8 from pole position.

Race 2 hero Taylor-Smith finished ninth, while Aiden Moffat rounded out the top 10. Dexter Patterson finished P11, as Tom Chilton, Charles Rainford, Sam Osborne, and Lewis Selby rounded out the 15 top finishers.

BTCC Brands Hatch Indy Race 3 Results