BTCC: Tom Ingram revels in maiden championship victory

Tom Ingram has been revelling in taking his first-ever BTCC championship at the weekend, with him storming to the title at Brands Hatch.

Defending champion Ash Sutton had been leading the standings going into the final three races of the year at Brands, with Ingram, Jake Hill and Colin Turkington all in contention on the final day.

It was Ingram that took things by the scruff of the neck, though, with him winning races one and two and then coming home in fifth in race three to seal a maiden crown after several attempts at it.

Indeed, he could not hide his emotion after the chequered flag and it was clear how much it meant to him as he began speaking post the final race of the day.

“This has been a stressful weekend to end a stressful season, and a moment I have dreamt of since I was a child,” he said.

“As much as this is my job and my passion, I’m a massive BTCC fan and it’s absolutely bonkers to now think my name is going be up alongside names that I watched on TV when I was ten years old.

there are no words. we did it.

“I’ve had a few goes at this now and when you don’t win, you do sometimes started to doubt if it will happen. This year has been particularly tough with the lack of success ballast and the fact that the hybrid performance has been relatively low when it comes to the penalty, and you had to be on it every single lap.

“The pace from start to finish has been ridiculously fast and it’s the toughest season of racing I think I have ever had.

“This is the realisation of a dream and it’s a win for every single person in the team who has worked so hard throughout the season to make it possible.”

A brilliant end to the season for Ingram, and he’ll be determined to try and repeat the feat next season now he is a