Even funding woes can’t derail Ingram’s winning Plans
He might have faced his habitual battle to secure sufficient funds to be able to compete, and Oulton Park may not have been the happiest of hunting grounds for Tom Ingram in the past, but as he returned there for the fourth outing of the 2011 Ginetta G50 Cup, he made sure that this time he came away again with the kind of result to match his undoubted raw speed – and in so doing, repaid those who have supported him handsomely.
Tom’s form in the Ginetta G50 Cup – his maiden campaign in the series, having stormed to the Ginetta Junior Championship laurels last year – had been somewhat Sebastian Vettel-esque in the build-up to Oulton, with five victories from just nine starts and a handy 60-point advantage in the title chase.
The challenging and undulating Cheshire circuit, however – scene of the talented young High Wycombe star’s first pole position in cars two years ago and arguably the greatest test of a driver’s true ability in this country – had rarely been kind to him. Happily, that would all finally change this time around.
“Oulton Park is a track I’ve always loved driving, but we’d never seemed able to convert our pace there into solid results before, so obviously I was hoping to turn that around,” confessed the Plans Motorsport ace. “It’s quite a technical and narrow circuit where you need to be really precise and can’t afford to make a mistake. It’s all about making sure you get the lines spot-on, and hitting the apexes is critical – and that’s exactly how I like to drive.”
With the target of extending his already healthy margin in the championship standings – aiming to bag some decent points whilst conceding that ‘wins are always nice, of course’ – a comfortable pole position to the tune of just over three tenths of a second was an excellent way to begin. It also cemented Tom’s flawless 100 per cent record in qualifying this season to-date – and race one would go even better.
“I got off to a really good start and led from the first corner onwards, really,” recounted the BRDC Rising Star. “I was under a little bit of pressure from behind for the first few laps, but then I got my head down and managed to build up a gap, keep my nose clean and generally just keep out-of-trouble. I made sure to look after the car, too, and preserve the tyres – it was a really hot day, and we had some minor brake and oil temperature issues, so I was mindful of not wanting to push too hard. I just tried to keep it all silky-smooth.
“It was obviously really good to get another win on the board and keep the points racking up. We showed we had the pace to go out there with no pre-weekend testing and be the fastest again – and it was nice to get my Oulton Park monkey off my back at last, too!”
Tom’s maiden podium finish at Oulton – and his fourth triumph in swift succession in 2011 – the 17-year-old’s extraordinary dominance was such that even after he backed off in the closing stages, he was still lapping a second quicker than any of his rivals, and at the chequered flag he was far closer to two of the newer and theoretically faster G55 machines in front of him than he was to his nearest G50 pursuer behind. He was looking set for a repeat in the second encounter the following day – only for the weather to decide otherwise...
“The race started off dry, and for the first two or three laps I was edging away a bit,” recalled the former British Karting Champion. “Then it began to rain, though, and as I was the first G50 going into the corners, I was always wondering, ‘how slippery is it going to be?’
“I was having to try to gauge the conditions against the G55s a little way ahead, and on one lap, three or four of them went straight on at the Knickerbrook Chicane. After seeing the way they had all been sliding around, I went into the chicane a bit too cautiously, probably, and lost the G50 lead to Lee Pattison.
“I let him go, though, because he isn’t a threat to me in the championship, and I was wary of pushing too hard because I know how a racing car reacts when you’re on slick tyres on a wet track – it’s very unpredictable. I also thought that at the pace he was going, he was probably going to throw it off, which he duly did, so I just concentrated on my own race.
“A couple of laps later, coming out of the first corner, I had Jake Hill right up behind me, and I got a slide and just touched the kerb on the outside; I had touched it for the past few laps, too, but this time it didn’t seem to like it and it bit me! The car snapped away from me and sent me sideways at about 100mph – it was so unexpected. There’s a massive bump on the grass there, and when I hit it, I just took off and went bouncing through the air.
“One of our major concerns all weekend, every weekend is that we can’t afford to damage the car, and there I was staring at the barrier thinking it was a little too close for comfort, but fortunately I managed to keep hold of it all and get back on the track – I have no idea how!
“That dropped me down to third, after which I decided to play it a bit more carefully and just settle for the points. The two guys ahead were properly going for it, but as I have such a big championship lead, I knew there was no point in risking anything – they weren’t close enough to me in the table to risk chasing them down.”
With a severely flat-spotted tyre from an earlier lock-up only serving to compound his struggles and leaving Tom with even less grip than normal in such inclement conditions, although he usually excels on a greasy, damp track surface, in the circumstances, the Bucks speed demon’s performance was a tremendously sensible and mature one – and bore all the hallmarks of a driver well-versed in the art of winning championships.
Having once more outscored every single one of his adversaries over the course of the weekend to extend his lead to some 81 points – more than two race victories – the Race Drivers Inc. member is now also incredibly ensconced atop the outright Ginetta GT Supercup standings, a statistic that he acknowledges is ‘quite a shock’.
What’s more, he has tallied an impressive six triumphs and nine rostrum finishes from 11 races this year – evincing the exact same kind of supreme consistency that last season delivered him the Ginetta Junior crown. The only thing that stands in Tom Ingram’s way of replicating that outstanding success 12 months on, it seems, is money.
“I’d like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to both Plans Motorsport and Walker Logistics for enabling me to get out and race at Oulton,” he concluded. “The team put a great effort in all weekend as always, and I’m so grateful to them and to Walker Logistics for having had the faith in me to support me again.
“We’ve got a bit of an edge in the championship which means we don’t necessarily have to win races now – we can settle for points sometimes – so that eases the pressure on-track a little bit, but unfortunately, we can’t really think ‘long-term’ like that, because our financial situation means we don’t even know if we’re going to be able to make it out for the next round. I just hope and pray something comes up.”
If you are interested in supporting Tom and helping him get to the next round at Croft on 19 June, please call him on 07817 883469 or e-mail: tom@ingram26.fsnet.co.uk
