The Latest Breaking News from Tom Ingram

After the second of two red-flag stoppages, Sutton slashed a huge chunk off his early ‘banker lap’ to beat the 2019 qualifying lap record held by Tom Ingram.

The three-time champion demolished his opposition at the wheel of his Motorbase Performance-run Ford Focus ST to lead a team 1-2 from Dan Cammish by 0.666 seconds.

Sutton’s win was built upon a blistering first lap, in which he deprived first-race winner and poleman Colin Turkington of the lead at the Druids hairpin.

Turkington, with the soft option tyres fitted to his West Surrey Racing BMW 330e M Sport, got the launch from second on the grid, but the problem was he had to do it twice.

As the seconds ticked down in a soggy top-10 Q2 shootout, it appeared that Colin Turkington would secure pole position in his West Surrey Racing-run BMW 330e M Sport.

Hill was one of a raft of late improvements in the opening session, which took place amid light drizzle, and steered his West Surrey Racing-run BMW 330e M Sport around the Indy Circuit 0.097 seconds quicker than the Motorbase Performance Ford Focus ST of three-time champion Ash Sutton.

The Yorkshireman made the most of being gifted the reversed-grid pole position, and led from lights to flag in wet conditions at the wheel of his Motorbase Performance Ford Focus ST.

The Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai i30 N benefited from being one of those to pit at the end of the green-flag lap for wet-weather Goodyear tyres when rain made the going slippery.

Cammish emerged on top after a race-long battle with Jake Hill in wet conditions, and managed to work his Motorbase Performance Ford Focus ST past the West Surrey Racing BMW 330e M Sport of Hill on the 19th of what became 21 laps of racing.

The Northern Irishman eclipsed the quickest time of the opening session set by Ash Sutton, which had been a gargantuan 0.476 seconds clear of closest pursuer Turkington and had seemed to send out an ominous warning that the three-time title winner and the Motorbase Performance Ford Focus squad will be…

The series hasn't had the most dramatic of silly seasons - indeed, the top six drivers from 2022 all line up with the same teams and machinery in 2023 - but there are plenty of factors that could shake things up.