Tom Ingram experienced a ‘day of resilience’ in the British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park, as he fought back after two setbacks in the opening pair of races to leave with a crucial podium finish.
The EXCELR8 Motorsport star very much limited the damage to his title challenge, as he leaves the Leicestershire circuit having fallen to just nine points behind series leader Jake Hill after a turbulent day of racing.
After qualifying in fifth, just 0.176 seconds from pole despite having the least hybrid deployment of anyone in the field, Ingram was in a strong position going into the opening race on Sunday.
However, just two corners after passing Mikey Doble for fourth in the opening encounter, Ingram was hit by the Power Maxed Racing driver and dropped down to 12th.
Despite a lack of hybrid, the 2022 champion superbly fought back to fifth by the chequered flag, finishing where he started to limit his loss of points in the title race.
With more hybrid available in race two, Ingram was flying when he fought his way into third in an inclement start to the race.
After passing Colin Turkington for second, Ingram was immediately pressuring Ash Sutton for the lead when bad luck struck, as a stone pierced his radiator and he was forced to retire a few laps later.
With the team forced to change the engine in his Hyundai, Ingram would also have to start from the very back for the final race.
What followed was one of the drivers of the season, as the 31-year-old carved through the field to score a sensational second place finish, and limit the loss of points over the weekend to his title rivals.
“We’re nine points back, which I’m actually alright with weirdly, considering we had the massive potential of a non-score in the first race in the incident with Mikey, that we managed to recover slightly from given the circumstances,” explained Ingram to TouringCars.Net.
“In race two we were sat in a really comfortable position in a car that’s feeling outrageously good, with hybrid in the bag and Ash on the ropes, to then all of a sudden having to retire the car because we had a stone through the radiator.
“We’ve got crash structures around the car that are designed to be taking hits – you can have an outrageously big hit and it won’t do anything. Unfortunately, that was a stone straight through the radiator and that was the end of it; suddenly the engine temperatures doubled in the blink of an eye.
“It’s been a day of resilience and you’ve got to think of the bigger picture. I’ve done a lot of work over the years with a sports psychologist and that’s where it comes into its own. A little bit of maturity, experience, confidence, but most importantly trust in what I’ve been given, with the car that’s under me as I sit on the grid.
“I knew wholeheartedly that I didn’t doubt any single part of that car. I jumped in that car knowing it was perfect.
“Given that with 45 minutes to go there wasn’t a working component on it is beyond testament to what the boys and girls have done, because it is truly remarkable. Although it’s my name that carries the results, it’s not that at all, there’s a much bigger picture behind the scenes.
“Honestly, I’ve had the most perfect racing car this weekend that I could ever dream of having and it’s been beyond a pleasure to drive.
“I think we’ve been fast enough to win all three races this weekend.”
With Ingram having won six times at Silverstone before, he is expecting to be on form at the next round of the championship as well, where he has claimed a win and three seconds since switching to EXCELR8 alone.
“We go to Silverstone in good shape and we’ll have a little bit more hybrid which is encouraging.
“Silverstone is a very good circuit for us, especially now knowing I’ve got a little bit more hybrid in the bank. Yes, it’s only three seconds, but I’d rather three than one. It’s nice to at least be able to start and end a lap with some.
“With a car that’s feeling good, I think we’ll be incredibly strong at Silverstone.”