Russell Ingall (born 24 February 1964 in London, England) is a former full-time Australian

V8 Supercar The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

driver. He won his V8 Supercars title in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

, and finished second in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

. Ingall has also won the

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most rece ...

, in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

and

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

. His particular driving style earned him the nickname "Enforcer".

Early years

Ingall was born in England and moved to

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

with his father at the age of three. His father was a motor mechanic and operated a service station, his mother passed away from

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

at a young age. Ingall began his motor racing career at age 12 competing at the

Whyalla Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta ...

go-kart track in South Australia. After winning an Australian Junior and several Senior karting Championships he moved overseas to race

karts Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on ful ...

in Europe before making the transition into

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

. During his karting career he lost his right-index finger at the first joint in an accident, however this didn't affect his racing. Competing in only his second

event, Ingall finished third in a support race at the

1988 Australian Grand Prix The 1988 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Adelaide Street Circuit on 13 November 1988. It was the sixteenth and final race of the 1988 Formula One World Championship, and the last race for which turbocharged engi ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. Over the next few years Ingall proved to be a force in the Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series finishing runner-up before claiming the crown in the 1990. In 1990, he co-drove a

Bob Forbes Racing Bob Forbes Racing was an Australian motor racing team that competed in the Australian Touring Car Championship between 1988 and 1993. History Bob Forbes Racing was founded in 1988 by former Australian touring car competitor Bob Forbes. A part ...

Holden Commodore VL The Holden Commodore (VL) is a mid-size car that was produced by Holden from 1986 to 1988. It was the final iteration of the first generation of the Holden Commodore and included the luxury variant, Holden Calais (VL). Between February 1986 a ...

at the

with Kevin Bartlett Ingall headed to Europe in 1991. After almost claiming the

British Formula Ford Championship The British Formula Ford Championship was an entry level single seater motor racing category, designed to give racing drivers their first step into car racing after karting. Drivers from around the world were attracted to the United Kingdom to ...

in 1991, and making a promising debut in the GM-Lotus formula, Ingall moved to Germany to drive for Team Schübel in the

German Formula Three Championship The German Formula Three Championship was the national Formula Three championship of Germany, and the former West Germany, from 1950 to 2002, then as Formel 3 until 2014. In 2003, the series had merged with the French Formula Three Championship ...

. Ingall also had the opportunity to compete in Peter Wearing Smith's team at the

Macau Grand Prix The Macau Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prémio de Macau; ) is a motorsport road race for automobiles and motorcycles held annually in Macau. It is the only street circuit racing event in which both cars and motorcycles participate, and one of onl ...

, where he started 23rd and overtook David Coulthard to finish in fifth position. Over the northern winter Ingall competed in the New Zealand Formula Ford series, winning easily with 10 victories from 12 races. Ingall made history in 1993 returning to the United Kingdom to drive for the factory Van Diemen team to win 13 out of the 16 races in the

and in the process recording the highest number of wins in a single season in the history of

. The season was finished off by winning one of the most prestigious single-seater events – the

Formula Ford Festival The Formula Ford Festival is an annual meeting of Ford-powered single-seat racing cars which is held at the end of the British racing season, at the Brands Hatch motor racing circuit in the county of Kent, in Southern England. The events are hel ...

and World Cup at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hos ...

in England. Ingall was never able to live up to his full potential in Europe due to a lack of funding and later returned to Australia. This was common for Australian race drivers in Europe.

V8 Supercar

Part-time drives

After spending the first half of 1994 in the

Japanese Formula 3 Championship was a national motor racing championship that takes place in Japan. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis. As a result of Formula 3 naming regulations by the FIA, on 13 August 2019, series pr ...

Ingall made his return to Touring Cars, having previously driven for the

team in 1990, driving for Wayne Gardner Racing at the

Sandown 500 The Sandown 500 (formally known as the Penrite Oil Sandown 500) is an annual endurance motor race which is staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1964. The event's name, distance – and the category of cars co ...

and

. Ingall and

Win Percy Winston "Win" Percy (born 28 September 1943, near Tolpuddle, Dorset) is a former motor racing driver from England. Percy was British Touring Car Champion three times, and at the time of his retirement was the most successful non-Antipodean drive ...

led at Bathurst for some time before finishing fifth.

Perkins Engineering

Ingall went on to win the 1995 British

Formula Renault Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before moving on to hig ...

Championship before joining Perkins Engineering for its campaign for the endurance races back in Australia. Ingall figured prominently in the team's epic last to first victory at Bathurst. He would then become a permanent face of the

Championship throughout 1996 season. During his first year, Ingall claimed his maiden victory at Calder Park and then went on to win the

for the second time in 1997. He also finished second in

and

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. In his seven years with Perkins Engineering, Ingall finish runner-up in the championship three times (

and

) and was third in

Stone Brothers Racing

Following seven years with the Perkins team Ingall moved to

Stone Brothers Racing Stone Brothers Racing (SBR) was an Australian motor racing team that competed in the International V8 Supercars Championship between 1998 and 2012. The team was formed in 1998 when Ross and Jim Stone bought Alan Jones's shares in Alan Jones ...

at the start of 2003 in winning style taking out the support races at the

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venu ...

