Speedworks Motorsport’s Tom Ingram heads to Brands Hatch with the faintest chance of the overall Drivers’ title, though its the Independents’ crown he’s focussing on this weekend.

Ingram flew out of the traps this year with victories at Brands Hatch and Donington Park. With a further three podiums already under his belt by Oulton Park he was sitting pretty, top of the pile in the Drivers’ standings.

A difficult mid-season followed, though over the course of recent weekends he’s re-discovered that early-season form to catapult him into the enviable position of top-placed Independent heading into the finale and in with a serious chance of championship silverware. A 67-point deficit in the overall race, to Ash Sutton, means the Toyota man is still in mathematical contention – no mean feat for a non-factory racer.

“It’s been a stunning season, and we’re proud of what we’ve been able to achieve this year with our little team,” said Ingram. “You can look back and pick moments out but really, there’s nothing I can really be annoyed about.

“To head to Brands not that far off winning the BTCC is something we can really be encouraged by. As a team we’re a third of the size of some of the others up there, and from the outset we realised winning the overall prize was probably an outside shot, realistically.

“Even so, we set out to be up there and in the mix and that’s exactly what we’ve managed to do – it’s been fantastic.”

Ingram and Speedworks both head the way in the Independents’ tallies for both driver and team, with a small 31-point cushion to Jack Goff in second spot and a 10-point lead over Eurotech Racing. Not much room, then, for Ingram to manoeuvre, and caution is the watchword ahead of the final three rounds of 2017.

“We’re aware of the buffer we’ve got to Jack (Goff) but we’ve seen how quickly things can change around so we’ll have to be on top of our game. Finishing every race and staying out of trouble will be important but at the same time you want to finish as best you can – you don’t go out in qualifying wanting to line up tenth.

“I’ve got an eye on third in the overall championship too. We’re only a point off (Gordon) Shedden, so I’ll be going all-out to try and get it.

“We enjoy Brands and we’ve gone well here historically. It’s a circuit that suits our car and we’re in a strong position. Everything’s in our favour really so I’m excited to get going.”