TOM INGRAM’S SEASON
Meeting 1 Brands Hatch
April 6-7
Qualifying inside the top 10 was a strong start for the brand new machine. Survived the mixed-conditions opener, and then took an encouraging fifth in race two. Rounded out the event with 10th spot.
Meeting 2
April 27-28
Fifth in race one was followed by 10th in race two. Sure, there was a slice of luck as Ingram was drawn on pole position for the reversed-grid race, but he drove superbly to win comfortably.
Meeting 3 Thruxton
May 18-19
Thruxton is always a unique challenge. He was 15th in qualifying and again took his best finish of the weekend in the reversed-grid third race after an under-the-radar weekend. He crossed the line in yet another fifth place.
Meeting 4 Croft
June 15-16
Started 15th after a disjointed qualifying session. Struggled on the resurfaced circuit. Although he scored points in all three events, his best was a seventh in race two. Slicks on a wet track in race three left him 16th from third on the grid, but with the fastest lap.
Meeting 5
June 29-30
Made progress throughout the meeting with a seventh and eighth, but the car looked unstable and it was a struggle. Could have scored a podium in the finale, but was caught up in a multi-car shunt early on.
Meeting 6 Snetterton
August 3-4
Following a superb win from a convincing pole position in the opener, things went south for Ingram when a loss of power restricted him to last place. Fought back into the top 10 in the finale to rescue some points.
Meeting 7 Thruxton
August 17-18
A second crack at the cauldron of speed and it was another struggle for the hatchbackshaped Corolla. Ingram lined up eighth. A lost side window affected the car in race one, which sapped his speed. Two eighth places were his best.
Meeting 8 Knockhill
September 14-15
A more competitive showing but was struggling to get the car to handle the big jumps and kerbs at the Scottish track. The team chipped away at the set-up to make progress, although he was only able to record a best finish of – you guessed it – fifth in race three.
Meeting 9 Silverstone
September 28-29
The Corolla absolutely flew – a shock given the hatchback nature of the car, which would not usually be suited to the long straights. From fourth on the grid, Ingram flew to back-to-back victories in races one and two before being ruled out by damage in race three.
Meeting 10
October 12-13
Set-up struggles in qualifying left him starting the weekend badly in 17th position but recovered superbly in race one to be within touching distance before a puncture. The wrong choice of tyre ruined race two and he finished seventh in the finale.