Vansdirect-backed Team Bristol Street Motors Scores Donington Podium
A herculean effort in the team garage resulted in Team Bristol Street Motors securing a 15th podium finish of the 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season as the series headed to Donington Park for round eight of the campaign.
The EXCELR8-run team - now carrying support from Vansdirect - headed to the East Midlands circuit looking to maintain its challenge for championship honours, with Tom Ingram holding a narrow lead in the Drivers’ Championship, and the team sitting second in the Teams’ Championship standings.
A revised driver line-up for the weekend saw three-time Vertu MINI CHALLENGE title winner Dan Zelos drafted in alongside Ingram, Tom Chilton and Nick Halstead for his series debut, which kicked off in changeable conditions in Saturday practice.
Ingram and Chilton both showed top ten pace across the two sessions, although the latter was only able to set a timed lap in FP1 as he battled against electrical gremlins on his car, whilst Zelos and Halstead both made encouraging starts to the weekend to leave confidence high going into qualifying.
On a drying circuit, Ingram and Chilton both progressed through the opening group of Q1 when qualifying came around, and whilst Halstead was knocked out of the session at the first stage, 17th on the grid marked a new personal best result. Running in the second group as conditions continued to improve, Zelos also failed to make Q2 but would end up in a solid 16th place for his debut race.
Chilton would depart qualifying in Q2 as he qualified in tenth spot, with Ingram making light of his minimal hybrid allocation to take a place on row three with the fifth best time in the session.
Sunday’s opening race would finally provide the drivers with some true dry running, and Ingram led the way as he took the flag in fifth - although only after he had been forced into a stunning recovery following contact on the opening lap that dropped him down outside the top ten.
Second Hyundai home would be Zelos after a mature drive that saw him battle his way ahead of race winner Chris Smiley to take twelfth spot, with Chilton led to run an electrical gremlin at the start that saw him get away slowly off the line and drop down the order to eventually finish just outside the points in 16th. Halstead meanwhile would pick up damage that hampered his chances on track as he crossed the line in 19th.
Race two saw Ingram in fine form as he charged his way towards the front of the field, climbing into the top three on lap one before romping his way ahead of Colin Turkington’s BMW into second spot. Just as he looked set to attack Ash Sutton for the lead however, a stone was thrown through the radiator of his car and forced Ingram to retire to the pits.
Chilton and Zelos were able to bring home points as they crossed the line together in twelfth and 13th with Halstead a lap down in 18th having initially planned to take the start on wet tyres after a brief pre-race shower, although he would have to pit after the green flag lap when it became clear that slicks were the order of the day.
Stunning work by the team in the garage saw Ingram’s car undergo an engine change before the final race, and he rewarded the mechanics for their efforts with a drive that will live long in the memory as he scythed his way through the field from the back to take second place - gaining an incredible 17 positions across 14 racing laps, despite two safety cars halting his charge.
Zelos rounded out an impressive debut weekend as he earned a hard-fought eleventh place finish after wheel-to-wheel battles with the likes of Rob Huff and Dan Rowbottom but both Chilton and Halstead were left to rue a gamble on switching to wet tyres when a brief shower hit during the second safety car period as they ended up 16th and 17th.
Following the weekend, Ingram sits second in the standings with Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS holding a similar position in the Teams’ Championship.
Tom Chilton, #3 Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“I was hoping for a third podium in as many weekends this weekend, and it could have happened in if I’d got the reverse grid in race three, but overall it’s been a more challenging meeting for me.
“We had some electrical gremlins on Saturday that ultimately hurt me as I didn’t get the track time we needed to get the car set-up really dialled in, and then I had an issue at the start of race one that cost me a load of time.
“We came back well in the second race but then in race three, I was forced to go off across the gravel early on and dropped down the order and when the rain started to come down, it was worth a gamble to change to wets considering where we were running. Ultimately it didn’t pay off but there was nothing to lose, and had the rain come down heavier, we’d have been heroes�”
Nick Halstead, #22 Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“I think a recent trip to Monaco with Crazy Carts made me go for risk over reward a bit too much this weekend! Saturday had been really promising with my best ever result in qualifying, which gave me a lot of confidence going into race day.
“Unfortunately, I picked up some damage in race one that meant I couldn’t build on the pace we showed in qualifying and then when it rained before race two, we were one of the cars that headed to the grid on wet tyres, but ultimately it wasn’t the right call and pitting to change to slicks dropped me away from the pack.
“Like Tom, it was worth a gamble in race three when there was another shower and although it didn’t come off, I think there are quite a few positives to take away from the weekend that I can look to build on in the final two meetings.”
Dan Zelos, #45 Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“This weekend has been a dream come true for me, and it’s been an emotional experience for both myself and my family who have been able to enjoy it alongside me. The team has been fantastic with me, and there is no-one I would rather have raced with this weekend, as EXCELR8 have been my family for the last six years. To bring home three decent results - and keep the car largely in one piece - is the least they deserved for babysitting me!
“I learned so much this weekend, and had to learn quickly with the changeable weather conditions, which gave me even more to think about when I was already trying to get my head around so many things that are completely different to what I’m used to in the MINI CHALLENGE.
“To finish in the points in all three races, battle against drivers who have won races and championship, and nearly bring home a top ten has been fantastic and I know there are so many places where I can improve and where I could be quicker with more time in the car. I honestly feel we could do something really special in the BTCC, and this weekend makes me more determined than ever to try and get onto this grid, and make sure this is more than just a one-off.”
Tom Ingram, #80 Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said
“This is a team game, and never has a weekend shown that fact more than this one. After a recovery drive in the first race from the early contact, we were on for the win in race two before the stone went through the radiator and there was obviously a huge amount of disappointment when I had to come in and retire the car.
“However, the job that the team then did ahead of race three was phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal. In little over an hour, they not only changed the engine but they had it running and pressure tested, they had the car all set-up and they sent me out with the tools to do the job.
“It’s the beauty of the relationship we have that I went out for that race and had absolutely no concerns about being able to push as hard as I could from the first corner of the first lap, despite the fact that the car didn’t even have a front end on it 45 minutes earlier. I hoped to be able to reward the team with a top six finish but having maximum hybrid made a massive difference and I was able to rocket through the field to bring home a podium. It shows how important it is to keep your head up when things might not be going your way and leaves us well placed ahead of Silverstone.”
Justina Williams, Team Owner, said
“On paper we could argue that a single podium finish is a lot less than we hoped for from Donington Park, but we come away from the weekend absolutely delighted with the end results as it could have gone very differently after race two.
“I can’t put into words how proud I am of the effort to change the engine in Tom Ingram’s car in the manner they did ahead of race three, and it is those kind of things that can make all the difference when you are involved in such a close fight in the championship standings.
“Although Tom Chilton and Nick didn’t have luck on their side, Dan has done an amazing job considering he was thrown in at the deep end having never sampled the hybrid system before and with the weather conditions being so varied. He did everything we hoped and more besides, and to score three points finishes in the manner he did was very impressive.”
