TBK-Light.com

Just turned 17, Tom Ingram tested Pirtek Racing’s Vauxhall Vectra touring car today – his prize for winning the Ginetta Junior title.

Ingram clinched the Jnr series that supports the Dunlop British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch’s Finals Day fixture last month. During the season he won five times for the Hillspeed team.

His triumph carried with it a prize test in a BTCC car and today at Silverstone he took to the wheel of the Pirtek team’s race-winning Vectra – under tutelage from regular driver Andrew Jordan.

Underlining the seriousness of the test, he completed some 100 laps around Silverstone’s National circuit – and set a time that would have qualified him 16th fastest on this year’s BTCC starting grid.

The High Wycombe youngster told btcc.net: “I got a picture message yesterday showing my name on the side window and that got me excited. Then I’ve driven it today and it’s just been a brilliant experience.

“Coming out of Juniors into one of these is just a bit different! The size of the car, the slick tyres, front-wheel-drive, the sequential gearbox… and the power – coming out of the corners there’s this whoosh of power and it just keeps pulling and pulling. It’s all a bit of a shock. Everything about it. It’s a touring car. It’s fantastic.”

Ingram said his day was made when he found himself ahead on track of Matt Neal, twice a BTCC Champion and this year’s runner-up, who was also at Silverstone to test his factory Honda Civic.

Ingram added: “I was going round thinking this is cool. A few laps later I thought I’m in touring car at Silverstone with Matt Neal in my mirrors. It doesn’t get any better than this!

“I’d like a shot at touring cars. I’d feel up for it if someone came along with the budget for 2011.

“This has been a fantastic prize that Ginetta has put up, though. In the Juniors you’re already on the support bill of the BTCC and then there’s the opportunity to drive a touring car at the end of the season. A massive thanks to Eurotech and Pirtek for putting so much effort into today and letting me out in their car.”

With better teams and hopefully better drivers coming in, it could produce some pretty good racing.

It could.

NGTC and S2000 are the only cars eligible to win the championship outright. (This year the old BTC-spec cars were not eligible to win the championship this year either).

At our annual teams meeting last week it was agreed to let the BTC-spec cars have one final year in 2011; however their base-weight will be +50kg's on this year. Therefore we don't realistically expect to see many BTC-spec cars on the grid. As well, the only BTC-spec cars that can still compete next year are those cars that competed in this year's championship...no others are allowed to join.