TOM Ingram is optimistic improvements made to his car during the British Touring Car Championship’s summer break will enable him to challenge again for race wins at Thruxton this weekend.

A productive test, along with development at Speedworks' Northwich base, saw the driver come out of the blocks quickest when the campaign resumed at Snetterton.

He put his Team Toyota GB Corolla on pole position, a first for the new machine, before charging to a commanding victory in the opening sprint.

"It feels like we’ve genuinely turned a corner and we can enter race weekends confident of challenging for victory," said Ingram.

"The Corolla really came into its own through the high-speed sections at Snetterton – it felt phenomenal in the fast corners – and that bodes well for Thruxton.

"Similarly encouraging was the way it looked after its tyres in all three races, which is crucial at that track."

A second visit of the campaign to the Hampshire circuit follows a first back in May that saw him score points in every race with a best result of fifth.

Three months on, the reigning two-time Independents Trophy winner has rather loftier ambitions.

"I'm confident we're going to have a completely different kind of weekend," he added.

"We've found a lot of small improvements that have all added up to make a pretty big difference to our performance level."

All three races will be broadcast live on television by ITV Sport from 11.30am on Sunday.