Ingall considers co-driving

Russell Ingall is seriously considering ending his full-time V8 Supercars racing career in 2015 to pursue the dream of another Bathurst win.

Ingall admits his thought process has been crystalised by fellow veteran Paul Morris' surprise victory in the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 in a factory Ford Falcon co-driving with Chaz Mostert.

Ingall won at Bathurst in 1995 and 1997 with Larry Perkins in Castrol Commodores and has made 23 starts in the classic event.

He has also been a full-time competitor in the Australian Touring Car/V8 Supercars Championship since 1996, winning the drivers' title in 2005 with Stone Brothers Racing.

Ingall thinks he is more likely to win the race again co-driving for one of the big teams than as the lead driver at Lucas Dumbrell's small operation, which he joined this year.

"I would like to get another Bathurst under my belt, but to do that I am going to have to be with a good team and another good driver," Ingall told v8supercars.com.au.

"I would love to get another Bathurst win - probably the whole Morris thing spurred me on."

Morris' victory at Bathurst was his first in the great race and came in his 22nd start.

There is no doubt if he did become available as a co-driver, Ingall would be in demand among the top teams because of the pace he continues to show, even as he turned 50 this year.

As Paul Dumbrell has demonstrated in the Pirtek Enduro Cup in the #1 Red Bull Racing Commodore he shared with championship favourite Jamie Whincup, having a co-driver capable of lead driver times is a huge advantage.

"I can pace with any of the main game drivers no problems at all," said Ingall. "And I could do that next year.

"So whoever I go up against if I decided to go down that road, whichever team I go with, they are going to have some pretty good options because I could probably pace as quick and as good as their lead driver."

Ingall admitted the challenge of racing a full season for a small team knowing wins were an almost impossible achievement made the prospect of committing to another full season harder.

"It's a big drain the whole full year and at the end of the day I am still a very, very competitive person and I know I am only going to get so far at this end of the grid.

"But I still come in angry even when I come in eighth. I can see the leader, he is just up there.

"But you need that extra car and that extra money to get up there."

Last weekend at the Castrol EDGE Gold Coast 600 Ingall and co-driver Tim Blanchard scored excellent ninth and eighth places in the two 300km races in a GRM-built Holden Commodore VF borrowed from Dragon Motor Racing.

That was necessitated by Blanchard's shunt late in the Bathurst race when the suspension failed in the team's regular Repair Management Australia Holden Commodore.

Earlier in the race, when a podium finish in the topsy-turvy race was looking distinctly possible, Ingall had a self-admitted moment of "brain fade" and took out Lee Holdsworth at turn two.

The Erebus Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG ended on its roof and Ingall stayed on the scene in his car until it was confirmed that Holdsworth was okay.

Ingall admitted his mistake had weighed on him.

"I help Lee out with his racing stuff and the team has a lot of history there with the old SBR team and a lot of those guys are still there, so that plays on your mind and it was pretty upsetting. You never like to do that and it gives those guys extra work they didn't need.

"But on the other side that's racing and that's what I try to tell our guys. Our guys were down in the dumps a bit too. But if you come into this show not expecting to have a few hits then you're dreaming. That's the way it is, it's so bloody competitive."