Speedworks Motorsport opened it’s 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship account with victory in the opening round of the Season, at Brands Hatch in Kent. Tom Ingram claiming the win for the Cheshire based squad.
Ingram set his stall out in the opening two Free Practice sessions of the weekend, going quickest in both, then backing it up with a front row start in Qualifying.
In a rain affected session, Jeff Smith [Honda] claimed Pole Position, while Tom grabbed second place, just 0.062secs separating the two of them – less than a second, incidentally, covering the top twenty-four cars on the grid, showing the competitive nature of the BTCC.
“We were more than happy with that in those conditions, it can go one of two ways” explained Tom Ingram, to btcc.net. “I’d have loved pole but I’m more than happy with second. We can do something from here. Gordon (Shedden) is third, Jeff (Smith) will be pushing for the win so we’ll have to try and get him off the line and try and get clear but we’ll see. I’ve had a cold this week, so I’m not feeling 100 per cent, but I’ll be fine for the morning!”
Wasting no time in Race One, Ingram led past Smith in to the first corner, and despite an early Safety Car period, after Matt Neal [Honda] and Colin Turkington [BMW] made contact off the start, Tom led unhindered, in the Speedworks Toyota Avensis, all the way to the chequered flag, followed home by 2016 Champion Gordon Shedden, [Honda], and the Mercedes of Adam Morgan.
Tom eventually led the pack away for Race Two, after a technical problem with his Avensis meant the start was aborted, then an incident on the restart with Jason Plato’s Subaru led to another Safety Car, but the former Ginetta Champion was forced to give way to the hard charging Shedden on the second lap. A robust move by the BMW of Rob Collard left Ingram in third by the flag, although still the leading Independent runner.
The Speedworks racer would round out the day with an eleventh placed finish in Race Three, fifth of the Independents. The Race won by former BTCC Champion Andrew Jordan in his Pirtek BMW.
Tom, talking to btcc.net, exclaimed; “That was absolutely fantastic, how do you put it into words? Winning here two years on the bounce – it’s the best way to repay all that hard work over the winter. It’s a heck of a result and I’m really pleased. Everyone was reminding me for the next race, ‘get points – just get points’. As soon as I saw Rob [Collard] throw his nose down the inside at Paddock in race two, I thought, ‘I remember this from last year!’ We prioritised the points and considering the weight we were carrying, third was a great return.”
Ingram sits second in both the overall and Independents Championship points standings, as the Series heads to Donington Park, in Leicestershire, on the 16th April. Gordon Shedden leads the overall Series, while Adam Morgan heads the Independent Series.
A full gallery of images from Brands Hatch can be viewed HERE