Tom Ingram has admitted ‘only wins will do now’ if he is to clinch the 2012 Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup title after cruel misfortune lost him a hatful of points in the latest rounds at Snetterton.
Ingram travelled to the Norfolk-based circuit hoping to secure his first win at the track and break down championship leader Tom Sharp’s advantage. With a striking new KX Akademy livery on his JHR Developments-run Ginetta G55, Ingram produced a stunning performance in qualifying, needing only three laps to secure his third straight pole position of the season.
The BRDC Rising Star and MSA Academy member looked to capatalise on it in the opening encounter. Starting well, Ingram maintained his lead of Sharp, but as those two battled, Jake Hill managed to sneak past both for the lead. Ingram slotted into second and despite some differential problems, held the place until the end, less than a second shy of the winner.
With the problems fixed overnight, an ‘unbelievable’ start vaulted the 18 year old into the lead, the KENNETT brand ambassador building a 1.3 second advantage by the end of the opening lap. Moments later his race was over though, with his engine blowing up, continuing Ingram’s Snetterton curse.
“That was a real kick in the teeth,” he acknowledged, “but the team worked ridiculously hard again to change the engine in time for race three, which I would begin plum last.”
A great start to the final race saw him move into the top ten by the end of the opening lap. Pushing on as the race progressed, Ingram got up into the top six and narrowly missed out on a top four finish by just six thousandths of a second, the fifth place finish leaving the reigning G50 champion 72 points adrift of the championship lead.
“Although it is still possible to make up that ground, it will be an extremely tall order,” Ingram added, “Saying that, there’s plenty that can happen and I just want to remove the pressure from myself and take each race at a time. Podiums are no longer enough; we need wins now – and lots of them!”