Trio of top tens in transformed Toyota for Tom Ingram

Speedworks Motorsport’s Tom Ingram made the most of his newly build Toyota Avensis at Brands Hatch, netting a trio of top ten finished after catching the eye throughout the weekend.

The 21-year-old had only driven the Avensis in anger in a handful of tests before arriving in Kent, but topped the opening practice session and went on to qualify ninth.

After slipping a spot to 10th in race one, he made solid progress forward to finish sixth in both the second and third races. And crucially for Ingram and the team, the new car built under the watchful eye of Geoff Kingston appeared to have shed its habit of wearing the tyres out in the closing stages of races.

“We can be really pleased with what we have achieved this weekend,” said Ingram. “To leave Brands Hatch with three strong top ten finishes is fantastic, especially after some of the bad luck we suffered in 2014 – and the only damage is the need for a new Toyota badge!

“It’s a real shot in the arm for everybody in the team; all the Speedworks guys have worked incredibly hard over the winter, and massive credit to them for what they have produced – these results are testament to all their efforts.

“Geoff Kingston’s input has enabled us to make tremendous progress, and you have to remember that Saturday was effectively just the second time this car has run in anger.

“The biggest improvement is undoubtedly in its tyre management. Last year’s car tended to fade later on in races as the performance dropped off, which left us a bit of a sitting duck and caused us to drop back down the order – whereas at Brands, I was still able to set fast times right towards the end and with a lot of laps on the board, even on the softer compound and with weight in the car in race three.

“Considering we went into the weekend with minimal testing behind us, just think what we’ll be able to do once we’ve had a bit more track time… Believe me, this is merely the start.”

Ingram heads to Donington Park in eighth place in the standings, with Brands Hatch equalling his best overall weekend performance.