Halfords Racing with Cataclean star takes penultimate pole position of BTCC season

Three-time BTCC champion Gordon Shedden claimed his first pole position of the season earlier today (9 October), as the Halfords Racing with Cataclean star dipped under the existing Donington Park qualifying lap record by just 0.004s.

Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing also had cause to celebrate as Daniel Lloyd and Jason Plato claimed second and third respectively.

The popular ‘Top Ten Showdown’ format was in operation for the third and final time this season, with the opening part of qualifying providing some startling lap times.

BTC Racing’s Senna Proctor led the way in the early segment with the top five cars separated by an incredible 0.068s, and the all-important top ten blanketed by a breathtaking 0.279s.

Such was the ultra-competitiveness that title contenders Tom Ingram (Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com) and Jake Hill (MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square) failed to make the showdown, as did practice pace-setter Adam Morgan (Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport) in his BMW 3 Series.

With lap times reset ahead of the final ten-minute session, all ten cars rejoined the 1.98-mile circuit to produce yet more fast and frenetic action.

Both Vauxhall Astras of Lloyd and Plato were on fine form – following the squad’s best showing of the season at Silverstone last time out – with pole position looking very much on the cards.

When the dust settled, however, it was Shedden rolling back the years to set the fastest BTCC lap ever around the famous Leicestershire circuit, as he edged out Lloyd by 0.033s, whilst Plato almost made it an old school front row for tomorrow’s opener.

Toyota Gazoo Racing UK’s Rory Butcher continued his recent run with fourth, fresh from his pole position and double victory at Silverstone two weeks ago, whilst Proctor had to settle for fifth on the grid.

Colin Turkington will look to keep his championship chances alive tomorrow with the Team BMW man fighting from sixth in the order, whilst Daniel Rowbottom completed a good day for the Team Dynamics-run Hondas with seventh.

Chris Smiley enjoyed a successful Saturday as he backed up his impressive practice pace with eighth in the showdown, whilst title challengers Ash Sutton (Laser Tools Racing) and Josh Cook (BTC Racing) completed the top ten.

Sutton holds a 36-point advantage in the Drivers’ Standings over Ingram, with Hill, Turkington and Cook all close behind.

Rounds 25, 26 and 27 of the 2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship take place at Donington Park tomorrow (10 October) with all three vital races of the penultimate race weekend of the campaign being screened live and exclusively on ITV4 from 1125.

Gordon Shedden said: “The car felt good today, but you’ve got to believe, and today I really believed that I was in it, a cracking lap in both sessions. It’s fantastic to have it go just my way – it was so, so close. These guys did a great job, but it’s fantastic to start from pole. I’m really, really happy.

“The most important thing is that the car feels really nice. It’s been in that sweet spot all day today, so hopefully it will transfer that to tomorrow. It’s been a long season and a lot has happened. So, to have the cards fall my way today, you wouldn’t believe how happy that makes me feel inside. You can see it from the looks on everyone’s faces in the team too so that’s really, really great.

“Everyone thrives on a little bit of momentum, and I think we never really got that momentum going this year, but fingers crossed we can finish the season strongly and see how we go.”

Dan Lloyd said: “That was amazing! We’ve had a really tough day: P18 in FP1, P12 in FP2. I think we’ve done about 11 flying laps all day. The car’s been in the garage as we’ve had issues with the setup, but we’ve really turned that around. We were P8 in the first bit of qualifying, then we made more tweaks. It’s really been about chipping away at it and driving the car to its full potential. I’m over the moon with a front row start in P2 and we’re on top of the car now, so what a turnaround for a day.

“To be honest with you, the issue this morning was because we’ve been trying some big things on the car that have been different to Silverstone. It was worth the risk because we want to keep moving forward, but those things didn’t work so we reverted back to how we did it at Silverstone and it just proves we’re finding something because we’ve gone back to it and we’re doing pretty good!”

Jason Plato said: “We’ve had a good run this morning and not really had any issues. We’ve just chipped away and slowly but surely improved the balance, we found something yesterday on the data. I had a call with my engineer and we just trawled through the data for a couple of hours. We didn’t really understand, my car, not necessarily Dan’s but certainly mine just doesn’t accelerate very well.

