Tom Ingram has underlined his and Speedworks Motorsport’s credentials as the 2017 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races rapidly into view, by pacing the field in his Toyota Avensis in the only official pre-season test at Donington Park.

Bidding to build upon a breakthrough campaign that yielded a brace of race wins and four further podium finishes – and in which 23-year-old Ingram established himself as the BTCC’s fastest average qualifier – Speedworks has upped the ante for 2017. 

After pulling the wraps off the Avensis’ striking new livery, Ingram proved its potential by posting an early benchmark. 

The talented young Bucks ace would remain at the top of the timing screens for the duration of the four-hour test session, completing a total of 55 laps – with his three best efforts all quicker than any of his adversaries could muster as Speedworks snatched the first bragging rights of 2017 a fortnight ahead of the Brands Hatch curtain-raiser.

Ingram said: “Donington was a bit of a leap into the unknown for us. The car had felt really strong in Portugal, but until you get back to more familiar circuits, you can’t quite be sure how that form is going to translate. This represented our first proper opportunity to gauge ourselves against the rest of the field.

“The facelifted Avensis looks awesome and is unquestionably a step forward. It’s very easy to drive on the edge, which is a good feeling and we managed to complete a lot of work and evaluate a variety of different set-ups and race strategies. 

“Being fastest doesn’t mean a great deal at this stage because you never know what your rivals are doing, but it’s always nice to end up at the top of the timesheets.”