Ingram set the fastest lap of the early-morning FP1 period in his Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai i30 N, 0.022 seconds clear of the Motorbase Performance-run Ford Focus ST of championship leader Ash Sutton.
Ingram also looked set to be the swiftest of all in FP2 with a lap just 0.064s shy of his earlier effort, only to be pipped at the chequered flag by the Team Hard Cupra Leon of Bobby Thompson to the tune of 0.017s.
The prime tyre this weekend is the soft Goodyear compound, which drivers must use in qualifying and for two of the three races, with the unfavoured hard as the option rubber for use in one race.
Most drivers, including Ingram and Sutton, set their quick times in FP1 on the medium-compound tyres they have been allowed to carry over from previous race weekends for free practice usage, while Thompson was one of the few to set his fastest lap in that session on the soft, vaulting to third on the final lap.
But all of the top five drivers in FP2 set their best times on the soft tyre, although nobody beat Ingram’s and Sutton’s times on mediums from FP1.
“It’s really good, I’m really pleased so far,” Ingram told Autosport.
“The car’s feeling really good, and there are no big concerns.”
When asked if the increase in track temperature since the overcast FP1 was to blame for the slower times on softs, Ingram replied: “I think it’s a little bit of track temperature, but I lost a lot of time when I came across traffic on what should have been my fast lap. It’s more circumstantial than anything.”
Indeed, Ingram’s theoretical best was a 1m25.264s compared to Thompson’s session-topping 1m25.554s.
“A 24.7 or 24.8 I think will be the pole time today,” Ingram continued. “It’s a step into the unknown for all of us, because nobody has driven the soft tyre around here for years.”
Behind Thompson, Josh Cook was fourth fastest in FP1 in his One Motorsport Honda Civic Type R, giving him the same position overall, while the strong form of the Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astra team carried over from Thruxton, with Aron Taylor-Smith third in FP2 and fifth overall.
Dan Cammish was sixth overall, but in the top five in both sessions, in his Motorbase Ford, ahead of the West Surrey Racing-run BMW 330e M Sport of Colin Turkington.
Another PMR Vauxhall, that of Andrew Watson, was eighth overall, and fifth in FP2, while an improving Jack Butel was next in his Hard Cupra, and George Gamble completed the top 10 in the lead Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Corolla.
Neither Sutton nor Turkington got in a proper run on the soft tyres; Sutton was sixth in FP2 with a time on the mediums, while Turkington was 23rd, although such is the competitiveness of the densely packed field that they were separated by just 0.6s.
The other main title contender, Jake Hill, was just outside the top 10 in his WSR BMW, after suffering a recurrence of the sensor-related misfire that hit him in race three last time out at Thruxton during FP1.
BTCC Oulton Park FP1 results
| Cla | Driver | Time | Gap | Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Tom Ingram |
1'25.507 | ||
| 2 | Ashley Sutton |
1'25.529 | 0.022 | 0.022 |
| 3 | Bobby Thompson | 1'25.577 | 0.070 | 0.048 |
| 4 | Josh Cook |
1'25.644 | 0.137 | 0.067 |
| 5 | Dan Cammish |
1'25.693 | 0.186 | 0.049 |
| 6 | Colin Turkington |
1'25.721 | 0.214 | 0.028 |
| 7 | Ricky Collard |
1'26.013 | 0.506 | 0.292 |
| 8 | Daniel Lloyd |
1'26.160 | 0.653 | 0.147 |
| 9 | Rory Butcher |
1'26.182 | 0.675 | 0.022 |
| 10 | Andrew Watson |
1'26.244 | 0.737 | 0.062 |
| 11 | Daniel Rowbottom |
1'26.289 | 0.782 | 0.045 |
| 12 | Stephen Jelley |
1'26.403 | 0.896 | 0.114 |
| 13 | George Gamble | 1'26.474 | 0.967 | 0.071 |
| 14 |  Aron Taylor-Smith |
1'26.549 | 1.042 | 0.075 |
| 15 | Adam Morgan |
1'26.656 | 1.149 | 0.107 |
| 16 | Tom Chilton |
1'26.765 | 1.258 | 0.109 |
| 17 | Jake Hill |
1'26.790 | 1.283 | 0.025 |
| 18 | Ronan Pearson | 1'26.934 | 1.427 | 0.144 |
| 19 | Sam Osborne |
1'27.013 | 1.506 | 0.079 |
| 20 | Aiden Moffat |
1'27.042 | 1.535 | 0.029 |
| 21 | Mikey Doble | 1'27.108 | 1.601 | 0.066 |
| 22 | Jack Butel | 1'27.223 | 1.716 | 0.115 |
| 23 | Dexter Patterson | 1'27.461 | 1.954 | 0.238 |
| 24 | Will Powell | 1'27.466 | 1.959 | 0.005 |
| 25 | Nicolas Hamilton | 1'28.328 | 2.821 | 0.862 |
| 26 | Nick Halstead | 1'28.385 | 2.878 | 0.057 |
| 27 | Jade Edwards | 1'29.189 | 3.682 | 0.804 |
| View full results | ||||
BTCC Oulton Park FP2 results
|
Cla |
Driver | Time | Gap | Interval | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Thompson | 1'25.554 | |||
| 2 |
Tom Ingram |
1'25.571 | 0.017 | 0.017 | |
| 3 |
Aron Taylor-Smith |
1'25.683 | 0.129 | 0.112 | |
| 4 |
Dan Cammish |
1'25.710 | 0.156 | 0.027 | |
| 5 |
Andrew Watson |
1'25.730 | 0.176 | 0.020 | |
| 6 |
Ashley Sutton |
1'25.804 | 0.250 | 0.074 | |
| 7 | Jack Butel | 1'25.843 | 0.289 | 0.039 | |
| 8 |
Josh Cook |
1'25.846 | 0.292 | 0.003 | |
| 9 | George Gamble | 1'25.851 | 0.297 | 0.005 | |
| 10 |
Jake Hill |
1'25.903 | 0.349 | 0.052 | |
| 11 |
Stephen Jelley |
1'25.922 | 0.368 | 0.019 | |
| 12 | Dexter Patterson | 1'25.938 | 0.384 | 0.016 | |
| 13 |
Sam Osborne |
1'25.944 | 0.390 | 0.006 | |
| 14 |
Daniel Lloyd |
1'25.970 | 0.416 | 0.026 | |
| 15 |
Daniel Rowbottom |
1'26.000 | 0.446 | 0.030 | |
| 16 |
Ricky Collard |
1'26.090 | 0.536 | 0.090 | |
| 17 |
Aiden Moffat |
1'26.217 | 0.663 | 0.127 | |
| 18 |
Tom Chilton |
1'26.300 | 0.746 | 0.083 | |
| 19 | Ronan Pearson | 1'26.302 | 0.748 | 0.002 | |
| 20 |
Rory Butcher |
1'26.303 | 0.749 | 0.001 | |
| 21 |
Adam Morgan |
1'26.344 | 0.790 | 0.041 | |
| 22 | Mikey Doble | 1'26.362 | 0.808 | 0.018 | |
| 23 |
Colin Turkington |
1'26.432 | 0.878 | 0.070 | |
| 24 | Will Powell | 1'26.883 | 1.329 | 0.451 | |
| 25 | Nicolas Hamilton | 1'27.106 | 1.552 | 0.223 | |
| 26 | Nick Halstead | 1'27.566 | 2.012 | 0.460 | |
| 27 | Jade Edwards | 1'28.126 | 2.572 | 0.560 | |
| View full results | |||||
