BTCC Finale: Collard Loses First Win, Sutton Stays to 2031 | S1 Ep36
Updated: 3 hours ago
Dan Cammish won Race 3 of the 2026 British Touring Car Championship finale at Brands Hatch after Ricky Collard crossed the line first and was then given a five-second penalty for the way he handled a safety car restart, with Sutton crowned BTCC victor.
Tom Ingram won Races 1 and 2, Aiden Moffat won Saturday's qualifying race, and Ash Sutton finished the season as BTCC champion for a record fifth time on 516 points, 129 clear of Ingram. Chris and I go through all of it in this episode, along with Sutton's new five-year deal, Tom Chilton's retirement, Louise Goodman leaving ITV's coverage and the early shape of the 2027 BTCC driver market.
What happened at the BTCC finale at Brands Hatch?
Moffat won the qualifying race for Power Maxed Racing, which put him on pole for Sunday. Ingram turned that around quickly and won Race 1 from Josh Cook and Collard, then won Race 2 from Cook again, with Sutton third. It was a good way for Ingram to end a season he had written off months earlier, and he finished second in the championship.
Race 3 was where the weekend went wild. The reverse grid put Collard on the front row, and he led at the end of a race that was interrupted by the safety car. A multi-car tangle on the opening lap had already taken out both Team VERTU Hyundais of Ingram and Chilton, along with Lewis Selby and Nick Halstead, and as we saw it Sam Osborne was in the thick of it. Chris and I both said the whole weekend felt like one long Race 3. The title was decided, school was out, and nobody held back.
BTCC Brands Hatch GP results
These are the official classifications from BTCC.net after the penalties were applied. The top ten of each session is shown here, and the full classifications are on the results page of BTCC.net.
Qualifying Race
Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
1 | Aiden Moffat | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | 15:11.911 |
2 | Tom Ingram | Team VERTU | +0.504 |
3 | Josh Cook | Speedworks Corolla Racing | +0.915 |
4 | Mikey Doble | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | +6.587 |
5 | Ricky Collard | Team VERTU | +9.222 |
6 | Daryl De Leon | WSR | +10.378 |
7 | Daniel Rowbottom | CPRL | +10.864 |
8 | Aron Taylor-Smith | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | +12.960 |
9 | Dexter Patterson | Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing | +13.182 |
10 | Dan Cammish | NAPA Racing UK | +13.520 |
Race 1
Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
1 | Tom Ingram | Team VERTU | 22:48.825 |
2 | Josh Cook | Speedworks Corolla Racing | +3.269 |
3 | Ricky Collard | Team VERTU | +5.782 |
4 | Aiden Moffat | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | +5.876 |
5 | Ash Sutton | NAPA Racing UK | +7.497 |
6 | Mikey Doble | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | +9.305 |
7 | Daryl De Leon | WSR | +10.479 |
8 | Dan Cammish | NAPA Racing UK | +17.257 |
9 | Dexter Patterson | Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing | +22.950 |
10 | Daniel Lloyd | Restart Racing | +24.406 |
Race 2
Driver | Team | Time | |
1 | Tom Ingram | Team VERTU | 22:50.953 |
2 | Josh Cook | Speedworks Corolla Racing | +0.600 |
3 | Ash Sutton | NAPA Racing UK | +2.733 |
4 | Mikey Doble | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | +4.969 |
5 | Daryl De Leon | WSR | +5.358 |
6 | Dan Cammish | NAPA Racing UK | +8.876 |
7 | Ricky Collard | Team VERTU | +10.594 |
8 | Aiden Moffat | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | +12.301 |
9 | Dexter Patterson | Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing | +13.201 |
10 | Sam Osborne | NAPA Racing UK | +15.318 |
Race 3
Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
1 | Dan Cammish | NAPA Racing UK | 32:29.523 |
2 | Ash Sutton | NAPA Racing UK | +0.131 |
3 | Dexter Patterson | Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing | +0.475 |
4 | Aiden Moffat | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | +1.502 |
5 | Adam Morgan | CPRL | +1.768 |
6 | Josh Cook | Speedworks Corolla Racing | +2.096 |
7 | Daniel Lloyd | Restart Racing | +3.479 |
8 | Ricky Collard | Team VERTU | +3.974 |
9 | Gordon Shedden | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | +4.980 |
10 | Mikey Doble | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | +5.133 |
Why did Ricky Collard lose his first BTCC win?
