Young driver thought his dream was over but crowdfunding got him back on track to win the European Rally ChampionshipChris Ingram was crestfallen as, sat alongside his co-driver Ross Whittock, they realised that after a gruelling six rounds and 220km across the Czech Republic, they had lost the final stage of the race, and the £100,000 prize for being the best driver under 27 at the European Rally Championship, by a whisker – 0.3 seconds. “It was the cruellest blow,” says Ingram. “At the stop line, we just sat in the car, absolutely devastated.”
For the 25-year-old
British driver, who had been battling from round to round to secure funding after losing a key sponsor on the eve of the season, it seemed impossible to continue. Ingram was left with a £150,000 bill to compete in the series. “I was just lost for a few hours. I was crying my eyes out because I thought that was it, I thought that was the end.