“We found an issue. So, they’ve made some changes and it appears to have made quite a difference. I don’t know where we are down the straights, but it feels better than we were. So I’m pleased, I think our race pace will be okay. It would be nice to get into the lead and spear off. Get nice fresh air in the front of the car, but I think that’s going to be difficult. It would be ace to win some races; it’s what I’m here for.”

2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Top Ten Showdown – Donington Park

1          Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean 1:08.994s
2          Daniel LLOYD (GBR) Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing +0.033s
3          Jason PLATO (GBR) Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing  +0.153s
4          Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Toyota Gazoo Racing UK +0.220s
5          Senna PROCTOR(GBR) BTC Racing +0.288s
6          Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.306s
7          Daniel ROWBOTTOM (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +0.366s
8          Chris SMILEY (GBR) Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com +0.471s
9          Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.499s
10        Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +0.550s

2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Qualifying – Donington Park

1          Senna PROCTOR(GBR) BTC Racing 1:09.051s
2          Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.025s
3          Daniel ROWBOTTOM (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +0.034s
4          Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.047s
5          Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +0.068s
6          Chris SMILEY (GBR) Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com +0.183s
7          Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Toyota Gazoo Racing UK +0.252s
8          Daniel LLOYD (GBR) Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing +0.254s
9          Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +0.223s
10        Jason PLATO (GBR) Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing  +0.279s
11        Adam MORGAN (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +0.316s
12        Tom INGRAM (GBR) Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com +0.323s
13        Jake HILL (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +0.334s
14        Sam OSBORNE (GBR) Racing with Wera & Photon Group +0.358s
15        Ollie JACKSON (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +0.387s
16        Jade EDWARDS (GBR) PHSC with BTC Racing +0.460s
17        Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team BMW +0.468s
18        Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +0.474s
19        Tom CHILTON (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +0.487s
20        Árón TAYLOR-SMITH (IRL) Team HARD. with HUB Financial Solutions +0.522s
21        Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.610s
22        Jack MITCHELL (GBR) Team HARD. with Autobrite Direct +0.628s
23        Jack BUTEL (GBR) EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com +0.669s
24        Sam SMELT (GBR) Toyota Gazoo Racing UK +0.727s
25        Rick PARFITT (GBR) EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com +0.815s
26        Jack GOFF (GBR) Team HARD. with Autobrite Direct +0.830s
27        Andy NEATE (GBR) Racing with Wera & Photon Group +0.975s
28        Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.008s
29        Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with iQuoto Online Trading +1.641s

Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing hit the top of the timesheets in the second Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship free practice session at Donington Park, as Jason Plato vaulted his Vauxhall Astra to P1 in the closing minutes.

Chris Smiley completed a successful practice programme in the Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com Hyundai, as he followed up solid morning pace with a run to second-fastest in the final session.

BTC Racing's Josh Cook repeated his FP1 performance by taking third, as the title outsider looks to stay in touch with the leading pack this weekend.

"We had to go through a few procedures after FP1 because we had a problem," said Cook. "The guys had to do a steering rack change between FP1 and FP2, which is quite a big job on this car. They had a lot of work to do. So, we just had to shake the car down again, make sure it was all good.

"The balance is in the car, I’m fairly happy with that. It doesn’t really need anything. We’ve just got to hope that our balance transfers over when we put new tyres on.

"We’re going to have to make this a good weekend. After Silverstone, which was a tough weekend for us, we want to come back and at least have some fun. Of course, we want to win because winning is fun, but if we can’t do that we’ll just have to put on a good show."

Gordon Shedden was fourth for Halfords Racing with Cataclean, whilst the Team HARD stable enjoyed one of its most competitive sessions, with Jack Mitchell and Aron Taylor-Smith in fifth and sixth respectively.

Rory Butcher (Toyota Gazoo Racing UK) and Tom Ingram (Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com) – often so inseparable on-track during recent campaigns – were seventh and eighth, whilst the Team BMW duo of Stephen Jelley and Tom Oliphant rounded out the top ten.

Qualifying for Round 25 of the 2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will take place at 1435 and will be streamed live via www.itv.com/btcc.