. He also went on to win rounds at the Queensland 300 and the Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge at the

Lexmark Indy 300 The Gold Coast Indy 300 was an annual open-wheel motor race event that took place at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia from 1991 to 2008. The challenging track, alongside a strip of beaches, had seve ...

on the

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the na ...

before eventually finishing seventh outright in the championship. In 2004 Ingall was again consistent with the highlight of the season coming with a round win at Symmons Plains in round 12. In the final round at

Eastern Creek Raceway Sydney Motorsport Park (known until May 2012 as Eastern Creek International Raceway) is a motorsport circuit located on Brabham Drive, Eastern Creek (40-kilometres west of the Sydney CBD), New South Wales, Australia, adjacent to the Western Sy ...

, he finished third overall to jump from fourth to second in the championship in his

Caltex Caltex is a petroleum brand name of Chevron Corporation used in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and Southern Africa. It is also the brand name of non-Chevron petroleum companies in some countries (such as New Zealand, and previously A ...

Ford Falcon BA The Ford Falcon (BA) is a full-sized car produced by Ford Australia from 2002 to 2005. It was the second significantly re-engineered iteration of the sixth generation of the Falcon, and also included the Ford Fairmont (BA)—the luxury-oriented ...

and give Stone Brothers Racing an historic 1–2 finish as his teammate

Marcos Ambrose Marcos Ambrose (born 1 September 1976) is an Australian former racing driver and current Garry Rogers Motorsport competition director. He won the Australian V8 Supercar series' championship in 2003 and 2004. In 2006, Ambrose relocated to the Un ...

won the championship. In 2005 Ingall went one better, collecting his first

championship after having been runner-up four times. Ingall went into the season with a plan and he followed it to the final race of the season, which was held at the

Phillip Island Phillip Island ( Boonwurrung: ''Corriong'', ''Worne'' or ''Millowl'') is an Australian island about south-southeast of Melbourne, Victoria. The island is named after Governor Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, by explore ...

circuit. He raced "smarter" than he ever had before and worked out his strategy around the

V8 Supercars The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

points system to collect the title ahead of

Craig Lowndes Craig Andrew Lowndes (born 21 June 1974) is an Australian racing driver in the Repco Supercars Championship competing in the Holden ZB Commodore for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He is also a TV commentator. Lowndes is a three-time V8 Sup ...

and Marcos Ambrose. In 2006 Ingall saw the championship slip from his grasp due to poor performance from his car which saw him finish the championship in eighth place. In the lead-up to the 2007 season finale, Ingall announced he was Holden bound, thus leaving Stone Brothers Racing and Ford after five years. He finished the championship for the first time outside the top 10, placing a disappointing eleventh. For 2008 Ingall moved to

Paul Morris Motorsport Paul Morris Motorsport, also known as its business name of Nemo Racing, is an Australian motor racing team that competed in V8 Supercars between 2000 and 2012. The team also won the 1997 AMP Bathurst 1000 and four Australian Super Touring Cha ...

Supercheap Auto Racing

Ingall returned to the Holden fray in 2008 with

, now sponsored by automotive parts retailer

Supercheap Auto Supercheap Auto is an Australian automotive parts and accessories retailer. It was founded in 1972, operating as a mail-order business and opened its first store in Brisbane in 1974. It now has 300 stores across Australia and New Zealand. H ...

. Ingall's debut race meeting for his new team proved less than ideal. Finishing in 14th place in the first leg of the

Clipsal 500 The Adelaide 500 (also known as the VALO Adelaide 500 for sponsorship reasons) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars held on the streets of the east end of Adelaide, South Australia between 1999 to 2020 and again from 2022. It is someti ...

, contact with the wall at Turn 8 during the morning warmup saw steering and suspension damage to the No. 39 car. Repairs were made in time for the start of Race 2, but the car was not the same, and he retired after just two laps, with failure in the ignition system. “If I didn't stick it in (during) the warm up, the distributor drive would have probably gone in the warm-up so we would have found the problem before the race, so one thing led to another," said Ingall. "At the end of the day it was all related to the shunt.” In 2010, Ingall was joined by New Zealander

Greg Murphy Gregory Murphy (born 23 August 1972) is a New Zealand professional racing driver, best known as a four-time winner of the Bathurst 1000. Greg Murphy joined Jeremy Clarkson and James May presenting Top Gear Live, when it had its first intern ...

. Ingall remained with Paul Morris Motorsport until the end of 2011. In 2012, Ingall moved to

Walkinshaw Racing Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team currently fields two Holden ZB Commodores in the Supercars Championship for Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert, along with a Porsche ...

