Tom Ingram was pleasantly surprised to put his EXCELR8-run Hyundai third on the grid for tomorrow’s opening British Touring Car Championship race at Croft, but insists he has a “very good” car underneath him with which to compete.
In truth, Ingram looked the driver to beat until the Quick Six Shootout, having shown tremendous pace throughout practice, then comfortably topped the first two rounds during qualifying.
But, at the last, he was narrowly beaten to pole by Colin Turkington, his best effort just under two tenths adrift of the Team BMW star.
“Very good result,” summarised Ingram. “I didn’t really expect to be fighting for pole so to be lining up in P3 is great. The Team BRISTOL STREET MOTORS car is feeling absolutely phenomenal, really good, it’s just a joy to drive.”
Ingram went on to explain that, despite his confidence in the car, his lack of hybrid deployment relative to the others meant he expected more of an uphill task in qualifying.
“I knew we’d be really strong here from a chassis perspective, but I was aware of the hybrid situation that we had. Honestly, I cannot be disappointed, I will sleep very well tonight knowing I’ve got a good car for tomorrow.”