2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 2 – Donington Park

1             Jason PLATO (GBR) Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing  1:09.482s
2             Chris SMILEY (GBR) Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com +0.090s
3            Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +0.223s
4            Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +0.224s
5             Jack MITCHELL (GBR) Team HARD. with Autobrite Direct +0.269s
6             Árón TAYLOR-SMITH (IRL) Team HARD. with HUB Financial Solutions +0.282s
7            Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Toyota Gazoo Racing UK +0.289s
8             Tom INGRAM (GBR) Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com +0.294s
9             Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team BMW +0.373s
10          Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +0.389s
11          Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.392s
12          Daniel LLOYD (GBR) Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing +0.398s
13          Tom CHILTON (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +0.445s
14          Jake HILL (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +0.504s
15          Senna PROCTOR(GBR) BTC Racing +0.509s
16          Adam MORGAN (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +0.517s
17          Daniel ROWBOTTOM (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +0.529s
18          Sam SMELT (GBR) Toyota Gazoo Racing UK +0.543s
19          Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.633s
20          Jack BUTEL (GBR) EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com +0.636s
21          Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.783s
22          Jade EDWARDS (GBR) PHSC with BTC Racing +0.907s
23          Sam OSBORNE (GBR) Racing with Wera & Photon Group +1.009s
24          Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.095s
25          Ollie JACKSON (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +1.119s
26          Andy NEATE (GBR) Racing with Wera & Photon Group +1.208s
27          Jack GOFF (GBR) Team HARD. with Autobrite Direct +1.224s
28          Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with iQuoto Online Trading +1.506s
29          Rick PARFITT (GBR) EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com +1.761s

Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport’s Adam Morgan held off a late attack from the BTC Racing duo of Senna Proctor and Josh Cook to top the opening BTCC free practice session at Donington Park.

The BMW 3 Series of Morgan set a fastest lap time of 1:09.840s, which was just 0.003s quicker than Proctor’s Honda, whilst Cook also lapped within a tenth of the benchmark.

Cook was best-placed of the main championship contenders, whilst he was followed on the timesheets by the manufacturer-backed Toyotas of Rory Butcher and Sam Smelt.

Halfords Racing with Cataclean’s Gordon Shedden – still chasing a first win of the season – was sixth-fastest, ahead of the Draper Tools sponsored Hyundai of Chris Smiley.

Championship leader Ash Sutton performed consistently as ever, with the #1 Laser Tools Racing Infiniti coming home eighth, ahead of title rival Tom Ingram in the Ginsters-backed EXCELR8 Hyundai.

Aron Taylor-Smith rounded out the top ten, fresh from announcing his new multi-year deal with Team HARD.

The rest of the Team HARD camp endured tougher times in the opening session, with off-track moments for both Jack Goff and Nic Hamilton bringing out the red flags.

Free Practice 2 takes place at 1210, before Qualifying for Round 25 of the 2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship commences at 1435. Qualifying will again be in the showdown format, as carried out at Snetterton and Silverstone, and will be streamed live via www.itv.com/btcc.

Adam Morgan said: “That’s nice, isn’t it? I spent a lot of time over the week with my engineer Steve and we’ve been discussing various different setups on the car and what we want to try and achieve with it. It’s a learning year for us. We’ve gone back to a setup that we used earlier in the year, which we tried and experimented with, and it worked. Then we tried a different avenue and explored that, but we’re back to it now and it seems alright.

“I’ve surprised myself really with some of the pace I’ve shown. To have two wins and two podiums in our first year, I didn’t think that was going to happen. It’s been good. At one point we were P5 in the championship and I really thought we could be a title contender, that’s faded now, but for us it’s scoring points, learning as much as we can about the car and hopefully coming back stronger next year.”

