Russell Ingall

Russell Ingall

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Driver Profile 

Heeeee’s baaaaaaaack … Holden fans always knew the man they nicknamed “The Enforcer” would find his way back to the marque that established Russell Ingall as a household name.

Known as well for his take-no-prisoners attitude, larrikin nature and run-ins with his nemesis Mark Skaife as he is for winning the 2005 championship, Ingall joins the team run by Paul Morris, the pair forming the latest incarnation of the Super Cheap Auto Racing Team.

Ingall began his motor racing career at age 12, competing at the Whyalla go-kart track in South Australia. After winning an Australian junior and several senior karting championships he headed overseas to race karts in Europe before making the transition into Formula Ford.

Over the next few years Ingall proved to be a force in the Australian Formula Ford Championship, finishing runner-up before claiming the crown in the 1990.

After almost claiming the British Formula Ford Championship in 1991, Ingall headed to Europe in 1992 to drive for Opel Team Schiubel in the German Formula 3 Championship.

Ingall also competed at the Asian Macau Grand Prix and raised eyebrows after starting 23rd by being in a position during the race to overtake David Coulthard for fifth position. He also competed in the New Zealand Dunlop Formula Ford series, winning easily with 10 victories from 12 races.

He made history in 1993 by returning to Britain to drive for the factory Van Diemen team to win 13 out of the 16 races in the British Formula Ford Championship, in the process recording the highest number of wins in a single season in the category’s history. He then went on to win the prestigious Formula Ford Festival and World Cup at Brands Hatch.

After spending the first half of 1994 in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship, Ingall made his debut in Australian touring cars, driving for Wayne Gardner’s team at Sandown and Bathurst. Ingall and Win Percy led at Bathurst for some time before finishing fifth.

In 1995 Ingall won the British Formula Renault Championship before joining Larry Perkins for his team’s enduro campaign and figuring prominently in its epic last-to-first victory at Bathurst.

Scoring a permanent drive with Perkins’ squad in 1996, Ingall claimed his maiden victory at Calder Park and went on to win the Bathurst 1000 for the second time in 1997.

In his seven years with Perkins, Ingall finish runner-up in the championship three times (1998, 99, 2001) and was third in 1997.

Ingall moved to Stone Brothers Racing at the start of 2003, winning rounds at the Queensland 300 and the Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge on the Gold Coast before eventually finishing seventh outright in the championship.

In 2004 Ingall was again a model of consistency with the highlight of the season coming with a round win at Symmons Plains in round 12. In the final round at Eastern Creek he finished third overall to jump to his fourth second-place finish in the championship.

In 2005 he went one better, shelving his natural attacking style to use a strategy based around consistency to win his first V8 Supercar title.

2006 saw him placed fourth in championship standings going to the final round at Phillip Island, but a mechanical failure dropped him to an eventual 8^th-place finish for the season, while a DNF at Bathurst in 2007 and poor returns over the final two rounds of the championship saw him tipped from the season-ending top 10 for the first time in his career (11^th).

Although only moving to a race headquarters a few kilometres down the road from his old one, Ingall will seek a fresh start and be looking to mix some consistent speed with trademark aggression for a return to the category’s upper echelon.

V8 Supercar Championship Series Statistics

Debut              1996                 Eastern Creek, Perkins Holden Commodore VR

Teams             1996-2002         Perkins Motorsport

                       2003-2007         Stone Brothers Racing

                       2008                 Supercheap Auto Racing

Starts              148   

Wins               12   

Poles               1   

Podiums          35   

Top 10s           107 

2007 Best Qual 3rd, Bahrain

2007 Best Result                      2nd, Gold Coast

Championship Series Results

Year       Team                                               Car                                                  Result

1996       Castrol Perkins Racing                       Holden Commodore VR                     6^th

1997       Castrol Perkins Racing                       Holden Commodore VS                     3^rd

1998       Castrol Perkins Racing                       Holden Commodore VS/VT                2^nd

1999       Castrol Perkins Racing                       Holden Commodore VT                     2^nd

2000       Castrol Perkins Racing                       Holden Commodore VT                     9^th

2001       Castrol Perkins Racing                       Holden Commodore VX                     2^nd

2002       Castrol Perkins Racing                       Holden Commodore VX                     9^th

2003       Stone Brothers Racing                       Ford Falcon BA                                 7^th

2004       Stone Brothers Racing                       Ford Falcon BA                                 2^nd

2005       Stone Brothers Racing                       Ford Falcon BA                                 1^st

2006       Stone Brothers Racing                       Ford Falcon BA                                 8^th

2007       Stone Brothers Racing                       Ford Falcon BF                                 11^th

Bathurst Results
Year       Car                                                   Co-Driver                              Qualifying            Race
1990       #13 GIO Commodore VL                    Bartlett/Onslow                     24th                     17^th
1994       #7 Coke WGR Commodore VP            Win Percy                              11th (Percy)         5^th
1995       #11 Castrol Commodore VR               Larry Perkins                         3rd (Perkins)        1^st
1996       #11 Castrol Commodore VP                Larry Perkins                         7th (Perkins)        6^th
1997       #11 Castrol Commodore VS                Larry Perkins                         4th (Perkins)        1^st
1998       #80 Triple Eight Holden Vectra           Greg Murphy                          4th (Murphy)        DNF
1998       #11 Castrol Commodore VT               Larry Perkins                         9th (Perkins)        2^nd
1999       #11 Castrol Commodore VT               Larry Perkins                         5th (Perkins)        7^th
2000       #11 Castrol Commodore VT               Larry Perkins                         9th                      11^th
2001       #11 Castrol Commodore VX                Larry Perkins                         3rd                      8^th
2002       #16 Castrol Commodore VX                Steven Richards                     4th (S.Richards)   2^nd
2003       #4 Caltex/SBR Falcon BA                   Marcos Ambrose                    5th (Ambrose)      6^th
2004       #9 Caltex/SBR Falcon BA                   Cameron McLean                   8th                      6^th
2005       #9 Caltex/SBR Falcon BA                   Luke Youlden                         10th                     5^th
2006       #1 Caltex/SBR Falcon BA                   Luke Youlden                         9^th                        4^th
2007       #9 Caltex/SBR Falcon BF                   Luke Youlden                         10^th                      DNF

Other career highlights                                
Winner, Bathurst 1000 - 1995, 1997
Winner, Queensland 500 – 1999
Winner, Japanese F3 Championship – 1994
Winner, Formula Ford Festival – 1993
Winner, British Formula Ford Championship – 1991
Winner, Australian Formula Ford Championship – 1990
2^nd Australian Formula Ford Championship – 1989

or further information on Russell Ingall and his career successes visit: www.russellingall.com.au