Ingram draws first blood as Speedworks make winning start to 2017
Tom Ingram proved that he and Speedworks Motorsport will be ‘a force to be reckoned with’ in the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, as the independently-run driver and team defeated a wealth of high-calibre competition to win the fiercely-contested curtain-raiser at Brands Hatch last weekend (1/2 April). Ingram maintained a good momentum straight off the bat around Brands’ short Indy loop, topping the timesheets in both free practice sessions behind the wheel of the freshly-liveried #80 entry. All eyes were duly on the talented young Bucks ace in qualifying, but with the track drying following a light shower, he had just been pipped to pole position when the red flags flew for an accident and the rain returned, dashing any chance of fighting back.
Undeterred, from second on the grid in race one, Ingram produced a textbook getaway when the lights went out to sweep around the outside of the pole-sitter into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time and immediately make good his escape. A superb re-start following an early safety car period saw him swiftly reassert his supremacy, pulling 1.3 seconds away from his pursuers over the course of the opening lap alone. Thereafter, the 23-year-old extended his margin with a series of fastest laps before maintaining a consistent gap of around two-and-a-half seconds over his nearest challenger, defending champion Gordon Shedden. More than three seconds clear at the chequered flag, a year on from his and Speedworks’ maiden BTCC triumph, Ingram repeated the feat in commanding fashion with a peerless performance securing his third career success.
An electrical drama ahead of race two then prompted a heart-in-the-mouth moment as the three-time Ginetta Champion and former British Karting Champion was initially unable to pull away from the grid, but a fortuitous red flag enabled his Speedworks crew to examine the issue. When the action got underway proper, Ingram made light of the maximum 75kg success ballast aboard the Avensis to launch off the line once again, before relinquishing his advantage to Shedden on lap three. Subsequently focussing on staving off a two-pronged BMW threat behind, the KX Akademy graduate defended tremendously under intense pressure, conceding only a single spot to snare a second consecutive Independents’ victory and an excellent third place outright. From sixth on the reversed grid in the day’s finale, Ingram was hanging on well with 57kg in his car and on the softer, less durable tyre compound, but a nudge from Matt Neal sent him skating across the gravel and tumbling down the order, and 11th at the flag represented an exercise in damage limitation. Nonetheless, his best BTCC points tally to-date ensured the MSA Academy member left Brands sitting an outstanding second in the overall Drivers’ standings and Independents’ Trophy, with Speedworks third out of 18 in the Teams’ classification and second in the Independent Teams’ table ahead of the next outing on the calendar at Donington Park on 15/16 April.