2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 1 – Donington Park

1             Adam MORGAN (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +1:09.840s
2             Senna PROCTOR(GBR) BTC Racing +0.003s
3            Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +0.099s
4            Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Toyota Gazoo Racing UK +0.110s
5            Sam SMELT (GBR) Toyota Gazoo Racing UK +0.245s
6            Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +0.248s
7             Chris SMILEY (GBR) Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com +0.282s
8            Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.344s
9             Tom INGRAM (GBR) Ginsters EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com +0.382s
10          Árón TAYLOR-SMITH (IRL) Team HARD. with HUB Financial Solutions +0.437s
11          Jake HILL (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +0.441s
12          Tom CHILTON (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +0.443s
13          Jason PLATO (GBR) Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing +0.495s
14          Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.514s
15          Daniel ROWBOTTOM (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +0.549s
16          Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team BMW +0.674s
17          Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +0.692s
18          Daniel LLOYD (GBR) Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing +0.762s
19          Ollie JACKSON (GBR) MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square +0.776s
20          Jack MITCHELL (GBR) Team HARD. with Autobrite Direct +0.832s
21          Andy NEATE (GBR) Racing with Wera & Photon Group +0.963s
22          Jack GOFF (GBR) Team HARD. with Autobrite Direct +0.980s
23          Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +0.983s
24          Sam OSBORNE (GBR) Racing with Wera & Photon Group +1.158s
25          Jack BUTEL (GBR) EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com +1.431s
26          Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with iQuoto Online Trading +1.560s
27          Rick PARFITT (GBR) EXCELR8 with TradePriceCars.com +1.665s
28          Jade EDWARDS (GBR) PHSC with BTC Racing +2.012s
29          Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +8.104s

Place your bets with Joe Jennings Bookmakers

Official Sports Betting Partner of the BTCC – Pitch Sport – has today (8 October) announced a partnership with one of the UK’s oldest and most trusted independent bookmakers – Joe Jennings.

Betting is open for this weekend’s event at Donington Park with Colin Turkington currently listed as the evens money favourite to win the opener, with Josh Cook and Ash Sutton following closely behind.

Of course, when it comes to calculating odds, the driver, team and car are all taken into account, including recent form, circuit history, qualifying results and success ballast, so check the full list above to see where your favourite driver is currently listed.

If you want to have a bet on the BTCC and get a £10 offer exclusively then visit www.joejennings.co.uk and use the code BTCC to get the best odds.

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After two victories in as many outings, Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship driver Jake Hill heads to Donington Park this weekend (9/10 October) focussing on continuing his strong run of form and maintaining his championship challenge. 

"The Motorbase crew and the Ford Focus ST have been superb all season. In the last few weekends we've really increased the momentum, getting on the podium every weekend since Knockhill, and of course the two wins have really showed what we are capable of. I absolutely love Donington; it's up there in my top three circuits in the UK, so we head there in very confident form.”

Hill lies third in the Drivers’ Standings, so carries 57kg of success ballast into qualifying and race one on Sunday, and is sandwiched between Tom Ingram and Colin Turkington in the title battle, with just four points separating the three drivers.

Out front is current champion Ashley Sutton, who has a 36-point lead over Ingram, and 38 points over Hill, the Laser Tools Racing driver demonstrating impressive consistency as the series enters its final six races.

“Ash is a class act. He and the car both seem to be strong everywhere, and it carries the success ballast better than the front-wheel drive cars which makes him tough to beat. Some people are saying the championship is already his, which is understandable I suppose, but there's six races, with 22 points per race possible — and the prospect of some autumn rain could really shake things up. It's exciting to be part of the fight, and I'm determined to be in it to the end.”

The cars hit the track for two forty-minute practice sessions at 0930 and 1210, with the qualifying showdown live at itv.com/btcc from 1430 on Saturday 9 October.

Sunday’s (10 October) action gets underway with the first of the 16-lap races at 1155, with race two at 1435 and the final race at 1720, all shown live on ITV4.

"The season has flown by — after this weekend we'll just have Brands GP left, and I would love to still be in the championship fight going to my 'home' track. It should be fun!"

Following a successful outing at Silverstone during the latest rounds of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, the Official BTCC website caught up with the Team Principal of Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing – Adam Weaver – as he reflected on the squad's campaign so far.

As well as discussing aspects such as the highly competitive grid this year, the ups and downs of motorsport and managing expectations, the team boss gives insight into the squad's approach to the final two race weekends and more in the exclusive interview.

"We've had 20 top ten finishes this year across both drivers, and three of those were podiums... It's a really, really tough championship to win races in. It's a tough championship to be inside the top ten, so you have to focus on those things. But everybody wants more, which can lead to some frustrations at times."

