Team Bristol Street Motors Targets More Donington Success

Team Bristol Street Motors Targets More Donington Success

Team Bristol Street Motors will bid to add to its recent run of success at Donington Park when the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship returns to the East Midlands circuit this weekend for the eighth meeting of the campaign.

The EXCELR8-run team has enjoyed a rich run of form at the circuit in recent years, having scored at least one win at every event held at the venue since the start of the 2022 season.

That run of five wins from the last twelve Donington Park races includes an impressive success last season when the full Grand Prix layout returned to the schedule for the first time in two decades, as well as a double victory on the shorter National layout earlier this year.

Donington Park is also the circuit where the Hyundai i30 Fastback N made its BTCC debut back in 2020, scoring a podium finish on its first weekend of competition.

Despite a challenging weekend at Knockhill two weeks ago, a fine run to second place in the final race allowed Tom Ingram to remain on top of the championship standings as he bids to reclaim the title he won back in 2022.

Ingram has scored more wins at Donington Park than any other circuit on the BTCC schedule, with seven previous victories, and he will look to overcome the penalty of having a minimal allowance of hybrid for qualifying and race one to challenge for a strong haul of weekend points.

Tom Chilton joined Ingram on the podium in the final race at Knockhill as he secured his third top three finish of the campaign.

The BTCC veteran sits ninth in the championship standings in what is already his best season to date with the team, and will be looking to strengthen his position inside the top ten at a venue where he has scored one of his two wins at the wheel of the Hyundai.

Nick Halstead meanwhile scored his second points finish of the season last time out in Scotland as he prepares to return to a circuit where he has more experience than most of the field from his time competing in the British GT Championship.

Halstead will look to make the most of that knowledge as he once again pushes to try and bring home a top 15 finish in the highly-competitive field, with Donington Park kicking off a run of circuits where the Jack Sears Trophy contender is confident of fighting for strong on-track results after revisions to his set-up paid dividends in Scotland.

The line-up this weekend is completed by Vertu MINI CHALLENGE champion Dan Zelos, who steps up from his role as official reserve driver into a race seat for the event on what will be his BTCC debut.

Whilst only the medium compound of Goodyear tyre will be available for the three races this weekend, there will be an element of additional strategy for Saturday with teams able to utilise three sets of carryover tyres from previous events – opening up the opportunity to make use of a different compound during qualifying.

Tom Chilton, #3 Team Team Bristol Street Motors Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“The performance of the car at the moment is fantastic and we’ve really got it in a good place, which is making it a real pleasure to drive. Having such a good car underneath me means I have the confidence to really push hard, and it means I’m feeling confident about what we can achieve on track this weekend.

“The fact we are going to have a decent amount of hybrid for qualifying and race one could be key to our chances of success, as a good position on the grid could be even more important this weekend when we only have one compound of tyre to run in the three races.

“I’m looking forward to running with some additional backing on my car this weekend from Vansdirect, and it will be good to welcome Dan into the BTCC line-up for the first time given the success he has enjoyed in the MINI CHALLENGE.

"On a personal level, we’ve got to try and make sure we maximise our performance on Saturday to try and get into Q3, and having scored podiums in the last two rounds, I’m looking to try and pick up a hat-trick this weekend to maintain the strong form I’ve shown since the summer break.”

Nick Halstead, #22 Team Bristol Street Motors Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“I feel really positive going into the weekend on the back of Knockhill and the changes that we made to the car, which I think are going to really suite Donington Park. The changes were quite radical and have given me a the confidence to push a lot more, which I hope to be able to now take advantage of.

“Donington Park GP is probably one of the circuits that I know better than most because of my time in British GT and it is one where I’ve had some strong results in the past, which I’m hoping will be the case again this time around.

“I’ve been quicker at every circuit we’ve raced on this season after a grid that is even stronger than last year, and with the set-up changes, I think I can be right there in the fight for some points. Having been second in the Jack Sears Trophy at Knockhill it would be great if I could go for the class win this weekend.”

Tom Ingram, #80 Team Bristol Street Motors Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“The revised tyre rules this weekend have the potential to shake things up quite a bit on Saturday although as the same time, it will largely be dependent on what the weather decides to do with the potential for rain. If it stays dry, then there will be a lot of things to think about tactically but we are all going to be taking a bit of a step into the unknown and will have to see what the impact will be.

“Either way, Saturday is going to be key this weekend because we only have the medium tyre to use on Sunday. At Knockhill for example we were able to take the hit of using the slower tyre in the first race knowing we had the quicker tyre left to work our way forwards in races two and three, and that isn’t something that is going to be an option if we find ourselves out of position on the grid.

“Our approach just has to remain the same as it has done all season, and that is to maximise the results across the three races and score as many points as possible. We can’t control what others are doing so need to focus on making sure our car is dialled in and be as quick as it can be. We know from previous events that the Hyundai is a strong package at Donington and hopefully we enjoy another strong weekend.”

Justina Williams, Team Owner, said:
“Donington Park has been a happy hunting ground for us in recent seasons, so we go into the weekend optimistic about a strong weekend on track. With three rounds to go, we’re getting into the business end of the season now where every single point is more important than event, so it’s crucial that we continue to work hard as a team to maximise our performance and secure the best results possible from three races.”