One-time British Touring Car champion Tom Ingram has said that he is keen to contest the World Rallycross Championship’s planned Coventry round in 2025.
Although 2022 BTCC title winner Ingram is a native of the Buckinghamshire town of High Wycombe, he moved to the Midlands city a few years ago because of its convenient location close to many of the UK’s circuits – but little did he imagine that a world championship event might arrive on his doorstep.
Organisers of the annual MotoFest Coventry event blindsided the motorsport world at the end of last month when it was revealed that they are in conversations with the WRX promoter to host a round of the series in 2025 on a city centre course – inspired by the success of the 2023 season closer in Hong Kong.
Since the inception of the WRX in 2014, the UK round has taken place at the sport’s birthplace of Lydden Hill and also at British Grand Prix venue Silverstone, although last year’s instalment at the Kent venue was called off at the eleventh hour due to a fire in the paddock.
No round is taking place in the UK during the 2024 season, which kicks off in Sweden in July with the re-admittance of internal combustion Supercars running alongside the electric RX1e machinery, which formed the basis of the WRX in 2022-23.
“WRX in Coventry will be one hell of a spectacle,” Ingram told Autosport.
“I live in Coventry now, and it will be awesome to have it there, and I would personally love to have a go.”
Ingram’s fellow BTCC champion Andrew Jordan is another to have competed in WRX, and cut his motorsport teeth in rallycross. And Ingram is another to have already sampled the discipline.
“I did a round of the British Rallycross Championship in 2014 in a little Rage [RX150] buggy with Ollie O’Donovan at Lydden Hill,” he said.
“That was brilliant, and I’d love to jump into one of those crazy Supercars and have a go – especially if they have a round in Coventry, I’d be well up for it.”
Ingram added that he has had “not so much” to do with the MotoFest event to date.
“Perhaps I’ve flown under the radar because they don’t realise I live here!” he said.
