A sublime double victory in Rounds 21 and 22 of the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup at Rockingham has vaulted Tom Ingram to the brink of the coveted title.
The KX Akademy protégé was simply the star of the field around the Corby-based venue, notching up a perfect weekend with pole position, two fastest laps and two race wins.
The 20 year old initially struggled with the handling of his JHR Developments-prepared Ginetta G55 during friday practice, however by the time qualifying came around the next day, the car was in tip top shape for the BRDC Rising Star.
A superb lap on the drying track saw Ingram take his fourth pole position in the last five meetings, an accolade made sweeter by the fact his chief championship threat, Carl Breeze, qualified down in tenth.
Ingram went on to showcase his supremacy in race one, a lightning start allowing him to break away and control proceedings through, setting the eight fastest laps of the race en-route to victory.
A rain shower prior to the live-televised race two led to a tricky tyre choice for the Supercup drivers. While some of his rivals switched over to wet rubber, Ingram elected for slicks and it proved an inspired choice.
With the track coming into his favour, Ingram moved a staggering twelve seconds clear of the chasing pack in just three laps, a sensational performance seeing him take the chequered flag an unbelievable 30.8 seconds clear of his closest rival.
His eighth and ninth wins of the season has moved Ingram to within touching distance of his third championship in four years, with just a solitary eighth place in the opening race at Silverstone next time out needed to finish the job.
“It was a massively important weekend for us and about as perfect an outcome as it’s possible to have,” said Ingram. “Whilst the title is now obviously within reach, I am still approaching everything race-by-race. If you go into a meeting not aiming to win, then frankly, there is not much point in turning up – and I’m determined to seal this championship in style.”
