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| March 25, 2009 |
| PROgression: Tom Ingram - Ginetta Junior Championship |
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 | Tom Ingram visited the Wye Valley School in Bourne End
(Photo: Mike Weston) |
The ‘wow’ factor well-and-truly hit Wye Valley School in Bourne End last week, as Tom Ingram – one of the school’s brightest young sporting hopes – thrilled his fellow students by taking his racing car along to give them a glimpse of what life in the fast lane is all about.
Tom may be just 15, but over the past eight years he has been busy carving himself out a hugely promising motorsport career. Already a multiple karting champion – including having triumphed in the same series that first set none other than Lewis Hamilton on the fast track to future Formula 1 glory – he is graduating in 2009 to car racing in the Ginetta Junior Championship, on the support bill for the popular British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), with meetings across the country that are frequently attended by as many as 40,000 fans.
That being the case, it was a treat indeed for his friends when he brought his Ginetta into the school, with many of them taking turns to sit inside the cockpit and getting quite a shock when he started it up and revved the engine into life...
“Everyone was asking me ‘Why is your car here? Did you drive it down here yourself?’” Tom grinned. “There will be thousands of people watching at the BTCC, and the added pressure of live TV too, so you need to make sure you say the right things in front of the cameras. That’s something I’ll have to get used to, I think, but this was a bit of a warm-up.
“Everyone wanted me to start the car up, and when I did I think they were a bit surprised at just how loud it was! It was good fun, and apparently they all got covered in fumes from the oil! Maybe some of them will watch my races on TV now. That would be pretty cool...”
Indeed it would, and as he bids to follow in the wheeltracks of his hero, Formula 1’s newest and youngest-ever title-winner, Tom equally knows that he cannot afford his schoolwork to slide. Having already undertaken successful work experience stints with F1 outfit Red Bull Racing and independent motorsport engineering concern Prodrive, the Monodraught-backed ace’s next goal is to secure himself a place at the prestigious Silverstone National College for Motorsport.
“It would be fantastic to get onto that,” he enthused. “Then I could really say motorsport is my life – at weekends I race cars and during the week I work with them. It’s very important to get your education behind you, because without that what do you have to fall back on?
“I’m following a Young Apprenticeship in Sports at school, which teaches you all about sports coaching and general body fitness. It’s good fun. It’s learning about the kinds of things you’ll never learn in normal lessons – and of course it’s always good that when other kids are stuck indoors studying geography, we’re out on the sports field playing football! Everyone in the school has always been really supportive of me and has wished me good luck in everything.”
That much was clear from the crowds of pupils and teachers clamouring around the car and Wye Valley’s newest – if somewhat reluctant – celebrity. For a school with such elite sporting pedigree and one that has in the past enjoyed success in the Commonwealth Games – courtesy of Anna Jemielity in swimming – and in the Olympics with rifle shooter Abbey Burton, as well as having sent one ex-pupil to Wellington College on a rugby scholarship, this is something rather different. Never before has it produced a future Lewis Hamilton.
“We are all as a tutor group incredibly proud of Tom,” remarked form tutor Anthea Hill, who has taught the reigning Wycombe and Marlow Sports Personality of the Year since he started at the school and clearly enjoyed her opportunity to climb behind the wheel in his weekend ‘office’. “We’ve followed his racing very closely and have always been very supportive.
“I think the whole thing has gone by word-of-mouth to be honest, but now it’s a real ‘wow’ factor. When he won his first major title we were so proud, but he never told anybody. He is the most modest and unassuming lad you could wish to meet – there’s no arrogance about him at all.
“There’s a lot of focus on the Olympics in the school, but this is something totally different to what we are used to. I don’t think any child ever dreams this is going to happen – it’s always just names in newspapers. You never realise this is actually attainable.
“He has always been a grafter and applies himself very well. He’s a good, well-balanced lad, and I’m proud to have been a part of the early stage of his life. I think there might even have to be autograph sessions now!”
“It’s fantastic!” added acting head Jo Rockall. “Tom is such a positive role model for the rest of the school, in terms of his commitment to his sport and still making that sure he succeeds in his studies as well. He is one of our Young Apprenticeship students, which involves 50 days’ work experience across two years and results in four GCSE-equivalent qualifications as well as a number of coaching qualifications.
“The students that we select to go on the programme have to be good role models, have good leadership skills and be good team players. Tom has all three qualities, and we are very proud of him.
“What he’s doing is very different, and it’s really nice to move away from the more traditional sports like football and cricket. I think our students were thrilled to see the car and thought ‘Wow, I’d love to be doing that!’ I think some of the other kids will now talk to him about it and be genuinely interested, but he’s not going to lose his head over it. We really wish him all the best in his career in motor racing.”
To keep up-to-date with Tom’s latest career news and results, please visit: http://www.tom-ingram.com |
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