TOM Ingram believes a strong performance during qualifying will give him the best chance of success when the British Touring Car Championship heads to Oulton Park this weekend.

He will be behind the wheel of Northwich team Speedworks Motorsport's Toyota Avensis at their home circuit, and arrives third in the drivers' standings following two wins in the first nine races.

A distance to the table's summit is just 11 points.

"Overtaking is difficult at Oulton Park and so your weekend can be conditioned by what happens in qualifying," said Ingram.

"The key is to secure a slot high up the grid and then see what we can do from there."

The reigning Independents' Trophy champion has his sights set on the main prize during 2018, and travels to Little Budworth buoyed by a record-breaking performance at Thruxton last time out.

He set a new lap best at the Hampshire track en route to claiming seventh spot in the day's third race, beating a marker set more than a decade earlier.

The 24-year-old had earlier stormed through the field from the back of the grid, making up 20 places, to cross the line in 12th position.

Ingram added: "We're very much in the fight.

"To come away with 14 points after the dramas of race one, when the alternator failed, was a decent job in damage limitation."

Speedworks sit sixth in the teams' table, third among independent entries, ahead of a return to familiar surroundings.

Their base at Antrobus is a short hop to their home track.

"It's always a big event for us," said Christian Dick, the team's principal.

"The speed we showed coming through the pack at Thruxton gives us plenty of cause for optimism, and there's no reason why we shouldn't feature at the sharp end again."

Three sprint races on Sunday, which will be broadcast live by ITV Sport, follow a half-hour qualifying session the previous afternoon.