Supercheap Auto Racing’s Russell Ingall will draw level with Peter Brock at the Coates Hire Ipswich 300 this weekend.
Ingall will make his 212th Australian Touring Car/V8 Supercar Championship event start, moving him to equal third on the all-time most starts list with Brock – only John Bowe (225) and Mark Skaife (220) with more.
If Ingall continues in the championship next year, he will break Bowe’s record in the seventh event of the 2013 championship.
The 2005 V8 champion says that he is honoured to have reached Brock’s milestone mark.
“To have my name mentioned in the same breath as Peter Brock is an honour,” Ingall said.
“It’s fantastic to still be racing V8 Supercars and, most importantly, still be competitive, but I never dreamed of racing as long as Peter.”
Ingall says he had fond memories of Brock, watching him race at Bathurst and then racing alongside his hero.
“I remember when I was a kid waking up early Sunday morning to watch Bathurst with my dad and going for Brocky, then all of a sudden I was sitting next to him on the grid,” he said.
“One of his last races at Oran Park we raced wheel-to-wheel.
“He was a clean racer, you could race doorhandle-to-doorhandle without touching. There was no way I was going to get mixed up and send him off-track, he was such a legend with the fans I would have been crucified.”
Ingall made his ATCC/V8SC debut with Larry Perkins renowned Castrol Perkins Racing Holden team in 1996.
Ingall has made 490 race starts, winning 27 times and finishing top three on 90 occasions. He has finished inside the top 10 in series points an incredible 13 times in 16 seasons.
Four-times a series runner-up (1998, 99, 2001, 04), Ingall crowned his career by winning the 2005 V8 Supercar Championship.
Ingall current sits 20th in the V8 Supercars Championship.
