Ricky Collard crossed the line to take his maiden victory in the British Touring Car Championship during a chaotic and disrupted season finale at Brands Hatch, as Autosport reports. But the Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai i30 N Fastback driver is facing an anxious wait while officials investigate a controversial clash with Ash Sutton.
Sutton had charged his Alliance Racing-run NAPA Ford Focus Titanium up to second place and grabbed a run on Collard exiting Hawthorns bend. As the driver moved to the inside of the Hyundai, Collard drifted across and forced the Ford onto the grass. The move sent Sutton mowing through a KwikFit board, briefly snatching the lead at the Westfield apex before sliding toward the gravel and dropping down to ninth.
Collard then had to deal with another Alliance Ford piloted by Dan Cammish. Thankfully for the race leader, his surfeit of TOCA Turbo Boost kept Cammish at bay, though Sutton fought his way back up to third with two laps remaining. As the final tour began, Sutton swept high into Paddock Hill Bend to try a cutback on Cammish up to Druids, only for Cammish to repass on the straight after Surtees and finish second, 1.026 seconds behind Collard.
Further back, Dexter Patterson started from reversed-grid pole position and kept his Power Maxed Racing Audi A3 Saloon in the mix all race, bringing the machine home in fourth place. Aiden Moffat rounded out a Power Maxed Racing Audi 4-5 finish, while Adam Morgan wrestled his CPRL Mercedes A35 Saloon past Josh Cook in his Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Corolla GR Sport for sixth with two laps to go. Dan Lloyd in the Restart Racing Hyundai, Gordon Shedden in the Speedworks Toyota, and Mikey Doble in the Power Maxed Racing Audi completed the top 10.
The race itself required two safety car interventions to calm pure chaos. Right after the lights, the Excelr8 Hyundais driven by Tom Ingram and Tom Chilton speared off at Paddock following contact with the Alliance Ford of Sam Osborne. Nick Halstead went off in sympathy in his Power Maxed Racing Audi, while further down the hill Lewis Selby dumped his Alliance Ford into the gravel alongside Dan Rowbottom in the CPRL Mercedes.
Rowbottom managed to crawl back to the rear of the field, but his race was effectively run. He triggered the second safety car period when he pulled off at the top of Paddock with his brakes literally on fire.