I honestly thought he had it, and then he blew it on the restart. Collard has been the man with the most BTCC podiums and no win, and he had already taken a podium on Sunday in Race 1, so this was supposed to be the story of the weekend. Chris read the appeal from TOCA, and by his reading Ricky slowed to around 37 miles an hour while the safety car was doing 60 on the second restart. That is a big drop, and the stewards had given out the same penalty twice earlier in the season, so there was a clear precedent. Chris also pointed out he was lucky not to be penalised for his contact with Sutton earlier in the race.
The result was a five-second penalty that dropped him from first to eighth, and Cammish was handed the win, with Sutton second and Dexter Patterson third. This was not a track limits argument. It was a black and white infringement and a hard way to lose a win in the final race of the season. I still think it will come for him, and if he gets a full-time drive in 2027 I expect him to win races.
Final 2026 BTCC drivers' championship standings
Sutton took the title for a fifth time and finished with nine wins. He had effectively wrapped it up months before Brands Hatch, so there was no real championship tension in the finale, which is partly why the weekend felt a little flat. These are the final official points after the Race 3 penalty was applied.
Pos | Driver | Team | Points |
1 | Ash Sutton | NAPA Racing UK | 516 |
2 | Tom Ingram | Team VERTU | 387 |
3 | Dan Cammish | NAPA Racing UK | 372 |
4 | Josh Cook | Speedworks Corolla Racing | 314 |
5 | Adam Morgan | CPRL | 288 |
6 | Mikey Doble | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | 276 |
7 | Ricky Collard | Team VERTU | 273 |
8 | Daniel Rowbottom | CPRL | 268 |
9 | Aiden Moffat | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | 254 |
10 | Charles Rainford | WSR | 251 |
Mikey Doble also finished as the top independent driver, which makes it a great year for Power Maxed Racing, and Moffat finishing ninth was his best result in a long time.
Ash Sutton's five-year BTCC deal
The other big story was Sutton's contract. In our last BTCC show we asked what might come next for the all-conquering Ash Sutton, and over the finale weekend we got our answer: a five-year extension with NAPA Racing UK that runs to 2031. I was flabbergasted. I do not think he even chased five years, I think NAPA just said please sign. Chris reckons NAPA, as the sponsor, wanted to lock him down, and I can see why he took it. He has a young family, and the choice was to go elsewhere and chase a dream or stay and chase all-time great status.
Five more years means he can start racking up wins towards Jason Plato's record. With a 50% title win rate, that suggest another 2 or 3 still to come. he's looking at seven or eight championships, and I think the question has changed from if he gets the record to when. Chris also wonders whether the NAPA link could open the door to guest outings elsewhere, in NASCAR, Australian Supercars or a GT round, but there is a lot still to come out about the deal. For the rest of the grid, losing the chance to beat him for another five years is a heavy thought. For Tom Ingram, I suspect the reaction was a quiet damn.
Can Tom Ingram and EXCELR8 beat Sutton in 2027?
Maybe. EXCELR8 gave up on this season some months ago and started working on next year's car, which Ingram all but confirmed in his ITV interviews. That tends to pay off, because the team that is not fighting for the title gets a head start on development while the champions stay focused on winning it. Ingram has also found real pace in the last couple of races, so I expect them to be the team to beat in 2027. Chris questioned whether they would stay with Hyundai, and I think they will, as the car looked like a developmental dip rather than a dead end. A Sutton and Ingram fight has the potential to carry the BTCC for the next five years.
Tom Chilton retires: who takes his seat for 2027?
Tom Chilton leaves the BTCC after 560 starts, 19 wins and 73 podiums across a 24-year career that began in 2002. He is heading into historic racing, which makes sense with a lighter calendar and his business interests, and I would love to see him in a Super Touring car, an Escort or a Capri. He never quite managed to win a championship, but to last that long is remarkable, and he is one of the nicest people in the paddock.
That leaves a big question over who replaces him. Chris and I both see Ricky Collard as the natural successor at EXCELR8. Other names came up as well. Tom Ovenden has just won the Mini Challenge for the second year in a row, and I have been backing him for a while. Jake Hill was back in the paddock during the weekend, and Chris would love to see him return to touring cars, although a lack of budget is the issue. Chris also floated the idea of Power Maxed Racing, whose boss Adam Weaver has said he wants a drivers' title, and I would like to see Collard in a PMR Audi without either Doble or Moffat losing their seats.
Noah Young signs for EXCELR8 for 2027
Since recording, EXCELR8 have announced the signing of Noah Young to the team. Ironically, that will make him the youngest ever driver to start in the BTCC, a record formerly held by the outgoing Tom Chilton. Whilst this is sensational news no doubt, I don't believe this is another shock move on the teams behalf. EXCELR8 have a long history of junior drivers and this is probably no different, as he'll be taking up one of the lower seats, most likely. That means Chiltons seat is still open, and my money's on Collard.
