4) Tom Ingram
As far as rookie performances go, Tom Ingram’s 2014 campaign was one of the most glittering of the modern era.
The 21-year-old, fresh from a dominant Ginetta GT4 Supercup triumph the previous season, stepped into the BTCC with Speedworks for his maiden attack on the series and proved an instant hit as he challenged the experienced hands in a Toyota Avensis still not a consistent front-running machine.
Ingram would have begun 2014 with a stunning trio of top-10 finishes at Brands Hatch in late March, had it not concluded with a bang following contact with Alain Menu in race three. From then, that pace was no fluke, not just a one-off flourish, but a sign that the Speedworks man had the ability.
The qualifying pace in particular was what surprised Ingram’s opposition most, consistently a top-10 contender and even netting fifth on the grid at the high-speed Thruxton.
Best was saved until last for Ingram at Brands Hatch, netting fifth place in the frenetic second encounter of the final day of the season during which he was inside the top 10 all afternoon.
Ingram himself admitted to TCF that he enjoyed having no pressure on his shoulders during the rookie campaign, even bemoaning the misfortune he often endured during race three of the 10 meetings as several dramas out of his hands cost him strong results.
Among those, you have to include losing a wheel at Snetterton while in a great position, mechanical problems at Silverstone and contact with Fabrizio Giovanardi on more than one occasion.
13 top-10 finishes was his final tally that left him a very credible 15th in the overall standings on his maiden BTCC venture, outed as a future star in the making by former champion Tim Harvey and already on the radars of rival teams for 2015.
