- 2022 BTCC champion thrills Scottish fans with characteristically feisty performance
- Team VERTU star adds 37th career triumph to increasingly impressive résumé
- Bucks-born ace moves 17 points clear at top of title table with nine races remaining
Notably, he accomplished that with a mere one second of TOCA Turbo Boost (TTB) at his disposal – the lowest allocation amongst the 22 high-calibre contenders, by dint of his championship-leading position – around a lap where the extra power makes a sizeable difference.
Under gloriously sunny Scottish skies the next day and having opted to bolt on the medium-compound tyre – which the rules stipulate must be used at least once – Ingram initially took the fight to the three pace-setting BMWs in the curtain-raising contest before allowing Senna Proctor past so his team-mate could exploit the extra performance from his faster soft rubber and full complement of boost.
Confidently heading the medium-shod brigade, the 2022 BTCC title-holder kept the leading quartet firmly in his sights and snatched fourth from Daryl DeLeon on lap 16. Approaching the chequered flag, Proctor then repaid the favour by easing off to hand Ingram third – his 13th podium finish from 19 races in what has been a truly stellar season to-date. And better yet was to come…
In front of the live ITV4 television cameras and a large and enthusiastic trackside crowd, the talented Bucks-born ace made the most of his softer tyres to immediately challenge the BMWs at the start of race two. After assertively despatching Charles Rainford for second at the end of the opening tour, he swiftly charged down defending champion Jake Hill, drawing level into Clark’s on lap three and completing the move into Taylor’s Hairpin.
From there, he never looked back, consistently pulling away from his pursuers and using TTB only once to post a devastating fastest lap more than three tenths-of-a-second quicker than anybody else could muster as he drove home his supremacy in style.
He ultimately took the chequered flag more than seven seconds to the good, with his fourth triumph of the campaign yielding a maximum score that further bolstered his title ambitions – while carrying Ingram past tin-top legends Alain Menu, Yvan Muller and James Thompson on the all-time BTCC race-winners list.
From sixth on the partially-reversed grid for the day’s finale, the 31-year-old then engaged in a tense nip-and-tuck duel with Ash Sutton, repeatedly showing his nose to the four-time champion and edging halfway alongside on multiple occasions as he hassled his arch-rival relentlessly.
Following a staunch defence, the Ford driver used his extra lap of boost to establish some breathing space in the closing stages, at which point Ingram wisely called off the chase and elected to settle for fourth. He duly left Knockhill having more than doubled his championship lead from eight points to 17 heading next to Donington Park’s ‘GP’ layout on 30-31 August – when he will be aiming to outshine the rest of the field once again…
Tom Ingram, Driver, Team VERTU, said:
“We were wary going to Knockhill given the nature of the circuit and the TTB situation, but it turned out to be a fantastic weekend. I was really pleased with the job we did in qualifying – we knew we didn’t have the boost to fight for another pole position, especially around such a short lap where it feels like it makes an even bigger difference, so I was delighted to line up fourth on the grid.
“We subsequently went into Sunday with our heads down, aiming to maximise our opportunities and targeting another ‘pointsy’ day. Getting the medium tyre out of the way in race one was really important, although I needed to be slightly tactical with regard to how I deployed the limited TTB we had.
“It was also essential to avoid getting caught up in any drama, and the first lap worked out perfectly. I got a good start and was able to build a bit of a gap behind, and then let Senna [Proctor] past to see if he could go and attack the BMWs.
“We hadn’t been expecting to get a podium on the mediums, so huge thanks to Senna for giving up his at the end; he really put the word ‘mate’ in ‘team-mate’, and it worked out well for us both as it afforded him some options when it came to tyre choice for the next one – as a team, I think we pulled a bit of a masterstroke there.
“Race two was absolutely perfect – we couldn’t have asked for any more. The Team VERTU car is honestly on another level this year. I keep saying it, but it’s just such a joy to drive; anything I want it to do, it does and a little bit more besides.
“The key was going on the offensive early on to secure track position. I knew Jake [Hill] would fight hard – we’ve raced against each other since we were about 15 and have had countless close battles over the years, and we gave each other enough room. After taking the lead, it was then about holding station and maintaining something in reserve in case there was a safety car.
“The objective for race three was to keep it clean and try to come away with another strong finish. We had a bit of a ding-dong and some wheel-rubbing with Ash [Sutton], which is always fun, but I think we were both obviously mindful of not wanting to take each other out so it was a little bit a case of managing risk versus reward. Ultimately, I made the call to focus on bringing it home as we’re getting towards the business end of the season now and we need to prioritise the bigger picture over individual results.
“Looking to Donington, I see no reason at all why we shouldn’t be as strong there as we were earlier in the year and have been everywhere else since. We’ll have minimal boost again in qualifying and race one, but I’d like to think we can have another successful weekend and if we can repeat what we achieved at Knockhill, I’ll be well-chuffed.”