TEAM Vertu secured three podium finishes at Snetterton in the latest round of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC).
Tom Ingram, Ricky Collard and Tom Chilton all stepped onto the podium for the Droitwich-based team in Norfolk.
Ingram finished second in race one while Collard and Chilton finished second and third respectively in race two.
And the team’s other driver, Nicolas Hamilton, won the Jack Sears Trophy award for the first silverware of his motorsport career.
Only drivers without a BTCC podium at the start of a new season can win the Jack Sears Trophy.
Team owner, Justina Williams said: “This is a weekend that really shows what being part of the BTCC is all about.
“Obviously on the one hand there is a some disappointment that our results could have been even better, but on the other, we’ve come away from Snetterton with silverware for every driver which is a fantastic achievement.
“For Nic in particular, I’m massively proud that we have helped him to realise his childhood dream this weekend and it is richly deserved as people don’t see all of the effort and hard work that he puts in behind the scenes, never mind when he is in the car.
“To see members of other teams in tears when he got out of the car and then celebrated on the podium was the most amazing thing. It was most certainly a very special moment for us all.
“From a championship perspective, we know there is work to do, but we’ll be pushing hard to close the gap at Oulton Park in a few weeks time.”
Team Vertu made a strong start to the weekend as Ingram rose to third place on lap one of the qualifying race where he remained throughout to gain ground on leader Ash Sutton who had to retire.
And Ingram then achieved a podium finish in race one behind race winner Charles Rainford with Chilton seventh, Collard eighth and Hamilton 17th.
Ingram surged into the race lead in the second race only for a power steering issue and alternator failure to force the defending champion to retire.
However, Collard and Chilton rose through the field on soft tyres to take second and third and secure a double podium for Team Vertu behind race winner Sutton with Hamilton down in 16th.
Ingram starred from the back of the grid in race three and initially crossed the line in third place.
However, a 10-second post-race penalty for exceeding track limits saw him drop to eighth just behind teammate Chilton in seventh while Collard finished last after he received a 10-second penalty for a false start.
Hamilton produced another solid drive to finish 16th which earned the Vertu driver the Jack Sears Trophy for the first-ever silverware of his racing career.
The BTCC season continues at Oulton Park over the weekend of June 6 and 7.
