Debutant Tom Ingram delighted despite crash

BTCC rookie Tom Ingram didn’t let a hefty accident take the shine off what he called a “fantastic” maiden outing in the championship at Brands Hatch.

The 20-year-old Ginetta Supercup champion qualified a stunning sixth in his Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Avensis on Saturday, and followed that up with ninth and eighth-placed finishes in the opening two races.

He was running well again in the third race, until contact with Team BMR’s Alain Menu saw him hit the wall on Cooper Straight, in what the stewards eventually decided was a racing incident.

“It didn’t finish as we wanted it to, but we can’t let that take away from what was a fantastic weekend,” said Ingram to TouringCarTimes.

“Qualifying sixth and having two top 10 finishes on my debut was something I had dreams of, but I didn’t honestly think we could do it.

“I can take so much away from the weekend. It has been a massive learning curve if nothing else, and obviously the end of it is costing us quite a bit of money.”

Assessing the damage to his car, Ingram added: “She’s alright. It will take a little bit of repair, but I’m sure my Speedworks boys are up to it and will do a fantastic job, and it will be gleaming once more when we get to Donington.”

But the youngster decided to keep his counsel on the incident with Menu, saying: “Alain’s got his views, I’ve got my views. I’ll leave it at that.”

Speedworks team principal Christian Dick said: “I have had people from right the way down the pit lane coming up to tell me how well Tom drove. His qualifying pace blew everybody away.

“That really raised some eyebrows and embarrassed some of the more established drivers, and his racecraft was just as impressive. To come away with two top ten finishes is just mega. I’m made up.”