Ingram: I dug deep for ERC Junior victory

The 22-year-old Briton had claimed four podiums from the four prior events, but knew he had to beat his rival and Opel team-mate Marijan Griebel to the victory in Zlín, else the German would have secured the title. An accident one week earlier on ADAC Rallye Deutschland meant he didn't arrive fully confident that he could pull of such a feat, but he and co-driver Elliott Edmondson went on to control the event from start to finish.

"We are absolutely delighted to have taken the win here," said Ingram. "My two most recent crashes have been WRC Germany last week and here in Barum last year, so it was quite difficult mentally to believe we could win. We dug deep and really wanted it.

"I had some great advice from Jan Kopecký before the event and came up with a strategy. I was in sync with the car, setup and my co-driver on the bumpy and technical stages so was able to push to the limit when needed to build a lead of 47 seconds after the first leg. My Opel team did an awesome job to keep the Adam R2 running perfectly as it was a tough event for many teams.

"It was a huge team effort and it’s thanks to all the guys, Elliott, my partners and supporters who all played a big part in this result!”

Both Ingram and Griebel will go to next month's Rally Liepāja knowing a win will likely secure them the title.