Tom Ingram targets overall title after re-signing with Speedworks

Tom Ingram says his focus is on fighting for the overall title in 2018 after re-signing for another season in the BTCC with Speedworks.

Ingram will head into his fifth season in the series seeking to build on a standout 2017 campaign, where he took his Toyota Avensis to the Independents’ title and finished an impressive third place overall.

Having shown himself to be a regular contender at the front, with four victories that more than doubled his career win tally, Ingram will now seek to fight for the overall title, with the 24-year-old hoping that the proven package of his Avensis will work to his advantage.

“After what we accomplished last year, there can only be one objective for 2018 – the overall title,” he said. “There was never any question that we would be staying with Speedworks this year. They’re like my second family. The dynamic between us works so well – it has since day one, and it’s getting stronger all the time.

“Of course, we’re still a comparatively small, tight-knit team, so to do what we did last season with the resources we had – up against a whole host of more experienced and better-funded rivals – was nothing short of phenomenal. Winning both Indie championships was a huge tick in the box, but we don’t plan to stop there – we want to push for even more this year, and I see no reason why we can’t achieve that.

“Several teams are rolling out new cars, whereas the Avensis is a proven package which means we can hit the ground running in the curtain-raiser at Brands Hatch in April, and on the driving side, I’m not afraid of anyone.

“I’ve shown that I can race against and regularly beat the Jason Platos, Colin Turkingtons and Matt Neals of this world, and I think 2017 demonstrated that the tide is turning in the BTCC and that the old guard that have ruled the roost for so long are being replaced by the new generation. And I want to be the standard-bearer of that new generation for many years to come.”

Team boss Christian Dick was delighted to keep his man for another season, and said he felt confident that the former Ginetta champion has what it takes to launch a title challenge.

“2017 was a real watershed campaign for Speedworks,” he said. “To make the leap from occasional podium-finisher and race-winner to genuine title contender marked a significant step forward, and the key to that was consistency. We scored points in more than 80 per cent of the races, and but for two torrid weekends at Oulton Park and Croft – through little fault of his own – Tom would have been right up there in the mix for the outright championship come season’s end.

“For us, there was never any doubt that we wanted Tom back in the car this year. He is an absolutely integral part of the team and he continues to get better by the day. Some of his drives last year were frankly mind-blowing, and if he maintains that curve of progression into 2018, everybody else should be very worried indeed.

“We have complete confidence in Tom to get the job done, and we have complete confidence that in the Avensis, we can give him the tools he needs to battle for both Independents’ titles again and the overall Drivers’ title too. We proved what the Toyota is capable of last season, and considering the updates we have planned, we expect it to be even more of a potent proposition this year.

“With the renowned strength-in-depth of the BTCC, we’re under no illusions that a massive dogfight lies ahead – but we’re ready to come out punching.”