Tom Ingram admitted he was emotional as he climbed from his #80 Toyota Avensis after claiming his maiden race victory in the opening round of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.
The Speedworks Motorsport rising star fended off competition from defending champion Gordon Shedden and his even more decorated team-mate Matt Neal, as well as a capacity grid of 32 entries, to claim his first win by a margin of 2.284 seconds in front a bumper crowd at Brands Hatch.
Speaking after the race, Ingram was pleased to see the fruits of a winter full of labour pay off in the best possible fashion, as he makes his best ever start to a BTCC campaign in this, his third season in the championship.
“This is what all the hard work over the winter was for, “ explained a delighted Ingram.
“With the way we finished last season, we knew we had a good package underneath us, and Speedworks Motorsport are such a fantastic bunch of guys – this result is for all of them.”
“When I saw the team celebrating as I climbed out of the car afterwards, it brought a tear to my eye, and the emotion just goes to show how much this first victory means to us. It’s unbelievable.”
Ingram will now start the second race of the day from pole position by virtue of the rule change this year that sees the BTCC revert to it’s previous system of deciding the grid based on the race one result. He will now also carry the full 75 kilos of success ballast as he looks to take a second win in this afternoons race, which starts at 14:12.