TOM Ingram remains at the top of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) drivers’ standings after securing a podium finish in race three at Knockhill.
Coventry driver Ingram crossed the line in second place in the third and final race at Knockhill following a DNF in race one and 10th place finish in race two.
The results mean Ingram leads the BTCC drivers’ standings by three points from closest challenge Jake Hill while Team Bristol Street Motors sit second in the teams standings behind NAPA Racing UK.
Ingram said: “It’s been a hell of a day after the drama of race one, and then the further drama of race two – where I was concerned we were on for another no score when I was bouncing across the gravel and the grass.
“We’ve had a good car throughout the weekend but were hurt by the lack of hybrid in qualifying, which put us back in the pack. After race one, we had it all to do to try get up into the top-12 in race two, and it wasn’t easy having to do it twice after the contact with Chris [Smiley].
“Race three was a fantastic battle however with Rob [Huff], but it was one of those where I knew he had nothing to lose, and he knew that I had to be careful with the championship situation.
“Having Tom [Chilton] behind me was good as he could support me and I knew he wouldn’t do anything stupid, and it had allowed us to come away still leading the championship with three rounds to go.”
Ingram went into the weekend with a 21-point Championship lead, however, after failing to make it out of Q1, he then suffered a DNF in race one after making contact with Aiden Moffat’s Toyota which also left him at the back of the grid for race two.
And despite a strong start in the second race, Ingram took a trip across the grass after a clash with Chris Smiley to drop back down the order before eventually recovering to 10th place.
Starting on the second row of the grid in the third and final race of the weekend, Ingram quickly overtook Aron Taylor-Smith to move into second place.
The Coventry driver battled with Rob Huff for the race lead and briefly edged ahead before settling for second place.
The BTCC continues at Donington Park on August 24 and 25.
