TOM Ingram hasn’t taken long to get up to speed in his first British Touring Car Championship season; after two rounds he has already elbowed his way into the top ten in the drivers’ standings.

Ingram forced his way into the leading pack with two tenth place finishes at Donington over Easter and he might have been ever higher up the list had he not been disqualified in race three.

Meanwhile, Stokenchurch’s Jack Goff has also made a fast start to the season and is up to 13th in the overall standings.

Ingram scored points in all three races on his BTCC debut at Brands Hatch, and he continued that trend with tenth in race one after overtaking double champion Alian Menu and Goff.

Rain in race two made life more difficult and a wheelspin on lights out cost him a number of places.

However, a courageous overtaking move on the outside of Craner Curves helped him regain lost ground and secure a second tenth place finish.

Ingram was set for another points-scoring finish in race three but a collision sent him sliding back to 16th.

He was then disqualified for clashing with Rob Austin as he tried to make up the ground, but the 20-year-old says he is more than satisfied the start he has made to his BTCC career.

He said: “I think the races demonstrated what I had learned from Brands. You need to properly get your elbows sharpened in touring cars, be ultra-aware of your surroundings and take absolutely no prisoners – and I had a lot more confidence to attack and go for moves at Donington.

“The weather was tricky, making it a battle all of its own simply to stay on the track. What happened in the final race was a shame but overall, I’m very happy.

“To have bagged another couple of top ten finishes shows the Avensis is a contender in all conditions and that we’ve got the pace to run up towards the front of the field with the big-hitters.”

Meanwhile, Goff has also shown good pace in the early stages of the season.

He was eighth in qualifying at Donington and although he dropped off it to finish 19th in race one, subsequent finishes of 11th and 12th have left him just outside the top ten in the drivers’ championship.

BTCC resumes at Thruxton in the first week of May.