Why Power Maxed Racing was my team of the year
Chris called Power Maxed his team of the year and I agree. The team came back from a fire to win and take the independents' titles, Moffat had his best season in years, and Dexter Patterson took his first BTCC podium in Race 3 after a superb battle. He has come on leaps and bounds in a solid team, which the Cupra he drove before never really was. If they want to be in the title conversation with NAPA and EXCELR8, I think they need a star to join, someone like Cook, Hill or Collard perhaps.
Tom Ovenden wins the Mini Challenge by a point
The best drama of the whole weekend, according to Chris, came from the Mini Challenge. Two red flags in qualifying meant the grid was taken from the end of the last race at Silverstone, so Ovenden never set a decent lap. He still won Race 2, then won the title by a single point on fastest lap in Race 3, and he did not even know he had done it. Max Edmondson lost out by that point, and Nathan Edwards, who had won Race 1, finished fourth in the standings by two points, which is why he was right not to move over. If you have not seen Race 3 of the Minis, go and watch it. Chris and I both think Ovenden, Edmondson and Edwards are ready for the BTCC ladder, and that staying in the Minis another year risks getting pigeonholed.
Louise Goodman leaves ITV's BTCC coverage
Louise Goodman is stepping away from ITV's BTCC coverage after a career of more than thirty years in motorsport broadcasting. She was a genuine trailblazer in F1, and I only found out recently that she was the first female broadcaster to take part in a live F1 pit stop. There is a real question over who takes her place. Jade Edwards, content creator Tom Gray and a Chilton type analyst were all mentioned, and Chris would prefer someone from inside the BTCC paddock who loves the series. He also thinks Nikki Shields has found her feet as the lead presenter.
MB Motorsport, Shedden and the Speedworks Corolla
MB Motorsport had a pinball weekend. Gordon Shedden retired from both Race 1 and Race 2, got shunted in a way that was nobody's fault but his luck, and then drove superbly through the field in Race 3 to finish ninth. Chris and I both want the team to do well, and I expect Mark Blundell to stay with Speedworks but I do not think the Corolla sticks around. It has done remarkably well, with Cook finishing fourth in the championship, but it is the last hatchback on the grid and I just think it has had its day.
Is there a pathway into the BTCC?
One thing we keep coming back to is the ladder. The jump from the Minis to a BTCC car is huge, and the Porsche route can drag drivers towards GT racing. Chris pointed to the Power Maxed Racing junior series coming next year, built around a lightweight rear-wheel-drive car with around 100 brake horsepower, as a real stepping stone, especially if teams like NAPA or EXCELR8 run cars in it. He also recommended the TCR UK finale at Brands Hatch at the end of the month, which is live on YouTube and features several young drivers with an eye on the BTCC.
Subscribe to The Motorsport Files
We cover the BTCC after every round, and the season review and our first 2027 grid shows are coming over the winter. The best way to make sure you do not miss them is to subscribe to The Motorsport Files on YouTube, or follow the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you listen on Apple, a rating and a short review makes a real difference, because audio apps do not help new shows get found the way YouTube does. You can follow us on social at TMF Pod 23, and Chris is Motorsport Working on Instagram and TikTok.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the BTCC finale at Brands Hatch?
Tom Ingram won Races 1 and 2, and Dan Cammish won Race 3 after Ricky Collard was penalised. Aiden Moffat won the qualifying race.
Who won the 2026 BTCC championship?
Ash Sutton won his fifth BTCC title on 516 points. Tom Ingram was second on 387 and Dan Cammish third on 372.
Why was Ricky Collard penalised in Race 3?
He was given a five-second penalty for slowing too far at the second safety car restart. By Chris's reading of the appeal, he dropped to around 37 miles an hour with the safety car at 60.
Who was on the podium in Race 3 at Brands Hatch?
Dan Cammish won, Ash Sutton was second and Dexter Patterson took his first BTCC podium in third.
How long is Ash Sutton's new contract?
Five years, with NAPA Racing UK, through to 2031.
Is Tom Chilton retiring from the BTCC?
Yes. He is leaving after 560 starts, 19 wins and 73 podiums, and is heading into historic racing.
Who could drive for EXCELR8 in 2027?
Nothing is confirmed. Ricky Collard and Tom Ovenden were the names Chris and I discussed most, and Jake Hill was another that came up.
Join us on
Comments