Having (finally) won the BTCC championship I think it's time to celebrate the career of Tom Ingram in touring cars. He first raced in the BTCC for the Speedworks teams in 2014 in their Toyota Avensis, scoring his first win two years later at the season opener. In the years that followed, Ingram and his Avensis would become known for punching above their weight, often beating the works supported entries from MG, Honda and BMW. This would culminate in the 2018 season where he would finish 2nd in the championship, with more wins than that years champion, Colin Turkington for WSR Team BMW. For 2019 the team would have a new car, the Corolla and backing from Toyota. The next two seasons would not be as successful, with the now hatchback Toyota coinciding with the downturn in the competitive order for such cars when compared to the saloon bodied cars of BMW and Infiniti. For 2021 commercial issues would bring Ingram's association with Toyota and Speedworks to an end with him switching to Excelr8 and their Hyundai i30 Fastback N. This was a risk as the team only had two years of BTCC experience and the car only had one. The switch would pay off as Tom would retain his 4th place standing in 2021 whilst also winning the team’s (and Hyundai’s) first race. For 2022, the BTCC series abandoned the familiar success ballast, which was replaced with the new hybrid system. Taking full advantage of this change, and his new Hyundai-branded Swindon engine, Ingram would win the season opener at Donnington Park. In a close fought championship, Ingram would stamp his authority on the championship with a commanding pole position at the season finale at Brands Hatch GP of over 4 tenths to second. After winning the first two races, 5th place in the final race would see Tom Ingram score his first BTCC Drivers Championship. Not a single dry eye could be found as one of the BTCCs fan favourites, and championship underdogs, had finally done it. From valiantly dragging an unworthy Avensis into a title challenge to being the key ingredient for a new team and manufacturer to triumph. Above all, Ingram remained the down to earth, friendly face of the paddock, showing that you do not need to be cutthroat and utterly ruthless to win.