Speedworks and Ingram maintain Independents’ advantage on torrid weekend
Tom Ingram endured a torrid time of things at Oulton Park last weekend (20/21 May) as Speedworks Motorsport found itself consistently out-of-luck on home turf in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, but the Independents’ Trophy pace-setter has vowed to immediately fight back in his quest to clinch the coveted Drivers’ crown.
As championship leader, the talented young Bucks ace headed into qualifying with maximum success ballast aboard his #80 Toyota Avensis – a significant handicap around Oulton Park’s undulating, stop-start 2.2-mile Island layout.
Struggling for straight-line speed, he was unable to replicate his usual stellar single-lap form, leaving him a frustrated 11th on the grid around a circuit at which overtaking is notoriously difficult. To rub salt into the wounds, barely another two tenths-of-a-second would have elevated him to fourth in the 32-strong field
Whilst anticipating an uphill battle in the races – the first of which marked Ingram’s 100th BTCC start – he was firmly focussed on moving forward, until a hefty tap from behind on the opening lap of the curtain-raiser sent the 23-year-old spinning onto the grass at the chicane and tumbling down the order. The legacy of that contact would subsequently force him out of contention altogether, with suspension damage precipitating Ingram’s first non-score of the year.
From 30th on the grid in race two, the three-time Ginetta Champion and former British Karting Champion was making progress when an ambitious move by Will Burns fired him into James Cole’s Subaru at the hairpin, with the sizeable impact prompting a frantic effort by the Speedworks mechanics to repair the engine in time for the day’s finale.
Although too far back to salvage any kind of solid result, Ingram nonetheless rewarded their tireless commitment by clearly demonstrating the Avensis’ raw pace, posting the fastest lap of the race by more than a third-of-a-second to prove what might have been. He was on the verge of cracking the top 20 when – in-keeping with the theme of his weekend – an over-zealous rival clattered into him, tagging the Toyota into a spin.
His misfortune cost the KX Akademy graduate and MSA Academy member his hard-earned championship lead, meaning he will travel to Croft in North Yorkshire next month sitting 25 points shy of the summit of the standings in third place – albeit still atop the Independents’ Trophy table.
The next race for Tom and the Speedworks team is 10th-11th June at Croft
Image Credit: Matt Sayle Photography
