Mixed emotions for Tom Ingram after career-best show

Tom Ingram qualified a career-best fifth at Rockingham on Saturday, but said he was kicking himself after the session as he believed he could have gone even faster.

The Speedworks Motorsport driver, who will now start fourth for race one after Gordon Shedden’s penalty, was on the pace all day in Corby and had topped the earlier wet/dry first practice.

And by his own admission, the 22-year-old was able to convert his practice pace into a good grid position for the first time in 2015.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes, Ingram said: “It’s a career best but I’m absolutely kicking myself – I should have gone faster. I think that’s a bit of a racing driver’s excuse. I’m hugely pleased with that, but deep down I know there was more to come.

“That’s the first time we’ve had a decent qualifying after being fairly quick in practice as well. It puts us in a good position for race one at least, and we’d like to think we can be in decent shape for race two.

“We’re now battling with the top guys – we’re no longer happy or content with being 10th. It goes some way to showing how far we’ve come that I’m disappointed.”

Ingram was also full of praise for the job Christian Dick’s team has done this season, on a fraction of the budget of the bigger outfits,

“Realistically we’re doing a bloody good job at the minute. We’re a one-car team, nowhere near the budget that the rest of the guys have got. We’re excelling ourselves at the moment,” he said.

“I’ve been saying all year that it feels a really well sorted and planted car, and we’re just beginning to get on top of it.”