Ingram and Speedworks 'getting stronger and stronger'

Tom Ingram says his Speedworks Motorsport outfit are 'getting stronger and stronger' after the Toyota Avensis driver claimed the British Touring Car Championship points lead at Snetterton.

Ingram moved ahead of two-time champion Colin Turkington by six-points in the championship standings after outscoring the Team BMW driver by 25-points during the BTCC's 60th anniversary Diamond Double meeting.

The Speedworks Motorsport driver began the weekend in strong fashion after qualifying in fifth for the opening race. However, an early retirement during race one left Ingram in 27th ahead of the following race.

Nevertheless, Ingram superbly resurrected his weekend after producing a sensational charge through the field from 27th to a podium finish in third.

"Great weekend," Ingram told Crash.net. "Speedworks Motorsport have done an awesome job. We keep going from strength to strength. I’m looking forward to Rockingham.

"We kind of came into the weekend with the aspiration of just trying to maintain our position and not lose too many points to Colin [Turkington]. At the same time we wanted to try and close the gap.

"I truly didn't expect to come away with the championship. I’m well pleased we did it all.

"[Race two] was good because it was very unexpected. I had to fight for it. It wasn’t gifted to us and that makes it all the more pleasurable.

"We’ve come out of the weekend in a really solid place. I think we certainly leave Snetterton with our heads held high. I’m looking forward in going to Rockingham as the championship leader."

Having qualified in fourth for the final double-points race, Ingram backed up his race two podium result with another third place finish in race three.

Ingram was part of a closely matched three-car breakaway with eventual race winner Matt Neal and Eurotech's Jack Goff during that final race. With double-points on offer during that race, the Toyota driver admitted banking a strong haul of 30-points outweighed the risk of attacking further from third.

"It really was a game of cat and mouse," Ingram continued. "We were all stronger in different areas. It was all very different, which made it kind of hard work from a driver’s point of view because you don’t really know how to play the game.

"Whether you need to push, or stay with them and save some. For me it was about minimal risk, maximum points. That was exactly why I stayed in third.

"We are all so equal on pace so that made it difficult to try and close the gap. Plus with the double points, the minimal risk factor was going through all of our heads."