Adam Weaver, Team Principal
Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing

Listen to the full interview below...

Hot on the heels of Rory Butcher’s dominant double victory at Silverstone, Toyota Gazoo Racing UK will travel to the Toyota Corolla’s ‘home’ track of Donington Park this weekend (9/10 October) with its sights firmly fixed on more silverware in the penultimate outing of the 2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship campaign.

Butcher and the Corolla proved to be an irresistible combination at Silverstone, as the 34-year-old Kirkcaldy native topped both practice sessions, both qualifying sessions and two of the three races to climb from tenth to seventh in the Drivers’ standings in the UK’s premier motor racing series.

As he bids to build upon that success, the former BTCC Independents’ Champion and Jack Sears Trophy winner can take confidence from his recent results at Donington Park, having tallied a brace of podiums there last year and posted the fastest race lap of the weekend the season before.

That same day in 2019, indeed, the British-built Corolla achieved its maiden BTCC triumph in only its sixth start in the fiercely-disputed series, in front of 4,500 members and families from Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK (TMUK) in nearby Burnaston, where the Japanese car maker’s popular hatchback is produced.

Donington is similarly home turf for Leicester-born Sam Smelt. The 25-year-old reached the rostrum in the British GT Championship at his local circuit last season behind the wheel of Speedworks Motorsport’s Toyota GR Supra GT4 and has shown a genuine upturn in form in recent events, lapping consistently inside the top ten during free practice at both Croft and Silverstone – momentum he is aiming to maintain this weekend.

Every moment of Sunday’s doorhandle-to-doorhandle action will be broadcast live and in high-definition on ITV4, beginning at 1125.

“I’m feeling really positive going to Donington,” said Butcher. “It will obviously be difficult to replicate what we did at Silverstone, but I’m confident we will be able to fight up at the sharp end again and if we can get ourselves into the top five in qualifying, that will put us in a great position for race day.

“We’ve made so many changes to the Corolla over the course of the season based upon what I need from it, and at Croft everything finally came together. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to show it there due to the engine failure in qualifying, but we certainly made amends at Silverstone. That felt like a weekend that had been coming for a long time.

“I’m approaching Donington the same way – just focussing on getting the very most out of myself and the car – and hopefully we can start off in FP1 with a set-up that allows me to really push, and after that just make small tweaks throughout the weekend.

“I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite track on the calendar, but I’ve done quite well there in previous years and I think the Corolla’s strengths should be well-suited to the nature of the circuit. Points and trophies are very much the target, and I think we stand a good chance. The guys and girls at TMUK are putting in so much hard work back at the factory, and we will do our utmost to make them proud this weekend.”

“I’ve always tended to go fairly well at Donington – it’s definitely one of my stronger circuits – and I’m feeling optimistic,” added Smelt. “It’s quite different to some of the tracks we’ve been to recently with its fast, flowing layout. You need a really well-balanced car to have the confidence to push to the limit and that’s one of the Corolla’s key attributes, so there’s no reason at all why we shouldn’t be quick.

“Our performance as a team and Rory’s results at Silverstone gave us a lot of confidence, and both there and at Croft, we proved that if we can get off to a good start out-of-the-box in FP1, we can then carry that speed throughout the weekend. That progress is real testament to all the hard work going on behind the scenes.

“Qualifying has clearly been our weakness, with a different problem seeming to scupper us each time. We need to make sure the tyres are in the right window at the right moment, and with a little bit of luck on our side, I have no doubt that we can reproduce our practice form when it really counts. We were less than a tenth-of-a-second away from making it through to the top ten showdown at Silverstone, and traffic shouldn’t be so much of an issue at Donington so I’m hopeful that we can start much further up the grid.

“With it being my home track, I’ll have quite a lot of family and friends coming along so I really want to put on a good performance for them all. The aim for the weekend has to be three solid points-scoring finishes – and anything beyond that would be a bonus.”

After battling through a tough weekend at Silverstone, Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport drivers Adam Morgan and Tom Chilton are heading to Donington Park (9/10 October) hoping to put the bad luck during recent rounds of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship behind them, at a circuit which last year saw both drivers consistently bag points throughout the weekend.

