Ingram makes BTCC test debut

Ingram, 17, who had the test as part of his prize for winning the Ginetta Junior Championship, completed over 100 laps of the National circuit and set a time that would have put him 16th on the grid for August's BTCC round at the track.

"The first lap felt really, really strange," said Ingram. "In a rear-wheel drive car like I'm used to with the Ginetta, it doesn't really pull forwards because it's driving from the back - whereas the Vectra kept pulling forwards, and when you think it's going to run out of steam it just keeps going.

"The front-wheel drive was one major difference, and I also had to adjust to the size of the car, as well as its weight and the brakes. It wasn't any one thing I had to get used to but rather a combination of everything, really - it's just so different to the Ginetta in every respect."

Ingram, who is keen to step up to the BTCC next year, said that the highlight of the day was sharing the track with two-time champion Matt Neal, who was out testing for the Honda team at the same time.

"It was a weird feeling to look in the mirror and see Matt Neal chasing me. That was pretty cool," he added.

"I wanted to stay out there all day. When they gave me the 'in' board, my heart just sank! It was a just a mega day, and I'm so grateful to everyone involved, because to be given an opportunity like that showed great confidence in me - and hopefully I might have been able to turn a few heads too."

Eurotech boss Mike Jordan was impressed with Ingram's performance and believes the youngster has a bright future in touring cars.

"It was a very good day all-round," Jordan said. "The Vectra was obviously a big change from anything Tom had ever driven before, and a modern-day BTCC car is a tricky car to get decent pace out of. He approached it all incredibly sensibly.

"I told him at the start of the day that it was not by going fast that he was going to impress us, and the worst thing he could have done would have been to go and stick it in the gravel on his first run when the circuit was all horrible and slippery still.

"We ended up giving him a lot more track time than we had planned, purely because we were so impressed with his whole attitude and we wanted to give him the best opportunity possible. In the end he was much faster than we expected."