Speedworks Motorsport’s Tom Ingram believes he has taken ‘a step forward’ with the changes made to his Toyota Avensis from opening practice to the second session this afternoon.
The current points leader could only manage 17th position in free practice one, but posted a time good enough for eighth in the second session, 1.1 seconds off Josh Cook’s table-topping Vauxhall Astra.
He told TouringCars.Net that carrying the maximum success ballast was hindering the pace of his Toyota, especially in the wet and slippy conditions.
“That was promising, we’ve taken a step forwards,” said Ingram. “We were quite a long way off in free practice one, we’re getting back up towards the sharp end now which is promising.
“Struggling with the weight I think is part of it. In the dry you’ve got momentum on your side so you can kind of roll the speed through and pull the weight out. In the wet it’s stopping and starting again and that’s what I think is hurting us a little bit.
“Whether its to the good of 1.1 seconds I’m unsure, we’ve got to go through data and video and try to work that out. But it was promising in the sense that we’ve made a step forward.”
The 2017 Independents champion also believes a lack of grip has contributed to his struggles so far this weekend.
“I don’t know what Palmer has laid down but it seems to be the slippiest substance on earth!
“Everyone is complaining about it, the circuit just had zero grip for some reason. So I’m not too sure where that’s come from.
“Something’s gone on in the past week or so that’s all of a sudden caused this place to turn into a bit of an ice rink. But it’s the same for everyone.”