Tom Ingram proved himself the fastest driver in the field in the 2013 Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup curtain-raiser around Brands Hatchs Indy Circuit, and a dominant victory in the final race of the weekend served notice to his rivals that he will be every inch a title contender this year.
Having finished third in the standings at the end of his rookie campaign of Ginetta G55 competition last yeartallying six victories, 17 podium finishes, four pole positions and six fastest laps along the wayIngram has only one objective for 2013, and he travelled to Brands Hatch in confident spirits and eager to get back down to business following a promising pre-season testing programme.
Unfortunately, a driveshaft failure in Fridays opening practice session cost the talented young High Wycombe ace valuable track time and placed him immediately on the back foot. Fastest lap in the afternoon swiftly demonstrated just what Ingram was capable of, but some minor changes in a bid to dial out a touch of understeer in qualifying backfired, and with such a short lapbarely a mile in lengthany time loss was always going to hurt. To say that seventh position was a disappointment would be a gross understatement.
The JHR Developments boys all worked really hard after qualifying, pretty much taking everything right back to basics, praised the 19-year-old KX Akademy protg, whose weekend included an appearance at a KX Question Time event alongside two-time British Touring Car Champion Jason Plato.
By the time race one came around, it was a completely different car. There wasnt a huge gap between Saturdays two races, though, and given how notoriously difficult it is to overtake on Brands Hatchs Indy layout, I knew I had to try and grab as many points as possible without taking too many risks.
After finding a way past the driver in sixth, SKYCIG-supported Ingram was like a cork unleashed and immediately quickest on the trackand by some margin. Slashing his deficit to the leaders, he gained one more spot before the chequered flag fell, and with another lap, he was convinced he would have finished fourth as he pondered a good result in the circumstances and decent points for the championship, but at the same time a classic case of what might have been had I started higher up the order...
The 17 Ginetta GT Supercup competitors returned to the circuit less than two hours later, only this time, the elements had a surprise in-store...
It was bright sunshine when we were called up for race two, and within 15 minutes, it had started to snow! recollected the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC) Rising Star and MSA Academy member. That made the whole track wet, but there were no more clouds on the horizon so we knew it was going to dry out reasonably quickly and whilst everybody else bolted on wet tyres, we decided to take a gamble on slicks.
Right from the warm-up lap, it was obvious I was going to struggle initiallyit was worse than driving on ice! I couldnt turn, brake or accelerate properly and I had some massive momentseven in a straight line! Whenever I shifted up a gear, the car slewed sideways, and the amount of times I thought I was going to slam into the pit wall...
I was dead last after the first lap, and at worst I was 32 seconds behind the leader, but we were confident that as the race wore on, it would transpire to be the right decision and I knew I could fight my way back through once the conditions came to me. Sure enough, with ten laps remaining, I began to feel the grip and started to pushand it wasnt long before I was reeling the pack in. Once I caught them, I could more-or-less choose where I wanted to pass, and at one point I overtook three drivers within the space of just two corners.
I could feel my car getting better and better, and I had so much more grip than everybody else over the closing stages. I actually thought I had one more lap left than I did, but then the chequered flag came out when I was within three seconds of the leader. My heart sank, because Id been certain I was going to win, but to finish fourth from where we had been wasnt too shabby and it was awesome fundefinitely the most enjoyable race Ive ever driven!
Setting a fastest lap almost a second-and-a-half clear of the next best andstaggeringlymore than four seconds quicker than the winner, it was a spellbinding effort that justifiably earned Ingram pole position for the weekends third and final encounter the following day.
Effecting a textbook getaway when the starting lights went out and artfully fending off an opening lap challenge from behind, the former Ginetta G50 Champion, Ginetta Junior Champion and British Karting Champion had established an advantage of more than two-and-a-half seconds when the safety car appeared for an incident further down the order.
His comfort margin instantly eroded, when the action resumed, he duly scampered away from his adversaries once more, and when his closest pursuer turned up the wick and narrowed the gap slightly, Ingram responded with a lap time that was an awe-inspiring eight tenths of a second quicker. Message well-and-truly delivered.
It was a peerless performance and a vintage Sunday afternoon drive for which his rivals had no answer, and another fastest lap completed the weekend hat-trick. Heading next to Donington Park, the KENNETT brand ambassador might be 16 points adrift of the championship lead following his Brands Hatch qualifying troubles, but he is indisputably the man to beat.
It was fantastic to win the last race, Ingram enthused. That was the one that really mattered, as it was televised live on ITV4 and as such represented excellent exposure for my sponsors SKYCIG, KX and Hansford Sensors. Overall, it was an extremely positive weekend.
It was good to see that our pace in testing was genuineI dont think we left anyone in any doubt that weve got the speedand our consistency was encouraging as well. Given the situation we found ourselves in on Saturday morning, second in the championship is far from a bad place to be right now, and theres a long way to go yet. Bring on round two!
