Speedworks’ speed works for Ingram
“Thruxton is a Honda track,” said the British Touring Car Championship sages, and it’s easy to see why. Not since 2016 has anything other than a Civic Type R sat upon pole position at the Hampshire speedbowl, where the fast sweeps and two heavy-braking zones suit its poise and balance so well. So Tom Ingram’s double win last weekend in his Toyota amounted to nothing less than a smash-and-grab heist that has propelled him into title contention.
Both victories came after keeping the Honda of Dan Cammish, who continued the marque’s pole run on Saturday, at bay through a pair of tense if not particularly action-packed 16-lap races. The Speedworks Motorsport-built-and-run Corolla didn’t look as good as the pursuing Honda, but Ingram was supreme, kicking up the dust at the scarily quick Church Corner to mitigate his biggest disadvantage – the handling problems caused as his tyres faded faster.
Ingram’s success was built upon the foundations laid on Saturday. He was third in free practice – encouraging enough, you’d say, but a clear half a second adrift of Cammish, whose Honda was dart-like as it dived into the Complex and chicane. By the end of qualifying, he was on the front row, only 0.092 seconds adrift of Cammish, who had given himself a
