British Touring Car Championship leader Tom Ingram is expecting the new hybrid system to be used ‘in a slightly different way’ at the high-speed Thruxton circuit this weekend.
Ingram, 28, leads the standings after the first six races, with the Excelr8 Motorsport driver holding an eight-point advantage over Thruxton expert Josh Cook.
The Hyundai driver has only won twice at the Hampshire circuit – both victories coming in 2020 – but he has stood on the podium a total of six times in races at the track, and he was fourth fastest overall in the official pre-season test there last month.
“I feel we are in good shape going into the weekend as we had a solid run in testing at Thruxton, and we showed strong pace last season to score a podium finish on my first outing in the car,” said Ingram.
“Since then, we have improved the Hyundai substantially, so I’m feeling pumped up and ready for the challenge.”
The new Hybrid Energy Management system saw its deployment limited last time out around the short Brands Hatch Indy circuit – with fewer seconds of usage available to drivers around the lap – leading to a reduced impact on the racing.
However, this weekend at Thruxton, with its longer lap and more time spent over the 120 kph deployment threshold, will see a different strategy emerge with the system, according to Ingram.
“As with both Donington Park and Brands Hatch, we’re taking a bit of a step into the unknown when it comes to the hybrid system and I think we might see people deploying it in a slightly different way at Thruxton given the speeds are so much higher.
“Although we all tested at Thruxton, we need to wait and see how people perform when the chips are down.
“The aim for me is to just focus on ourselves and make sure that we do the best job possible across the weekend. Do that, and I’m confident we’ll be in the mix.”