Tom Ingram claimed a sublime Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship position in the final qualifying session of 2022, beating his nearest rival by more than four tenths of a second around the full Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.

Ingram was in imperious form throughout the 30-minute session in his Hyundai i30N, moving towards the top of the times amidst a flurry of early efforts. This would ultimately have been enough to seal his place at the front of the grid, but that didn't stop him from pushing later on to improve with a time of 1m29.529s.

A late red flag when Ingram's Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com teammate Tom Chilton stopped out on track saw the clock reset at five minutes. But even with an additional opportunity to push for improvements, the chasing pack was unable to overcome Ingram's advantage.

Sealing pole position also adds another point to Ingram's overall tally ahead of Sunday's crunch triple-header at the Kent circuit. With the leading drivers in the title fight being so tightly bunched together, Ingram's extra point could prove crucial.

Rory Butcher ended up second for Toyota Gazoo Racing UK, ahead of championship leader Ash Sutton in the first of the NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus STs. Reigning champion Sutton will share the second row of the grid with teammate Dan Cammish and will be hoping this puts him in a strong position heading into race day.

Jake Hill, who trails Sutton by just five points ahead of the final three races, was fifth quickest for ROKiT MB Motorsport. Colin Turkington, the fourth and final of the title hopefuls was 10th in another WSR-run BMW 330e M Sport.

Others who qualified in the top-ten included Bobby Thompson who backed up his practice pace with sixth, whilst series rookie Dexter Patterson was seventh. Adam Morgan was ninth quickest ahead of Josh Cook.

With qualifying now settled, the first Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship race of the deciding race day is scheduled for 11:30 tomorrow morning. 

Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Free Practice 2, Brands Hatch

1. Tom Ingram, Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com, Hyundai i30N, 1m29.529s
2. Rory Butcher, Toyota Gazoo Racing, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +0.410s
3. Ash Sutton, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus ST, +0.411s
4. Dan Cammish, NAPA Racing UK, Ford Focus ST, +0.428s
5. Jake Hill, ROKiT MB Motorsport, BMW 330e M Sport, +0.501s
6. Bobby Thompson, Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero, Cupra Leon, +0.516s
7. Dexter Patterson, Laser Tools Racing, Infiniti Q50, +0.642s
8. Adam Morgan, Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport, BMW 330e M Sport, +0.648s
9. Josh Cook, Rich Energy BTC Racing, Honda Civic Type R, +0.698s
10. Colin Turkington, Team BMW, BMW 330e M Sport, +0.713s

For full timing and results please click here. 

Raceday tickets are available on the gate for £36 with reductions for 13-15-year-olds and free entry for under-13s.