Tom Ingram Claims Third Ginetta Championship At Silverstone

Tom Ingram claimed his third Ginetta Championship title at Silverstone at the weekend, after a lights-to-flag victory was enough to crown him the 2013 Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup Champion elect following a season which has included 10 race wins and a string of 21 podium finishes.

Qualifying on pole position, Ingram needed to finish within the top eight to secure the title, but in true Ingram style, the 2010 Ginetta Junior Champion and 2011 Ginetta G50 Cup winner would to settle for nothing less than a maximum points haul.

Whilst he was challenged briefly by teammate Pepe Massot, Ingram soon pulled out one second over the Spaniard, but giving it his all, Massot lapped quicker than the leader over the opening laps; setting one of the fastest laps of the race in the early stages.

As the race progressed, the focus switched to the battle for third place between Nicoll-Jones, Orton, Oliphant, Watson and Boston, the latter whom dropped down the order on the opening laps, despite qualifying in third place.

By lap 10, Oliphant had fallen in behind Watson and Boston, whilst ahead, Orton was busy fighting over third place with Nicoll-Jones, starting lap 12 just 0.080 seconds behind the Academy motorsport team boss. Four laps later and it was a different story, as KX Akademy-backed driver Boston moved into a podium position.

Watson and Oliphant were both given a five second time penalty for exceeding the track limits, giving Orton some breathing space in fourth position, however, it was things were hotting up behind them, as Carl Breeze, Matt Nicoll-Jones, Carl Boardley and Sean Huyton found themselves in a three-way battle for fifth place – taking the flag within a second of each other.

Taking a break from his World Touring Car Championship season, Alex MacDowall was able to salvage some further points for TCR after finishing in ninth position, whilst the teams third driver, Mark Davies was forced to retire with a broken wishbone after hitting debris.

In the G50 class, Will Burns led initially before being passed by Louise Richardson around the midway point, whilst Burns kept Richardson honest on track, a five second time penalty dropped him down the screens, leaving him to settle for second place, ahead of returning G50 racer Rob Gaffney. In the G50 GT4 class, Ginetta Team Norway drivers finished with Steffen Feet ahead of Andre Falkenhaug.

As the flag fell, the top three were as they were when the race started, with a JHR Developments 1-2-3. Ingram claimed the win ahead of Pepe Massot and Rob Boston, and with 10 wins to his name, one more will see KX Akademy-backed Ingram equal Tom Sharp’s record of 11 Ginetta GT SuperCup race wins.

Despite the title pretty much wrapped up, Ingram isn’t satisfied yet – as his next goal is to surpass his 2012 rival Sharp’s record, and make his hat-trick of titles even sweeter.