in Croft master classTom Ingram proved himself to be a class apart from his Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup rivals at Croft, tallying a flawless triple triumph in changeable conditions to more than double his advantage in the title standings and ensure he heads into the mid-season break as indubitably the man to beat.
Boasting a striking new livery on his JHR Developments-prepared Ginetta G55, Ingram travelled to Croft with a strong previous record around the demanding North Yorkshire circuit having ascended the top step of the podium there in 2012and determined to finish off the job that he had started with pole position in qualifying at Oulton Park a fortnight earlier.
I was disappointed and frustrated that we had just missed out on winning at Oulton, because we clearly had the speed to do it, mused the talented young High Wycombe-based hotshot. That really fired me up to deliver at Croft and genuinely capitalise upon the pace we have at the moment. Its a circuit Ive always loved, proper old-school with not a lot of run-off. The driver really can make a difference there, and whilst I know its a clich, it truly does sort the men from the boys.
After lapping fastest in Friday practiceto the tune of a staggering seven tenths of a second in the morning session, despite remaining on old tyres as his competitors bolted on fresh rubber in a vain bid to topple himIngram entered qualifying in optimistic mood, and he duly annexed his second straight pole position by a similarly commanding margin. What followed were two of the finest and most comprehensive lights-to-flag victories the ITV4-televised, British Touring Car Championship-supporting Ginetta GT Supercup has ever witnessed.
I wasnt driving at 100 per centfar from it, confessed the SKYCIG and Hansford Sensors-backed KX Akademy protg. I pushed to begin with in both races to establish a gap, which then allowed me to back off and just focus on bringing it home.
I was certainly surprised by how easily I was able to pull away, but that then generates an altogether different type of challenge, because with nobody to chase or defend from, you need to maintain your concentration without having anything in particular to concentrate upon. You cant relax, but at the same time, you dont want to push. Its an odd situation to be in, and you almost need to take your mind off the race and think about something else, so you end up in a zone where everything just kind of happens instinctively.
Whatever he was thinking about, it did the trick as Ingram took the chequered flag more than ten seconds clear of his closest pursuer in the opening encounter and a gaping 18 seconds ahead in the next. Routinely lapping a full second out-of-reach of any of his adversaries, he set not just the fastest lap on both occasions, but indeed all four fastest laps in race one andincrediblythe top ten fastest laps in race two. It was total and utter dominance.
The final outing took place in front of a capacity crowd on Sunday afternoon, under darkening skies. From sixth on the reverse grid, the 19-year-old British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC) Rising Star, MSA Academy member and KENNETT brand ambassador produced a wonderfully incisive opening couple of laps to scythe his way magnificently through to the front in double-quick time. He then didnt put so much as a wheel out-of-place later on when the rain began to fall heavily, rendering conditions treacherous indeed on slick tyres that were well past their prime.
Whenever I win the second race, I always seem to pick out the worst possible starting position on the race three reverse gridand sure enough, I pulled sixth! he quipped. Fortunately, Ive done a lot of work on my starts recently and theyve gone from being a weakness to a strength, and I gained one place straightaway off the line.
It was a hectic first few corners, and I found myself third going down towards Tower Bend. I managed to squeeze up the inside of Carl Boardley through Sunny and after that, I knew I had to get past Carl Breeze in the lead as soon as possible or I risked him backing me up into the pack, and I made my move just after the chicane on lap two.
I think the fact that it was damp early on played to my advantage, because I really enjoy driving in those conditions on slick tyres. The rain eased off in the middle of the race but then towards the end, it started coming down really heavily. I wasnt too worried because I still had decent grip and felt comfortable and was basically just having some fun out there, but as it got worse they decided to red-flag it one lap early, which in hindsight was probably the correct decision to make.
A hat-trick of fastest lapsbringing his total for the year to ninewas merely a formality, and his fifth triumph of the campaign and 12th rostrum finish from 14 starts in 2013 saw Ingram extend his championship lead from 49 points to 102 as the climatic conditions highlighted his superb car control and metronomic consistency.
Snaffling every point that was on-offer at Croft, the former Ginetta G50 Champion, Ginetta Junior Champion and British Karting Champion has unquestionably thrown down the gauntlet to his rivals ahead of the second half of the season. With his confidence sky-high and the momentum palpably on his side, the opposition has some serious head-scratching to do before hostilities resume at Snetterton in six weeks time.
It was a dream weekend, Ingram concluded. We didnt leave a single point on the table, and you cant ask for any more than that. To win all three races in such a dominant manner was pretty cool, I must admit, and its the perfect way to head into the long summer break. Were really in a sweet spot with the set-up of the car right now and the JHR boys are all doing a fantastic job. It was my best weekend in racing so far. In fact, it was just the best weekend everperiod.
