Six months on, it still hurts. Tom Ingram won’t forget how a second British Touring Car Championship title slipped through his fingers in the final race of 2024 at a damp Brands Hatch.

But as the 2022 champion readily admits, that defeat to WSR’s Jake Hill only makes him hungry for redemption as the new BTCC season rolls into action at Donington Park.

“Sometimes you learn more out of not winning,” says Ingram, who will once again race a Hyundai i30 Fastback N run by Excelr8 this year. “

That has been the nature of our off-season: looking at those individual stones that maybe we could have turned over. It’s a case in point of how competitive the championship is now that it comes down to such fine margins.

”Separated by just one point before the final race, Ingram’s bid slipped at Brands in conditions that better suited Hill’s rear-wheel-drive BMW 330e M Sport as the front-wheel-drive Hyundai dropped to sixth and Hill rose to second to claim the crown by eight points.

“The nature in which we lost the championship is hard to take, because it came down to one race in which we made a slight faux pas,” says Ingram.

“It feels like a distant memory, yet at the same time still equally painful as if it was just last week. But that’s a good thing, because it drives you on.”

His two rivals who make up the BTCC’s clear and obvious top triumvirate also enjoy blessed continuity into the new season.

Hill will defend his title in his 330e, while four-time champion Ash Sutton – who claimed a consolatory win in that 2024 Brands finale – remains in Alliance Racing’s Ford Focus ST.

Expect the trio to once again fight it out for the crown. Who will prevail remains anyone’s guess at this stage, which is precisely why we love the BTCC.

“Maybe I’m biased, perhaps everyone sees their own era as the toughest, but it certainly feels incredibly tough right now,” says Ingram.

“Take Silverstone qualifying, when there was a tenth of a second covering a multiple of cars… It’s not just the drivers, it’s the engineers, the tyre strategy, the little bit of luck that comes in as well.

"That’s why we enjoy it so much. As a sportsman and athlete, you always want to compare yourself to the best and fight to constantly improve. Racing in the BTCC is an incredible privilege.”

The main development over the winter was the decision for the BTCC to drop its groundbreaking Cosworth-developed spec hybrid system.

Fair to say, it won’t be missed as the BTCC instead adopts 100% sustainable fuel – a sign of where the wind is currently blowing in motor racing. The new formulation, Hiperflo ECO102 R100, is derived from synthetic and biological non-crude sources, hence its marketable 100% fossil-free status.

The cars are 55kg lighter as a result of ditching the hybrid system, which has pleased the drivers.

“The last time we drove these cars at this weight was in 2021, so it has been a while – and it feels great,” says Ingram, who began testing in the new spec at Anglesey Circuit a little more than a week after the Brands finale last autumn. “That gave us a bit of a head start. We probably had the fastest car in 2024 and we’ve only improved it.”

A power boost to balance performance and aid overtaking remains in place through variation of turbocharger boost pressures.

As Ingram puts it: “We’ve still got the push-to-pass element, but instead of being done through electricity, it’s via air. It’s nice to have that without the headache we had in 2021 of piling weight into the car [via success ballast] and making it feel rubbish. 

At least the car will feel consistent. “The racing, as always, will be incredibly tight, and the championship will probably come down to a few points, as in 2024.”

The other main factor race to race will once again be strategy choice over the use of Goodyear’s tyres. This year it will be mandatory for the three overall podium finishers in the first of a weekend’s three races to run the hardest tyre compound available in the second race – as opposed to the top 10 finishers in 2024. 

The usual exception is Thruxton, because of the Hampshire circuit’s high-speed nature and abrasive surface. At all other events, teams will be presented with standard and option tyre compounds, with the latter being available to use in one of the three races.

“Tyres are the biggest variable,” says Ingram. “Around somewhere like Oulton Park, you really notice the difference in performance. It will be another case of staying as mentally stable as you can through the season and not allowing the peaks and troughs to throw you too far off kilter.”

The biggest loss for 2025 is undoubtedly Colin Turkington, the Northern Irishman who with Sutton and tin-top legend Andy Rouse shares the record for the most BTCC titles.

Commercial realities have seemingly put paid to one of the finest BTCC careers (at least for now) as Turkington departs from WSR – and he will be sorely missed. Sutton now stands alone in the race for the record of five titles.

“It’s a shame we’ve lost Colin – but we’ve gained Gordon,” points out Ingram. That will be the sensational return of the season: three-time champion Gordon Shedden, back in the BTCC for the first time since 2022, at 46.

With a sparkle in his eye, Ingram says: “The nice thing with Colin was we knew how he raced. He was incredibly respectful. But we know Gordon is feisty…”

So, who will be champion? Ingram isn’t being complacent, especially after his 2024 near miss. “You can’t rule anyone out of this championship, that’s the beauty of it,” he says. “There could well be a few surprises.

As I’ve learnt the older and uglier I’ve got, you just have to focus on yourself in this game.”