Brands Hatch GP could have been the home of Ricky Collard’s first British Touring Car Championship victory, had it not been for a post-race penalty.
The penalty – awarded after Collard had celebrated on the podium – saw Dan Cammish inherit victory, with Ash Sutton and Dexter Patterson on the podium.
Starting on pole for the reverse-grid Race 3 after finishing P9 in Race 2, Patterson led the field away from the off.
But, it was not long before chaos took hold in 2026’s finale. Four cars were lost on the opening venture down Paddock Hill – including Tom Chilton bowing as he stepped out of his Hyundai in the gravel.
The melee also included Tom Ingram, with Sam Osborne the perpetrator, Nick Halstead joined them as he attempted to avoid, and Lewis Selby went off further down the bend. Dan Rowbottom also suffered, dropping to P19 before the safety car was deployed.
At the front, Collard managed to take the lead from Patterson, having had a start so good he bumped him and his foe down to the first corner, as Cammish jumped into P3.
After a lengthy break in green-flag running as the stranded Paddock Hill-ians were recovered, racing resumed on lap seven, with three added to the new total of 18.
Having waited until the last possible moment to pin the throttle, Collard ran away through Paddock Hill and Druids to retain his lead, while Ash Sutton quickly dispatched Cammish and Patterson to pop himself into P2.
Having been feisty with each other the whole weekend, Sutton’s progress ensured that he would be able to scrap with Collard one last time. By lap nine, he had already found himself right on the back bumper of Collard through Druids.
Though, the fight would not last for long. Sutton found himself moved to the extreme inside at Westfield with Collard moving across rapidly to try and keep his lead. The five-time Drivers’ Champion skidded across the grass and rejoined in P9, before improving back up to P7 a lap later.
The battle saw Patterson have a sniff at Collard, before once again falling behind Cammish as the NAPA man became the latest challenger to Collard’s lead.
Lap 12 saw Dan Rowbottom’s CPRL Mercedes pull to the inside of Paddock Hill bend, with his glowing front brakes setting on fire as he exited the race and spawned the safety car. Reunited with his flash button this weekend, even the safety car could not escape Collard’s button-spamming during the second pause of the race.
Resuming on lap 15, Collard once again led the field away with a late sprint that caused some stress behind him. Recovering from his off, Sutton grabbed P4 and P3 while Árón Taylor-Smith had one of his own after moving across Charles Rainford – managing to drag his crabbing Corolla to the pits.
On the final lap, Sutton completed a fine move on Cammish with great risk at Paddock Hill, but contact saw him decide to give the place back to his teammate – with that order holding until the flag.
And while Collard would cross the line first, his win would not stand. Cammish took victory from P2, with Sutton second and Patterson grabbing a well-deserved first BTCC podium.
Moffat, Adam Morgan, Josh Cook, Dan Lloyd, Collard, Gordon Shedden, and Mikey Doble rounded out the best 10. Rainford finished P11, with Chris Smiley, Osborne, Ryan Bensley, and Lewis Gilbert notching the final points.
View the BTCC Brands Hatch Race 3 results here!
| Position | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Dan Cammish | NAPA Racing UK | |
| 2. | Ashley Sutton | NAPA Racing UK | +0.131 |
| 3. | Dexter Patterson | Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing | +0.475 |
| 4. | Aiden Moffat | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | +1.502 |
| 5. | Adam Morgan | CPRL | +1.768 |
| 6. | Josh Cook | Speedworks Corolla Racing | +2.096 |
| 7. | Daniel Lloyd | Restart Racing | +3.479 |
| 8. | Ricky Collard | Team Vertu | +3.974 |
| 9. | Gordon Shedden | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | +4.980 |
| 10. | Mikey Doble | LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing | +5.133 |
| 11. | Charles Rainford | WSR | +6.911 |
| 12. | Chris Smiley | Restart Racing | +7.965 |
| 13. | Sam Osborne | NAPA Racing UK | +9.554 |
| 14. | Ryan Bensley | Speedworks Corolla Racing | +9.738 |
| 15. | Lewis Gilbert | WSR | +10.467 |
| 16. | Nicolas Hamilton | Team Vertu | +11.701 |
| 17. | Daryl De Leon | WSR | +13.194 |
| DNF | Árón Taylor-Smith | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | |
| DNF | Daniel Rowbottom | CPRL | |
| DNF | Tom Ingram | Team Vertu | |
| DNF | Tom Chilton | Team Vertu | |
| DNF | Lewis Selby | NAPA Racing UK | |
| DNF | Nick Halstead | Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing |









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