TOM Ingram will take a commanding 33-point lead into the final weekend of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) following a race win at Silverstone.
Ingram pipped title rival Ash Sutton to victory in race two after also finishing one place ahead of his closest challenger in race one.
However, Sutton clinched a second podium in race three with Ingram down in fifth although the Coventry driver still retains a healthy advantage with one round of racing still to take place.
Ingram leads the drivers’ standings on 419 points with Sutton his only challenger to the title on 386 points.
Ingram said: “It was a really good weekend – we did everything we needed to do and a little bit more besides.
“It was important to win race two. When you’ve got the soft tyres and an advantage in terms of boost – which hasn’t been the case for us very often this year – you’ve got to exploit that.
“It’s nice to be going into the final weekend with a little bit of a points cushion, but by no means is it signed-and-sealed – far from it.
“We certainly can’t afford to just cruise and collect – just one bad result could throw it wide open.”
The Coventry driver battled with Sutton throughout race one after Ingram started 14th and Sutton 12th.
Ingram eventually passed Sutton on lap four and finished seventh with Sutton one place behind in eighth.
However, the Team Vertu driver secured a crucial race win in the second race of the weekend.
Ingram blasted through the order to take victory while Sutton kept his own title hopes alive by finishing second.
Sutton made the most of tyre and grid advantage over Ingram in race three to finish third.
However, Ingram managed to finish fifth after overtaking Aiden Moffat on the final lap.
Ingram is now closing in on a second BTCC success after previously winning the title in 2022.
The final round of the BTCC season take places at Brands Hatch on the weekend of October 4 and 5.
