Ingram joined the Suffolk squad to spearhead its four-car Hyundai i30 N line-up in 2021, on a two-year deal rolling over into this season, but that has now been stretched to encompass the 2023 campaign.
The partnership proved a success last season, with Ingram scoring Excelr8’s maiden BTCC race win at Snetterton, before adding two further victories on his way to fourth in the championship standings.
Even so, it is highly unusual in the current era for a BTCC driver to take themselves off the driver market one season in advance.
But Autosport understands that a change in the commercial situation for both driver and team has occurred, and that the presence of Ingram is key to a new two-year tie-up for 2022-23 procured by Excelr8.
“I’ve never made any secret of the fact that I want to be in the BTCC for the long haul, and success in this championship relies heavily upon forging relationships with the right people,” said Ingram.
“Justina [Williams, Excelr8 team owner] has a very clear vision of what she wants to achieve, and is willing to invest in the relevant areas in order to do so.
“I arrived at Excelr8 after spending seven years with the same team [Speedworks], yet I felt fully at home from my very first test in the Hyundai.
“We grew together and worked really hard to further refine the i30N, so with the benefit of that experience and a year’s engineering development now under our belts, we should be in good shape going into 2022.
“Not just that, but with a number of my main rivals playing musical chairs over the off-season, our continuity can only count in our favour.”
“Today marks exactly one year since we officially announced our partnership with Tom, and what better way to celebrate that anniversary than by extending the agreement until the end of 2023?” added Williams.
“Excelr8 has made some big strides since entering the BTCC three years ago, and with the benefit of Tom’s renowned speed, skill and experience, last season we were able to launch our first genuine title bid and truly establish ourselves as consistent contenders in the series.
“We have no intention at all of resting upon our laurels, and have been hard at work over the past few months putting all the pieces of the puzzle into place to ensure we can hit the ground running at the beginning of the championship’s new hybrid era.
“Tom is obviously a major part of that puzzle, and we are all thrilled to have him with us for at least two more seasons. He is an excellent team leader, with an exemplary attitude and approach that inspires everybody to raise their game.
“I said it when he joined us and I’m even more convinced of it now – Tom is one of the absolute top drivers on the BTCC grid and undoubtedly a champion in waiting.”
Sources suggest that Northern Irish hard charger Chris Smiley looks set to stay on for a third season at Excelr8, and that BTCC veteran Tom Chilton is close to securing a deal with the squad after spending 2021 in a Ciceley Motorsport BMW.
“Tom Chilton is definitely one of the drivers we’d love to see in the team,” Williams told Autosport.
Williams would not be drawn on reports that Excelr8 is ready to press the green light on plans to use a bespoke Hyundai engine developed by Swindon Powertrain, after announcing a feasibility study into the project last July.
Swindon has been the supplier of the customer TOCA engine throughout the NGTC era of the past decade, but has lost that deal to M-Sport for 2022.
