Donington Park Grand Prix proved to be a bitter weekend for the Hyundai contingent in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). Despite a podium finish through Tom Ingram in Race 2, three of the six Hyundai i30N Fastbacks run by Team VERTU and Restart Racing were plagued by serious reliability issues. Instead of fighting at the front, the Hyundai garage was busy with emergency repairs.
Adam Morgan once again starred in his CPRL Mercedes A35 Saloon, but fate had other plans for the Hyundai drivers. Tom Ingram, starting from ninth in Race 2, impressed by climbing to third on the podium. However, he failed to pass Ash Sutton despite having a tyre and TOCA Turbo Boost advantage. Frustration was palpable from the reigning champion.
“It’s tough to take when we had more boost, medium tyre, with Ash on a hard tyre with less boost,” Ingram conceded with a resigned tone. “It’s hard to take to not be able to take it to him and compete. But, that’s where we are.”
This failure extends Hyundai’s inferiority trend in the 2026 season. Ash Sutton with NAPA Racing UK’s new Ford Focus Saloon continues to be consistently faster than Ingram. Even Dan Cammish now threatens Ingram’s position in the top two of the drivers’ standings for the first time in five seasons. Hyundai’s declining performance is under scrutiny, especially with new cars entering the grid.
Technical issues also affected Tom Chilton and Chris Smiley. The Swindon Powertrains engine, so reliable last season, has now become a source of problems. Chilton barely got a chance to fight on track on Sunday as his car kept failing. Meanwhile, the Hyundai i30N Fastback, dating back to 2020, is increasingly left behind by newer-generation cars that are starting to dominate.
“We’ve had this car for five seasons and Ingram has always scored around 400 points per season. There must be a reason for its sudden drop in performance,” said an unnamed team crew member. This situation forces Team VERTU to think hard: is this the limit of their aging car?
The Donington weekend served as a reminder that in touring car racing, reliability is as important as speed. While Hyundai must reflect, rivals like Power Maxed Racing with the Audi S3 and WSR with the BMW 330i M Sport continue to surge ahead. The season is still long, and the big question now hangs: can Hyundai bounce back or will they sink further?
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