TOM Ingram set the pace at the only official British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) pre-season test during the season launch at Brands Hatch.
The defending champion, based in Coventry, crossed the line in just 47.928 seconds to finish 0.048 seconds ahead of likely title rival and last season’s runner-up Ash Sutton.
Ingram drives for Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 and looks set to chase a second BTCC title having won last year’s Championship by 12 points on the final race weekend.
Ingram said: “It has been a bit wet, very wet in fact. We did some running in the morning, which went very well, and the car has felt pretty good.
“Hopefully, we can keep that going into next week when we arrive at Donington Park.
“We have a test scheduled there tomorrow too, but we have our fingers crossed for some dry running as we haven’t much of that during pre-season.”
The BTCC season begins at Donington Park on the weekend of April 22/23.
