Excelr8 Motorsport’s Tom Ingram heads to Knockhill this weekend to kick start the second half of the British Touring Car Championship season ‘confident’ of his chances of victory.
Ingram currently sits atop the championship table with 195 points, three ahead of his nearest rival, after claiming three wins and six podium finishes in the first half of the season.
The 28-year-old has also twice previously won on his annual visit to the Scottish circuit, with a reverse-grid race win in 2017 followed by another reverse-grid victory last season.
In 2021, Ingram’s first year in the Excelr8 Hyundai squad, he qualified in ninth before steadily improving his results throughout race day with a tenth, sixth and a victory.
As such, Ingram is confident going into this weekend’s event, in particular because the effect of the new-for-2022 hybrid system is less than that of the old success ballast system in qualifying.
“Knockhill is a circuit where I’ve enjoyed strong results in the past, including last season, so I’m going there feeling confident about our chances,” said Ingram.
“There are various things that we were able to learn in the test at Snetterton that mean we head to Scotland in good shape, although I’m sure there will be other people who will say the same thing.
“The impact of the hybrid hasn’t been as a big as the impact of ballast in qualifying, which has allowed us to pick up some strong results on Saturday which then translates into strong results on Sunday.
“Hopefully the same will be true this weekend given how tight and twisty Knockhill is, but the weather is something that could play a part in how things pan out.
“Currently, it looks like it could be raining which would bring extra risks, but whether it is wet or dry, I’m confident we will be quick.
“I’m 100 per cent sure we can win for the second year in a row, but the focus is on maximising the weekend as a whole and putting as many points on the board as we can for the championship.”