It all looked so good back in April. Tom Ingram radiated confidence, Excelr8 Motorsport’s winter work to its Hyundai i30 N Fastback all nicely validated during a three-day test in the dry – at Anglesey!
He then burst out of the blocks with pole and two wins at the Donington opener. In any other year he would have taken the title despite his Knockhill slip-up and the pierced radiator that stopped him at the Donington GP in August.
He was brilliant all season, and that Hyundai was superb too – yet a mysterious lack of pace in greasy-wet conditions in Snetterton qualifying and the Brands GP finale stymied him.
Rival’s view: Jake Hill on Ingram
When Tom Ingram wins titles, Jake Hill is usually somewhere close. Look at Ginetta Junior in 2010 (Hill second), Ginetta G50s in 2011 (Hill fourth), the BTCC in 2022 (Hill third)… And, of course, the RAC TT Celebration at the Goodwood Revival just last September (Hill second).
So it stands to reason that the reverse will also be true. And, indeed, Ingram was just eight points – equivalent to an eighth-place finish – shy of new champion Hill in the 2024 BTCC standings. Hill’s take on his rival is that familiarity breeds contentment.
“There’s always going to be niggly bits along the way – it’s touring car racing,” he says of the Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai star. “The Tom relationship, we’ve known each other for years, we’ve raced against each other since we were 15, and 15 years later we’re still doing it.
“We know where we stand, but ultimately there’s always been good respect between me and Tom. I’ve always tried to not beat him up too much and give him the room, and I think vice versa. We’re never going to be best friends, but we get on and we race well together.”
Rarely was this better illustrated than through Ingram’s sportsmanship in not running Hill off the road in what was effectively the title-winning pass in the final race at Brands Hatch.
“It was quite interesting really, because in 2022 when he won the title he passed me doing the exact same thing, and I gave him the respect that he deserved,” points out Hill. “Sure, I left him only a car’s width, but so did Tom. But you’re absolutely right – it was respectful.
“There's a bit of door-banging going down that back straight towards Hawthorn’s, but ultimately… It's part of that relationship that me and Tom have. It’s extremely hard, but it’s fair.”
