Tom Ingram: “We need to see where we stand”

Tom Ingram admits that the Speedworks team will need to wait and see where it stands with the new Toyota Corolla when the 2019 BTCC season kicks off this weekend at Brands Hatch.

The team has developed the new car in house over the winter having secured additional support from Toyota GB and has been busy testing in both the UK and abroad over the past month.

The recent season launch at Brands Hatch saw the reigning Independent champion post the sixth best time but he admitted he wasn’t getting carried about with the results of the official test and that it was only this weekend that the true pecking order would be revealed.

“It was good to have the opportunity to gauge ourselves against the rest of the field at Season Launch, although it’s not necessarily the most accurate form guide – that won’t become apparent until qualifying at Brands Hatch,” he said.

“Saying that, I think we’re all feeling pretty positive – we’ve adopted a sensible approach to testing and are moving in the right direction with the car, and there is still plenty of untapped potential.

“Ultimately, I think we need to treat this first year with the Corolla as a bit of a learning curve, and acknowledge that the opening half of the season is likely to be spent getting to grips with it – before we truly come out fighting over the final five weekends.”

Team boss Christian Dick agreed that the early season aim had to be to get some strong points on the board as Speedworks looks to develop the new machine.

“We need to remain mindful that the Corolla is still a brand new car and that many of our competitors have a lot more miles on the clock with race-proven packages, but by the same token, we are all very excited to get the campaign underway and see where we shake out,” he said.

“The goal for the first few rounds has to be to put some solid points on the board while we continue to refine the car, and if we can do that, I think it will stand us in good stead for the rest of the season.”