, with the Supercheap Auto sponsorship. In 2013, Ingall continued the use of the No. 66 car, however, 2013 saw the change to the new

Holden VF Commodore The Holden Commodore (VF) is an executive car that was produced by Holden between June 2013 and October 2017. It was the second and last significantly restyled iteration of the fourth (and final) generation of the Holden Commodore to be manufa ...

. Ingall's form for the year thus far has been inconsistent. At

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

, Ingall celebrated his 226th race start (a new record beating John Bowe's 225) by using No. 226 on his car. In the Endurance events, Ingall teamed up with IndyCar racer

Ryan Briscoe Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America. In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third ...

Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport

After toying with the idea of retiring from full-time motorsports in 2014, Ingall announced returned to V8 Supercars in the 2014 season with Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport. At the end of 2014, Ingall retired from full-time driving. He will still compete as a co-driver in the three endurance races.

Return to V8 Supercars

In 2015, Ingall signed with the Holden Racing Team to race in the endurance series after

James Courtney James Anthony Courtney (born 29 June 1980) is an Australian racing driver competing in the Repco Supercars Championship. He currently drives the No. 5 Ford Mustang GT for Tickford Racing. Courtney won the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series ...

was injured in a freak accident. Ingall competed in the

and the

with HRT. With Courtney returning to race in the Gold Coast 600,

Prodrive Racing Australia Tickford Racing (formerly known as Prodrive Racing Australia and Ford Performance Racing) is an Australian motor racing team which competes in the Supercars Championship. The team currently campaigns three Ford Mustangs, with their current drive ...

signed Ingall as a replacement for

Chaz Mostert Chaz Mostert (born 10 April 1992) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Repco Supercars Championship. He currently drives the No. 25 Holden ZB Commodore for Walkinshaw Andretti United. Mostert was the winner of the 202 ...

, who was unable to drive due to injuries from his Bathurst crash.

Nissan Motorsport

Ingall signed with

Nissan Motorsport , abbreviated as Nismo, is a division of Nissan Motorsports & Customizing focused in motorsport and performance-oriented car models for Nissan. Nismo was initially a company, , formed in 1984 as a result of a merger of two motorsport departmen ...

to race in the Pirtek Enduro Cup in 2016 and joined Rick Kelly in the No. 15 Nissan Altima.

Triple Eight Race Engineering

Ingall made a return to the championship in a Triple Eight Race Engineering wildcard in the 2021 Bathurst 1000 alongside Broc Feeney in a

backed #39

Holden Commodore ZB The Opel Insignia is a large family car (D-segment in Europe) developed and produced by the German car manufacturer Opel since 2008. Taking its name from a 2003 concept car, the model line serves as the flagship Opel car line, slotted above the ...

Other racing

In October 2018, Ingall made his Stadium Super Trucks debut at Sydney Motorsport Park. He finished seventh and fifth in the weekend's two races. The following year, he returned to the series for the Gold Coast 600 round. In April 2021, Ingall took over for the injured Nash Morris for the series' final two races at Symmons Plains.

Media career

In 2015, Ingall was appointed a co-host on

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...

coverage of

with five-time champion and former rival

Mark Skaife Mark Skaife (born 3 April 1967) is a retired Australian motor racing driver. Skaife is a five-time champion of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor, the Australian Touring Car Championship, as well as a six-time Bath ...

. Ingall hosts an online video series titled ''Enforcer and The Dude'' alongside Paul Morris. In October 2020, Ingall became the brand ambassador for Soudal Australia for their innovative range of sealants, expanding foams and adhesives. Soudal are best known for their sealant adhesive called T-Rex which fixes, bonds and seals everything to everything.

Career results

Holden VE Commodore of Russell Ingall 2012

Holden VF Commodore of Russell Ingall 2013

Complete Australian Touring Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

Super Touring Super Touring, Class 2 or Class II was a motor racing Touring Cars category defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for national touring car racing in 1993. It was based on the "2 litre Touring Car Formula" created ...

race

Stadium Super Trucks

( key) (Bold – Pole position. Italics – Fastest qualifier. * – Most laps led.)

Boost Mobile Super Trucks

( key) (Bold – Pole position. Italics – Fastest qualifier. * – Most laps led.) Season in progress.

TCR Australia results

References

External links

Ingall's Official Website

Driver Database stats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingall, Russell Supercars Championship drivers British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers German Formula Three Championship drivers Japanese Formula 3 Championship drivers 1964 births Living people Bathurst 1000 winners Formula Ford drivers Australian Touring Car Championship drivers Stadium Super Trucks drivers Australian people of English descent Sportspeople from London Racing drivers from South Australia Australian Endurance Championship drivers Kelly Racing drivers Nismo drivers BMW M drivers Stone Brothers Racing drivers