TOP THREE FINISH SURPRISES INGRAM AS MILEAGE GROWS
Year one of Chris Ingram’s twoseason WRC campaign was supposed to be about gaining experience ahead of a concerted push in 2022.
After claiming his breakthrough WRC3 podium in Portugal, the British driver is already focused on achieving top results. Despite the enormity of his latest achievement – he’s competed twice in a Rally2 car since becoming European champion in 2019 – Ingram described a feeling of “mixed emotions” when Motorsport News spoke to him following his latest career high.
“We’ve done really well, but it’s mixed emotions,” he said. “We keep making these small mistakes with our tyre choice and, at this level, we can’t afford to do that. I know we’ve got the pace to be fighting with Kajto [Kajetanowicz]. But everything needs to be perfect.”
Ingram’s reluctance to be fully satisfied with his podium- and stagewinning performance stems from the decision to run hard-compound Pirelli tyres on leg one.
“We thought the softs would get destroyed but the stages were quite damp,” he said. “We did the same on day two because with that 38-kilometre stage we thought the tyres would definitely get destroyed. But they didn’t and we got absolutely murdered. By the end of that loop, which is the biggest loop of rallying I’ve ever done, our tyres looked like brand new. It’s frustrating because we were 4.6s off the lead after day one, but it’s all because we didn’t have the experience [for the right tyre calls].”
Ingram and co-driver Ross Whittock won two of Sunday’s five stages at a time with Kajetanowicz and Yohan Rossel were fighting for the class win.
“I didn’t think we’d be on the pace so soon,” the 26-year-old said. “I thought we’d be able to snatch third by people dropping out. But we got third on pace and that’s really good.”