The pair will be aiming to capitalise on the returning Top Ten Showdown qualifying format in Leicestershire, after Chilton narrowly missed out at Silverstone and an engine change for Morgan meant the team struggled to put an optimum set-up on the car during the initial session.

Having survived his most challenging weekend of the campaign to date last time out, including a non-finish in the opening race, Morgan heads to Donington Park determined to get things back on track in his tenth year in the BTCC.

While his last trip to the podium on the 1.98-mile circuit came in the shape of a victory in 2018, Morgan’s record of points finishes there sits at 22 out of a possible 27, so this weekend could see the Lancashire racer add to his tally.

As Chilton - also a Donington Park race winner - continues his adjustment to rear-wheel drive machinery in 2021, the 36-year-old is aiming to build on the pace and potential he showed at Silverstone with a little more luck in Leicestershire.

With Morgan sitting 11th in the Drivers’ Standings, while Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport holds eighth in the Teams’ battle, consistent points will be the squad's goal this weekend, with all of Sunday’s race day action available on ITV4 from 1125.

“We go to Donington Park with optimism, intent on putting on a good show for our sponsors,” said Commercial Director Norman Burgess. “It is a different kind of circuit [than Silverstone] and neither car will carry success weight into race one, so that will give us an opportunity to score good results. Off-track, a huge crowd and good weather at Silverstone gave the BTCC a real buzz again and all our guests were delighted to be back at a circuit and cheering on the Car Gods, so roll on Donington!”

The penultimate event of the 2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is just around the corner, so the Official BTCC website is here to give you all the information you need to watch the action – either trackside or from the comfort of your sofa – from Donington Park this weekend (9/10 October)!

Advance tickets for Rounds 25, 26 and 27 of the campaign are on sale until Thursday at 1600 on the Donington Park website, with prices starting from £20 and under 13s free, while tickets will also be available on the gate throughout the weekend.

As always, FAQs, camping information, timetables and more can also be found on the Donington Park website.

For those not indulging in the trackside thrills, ITV ensures you can enjoy Saturday’s qualifying session – streamed live over at itv.com/btcc from 1430 – before nearly seven hours of race day footage gets underway on ITV4 at 1125 on Sunday.

Check out all the key times to catch ITV’s BTCC coverage at Donington Park below...

Qualifying LIVE: Saturday 09 October
ITV.com/BTCC from 1430

Raceday LIVE: Sunday 10 October
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Team BMW racer Stephen Jelley endured a frustrating weekend at Silverstone (25/26 September) but managed to salvage three points-paying positions, bringing his BMW 330i M Sport home in the top ten during each of the latest rounds of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.

The meeting started well for the Leicester native with the two free practice sessions on Saturday morning allowing Jelley and the team to get the car dialled in to the short 1.64-mile circuit. Finishing both sessions in the top half of the grid, and just half a second off the top spot, he was looking good as attention turned to snatching the best starting position for the preliminary race.

Qualifying was once again divided into two sessions, with the Top Ten Showdown following an initial 25-minute run. Jelley was on the pace immediately and sat in fifth place before a red flag came out to halt the session. Once it resumed, he dropped down the order but had still done enough to make it through to the top ten, ultimately qualifying ninth on the grid.

Starting the opening race of the weekend on the medium tyre, Jelley made one of his customary good starts in the #12 BMW, taking eighth position. On the second lap, he locked a tyre, meaning he had to be conscious of nursing it to the end of the race. The charging Ash Sutton managed to get past on lap four, but from then onwards he ran as part of a trio of cars, leading home Jason Plato and team-mate Tom Oliphant on his way to ninth at the chequered flag.

Jelley held his position off the line at the start of race two, but it wasn’t long before the Safety Car was called as they rescued a rival’s car from the gravel. With the hazard removed, racing could resume and the cars were once again nose to tail, with Jelley gaining a place at the expense of Dan Lloyd before a second Safety Car was called. With the track once again clear, Jelley tried his best to make further progress but lost out to Chris Smiley and once again finished ninth on the road. A post-race disqualification for Josh Cook, however, would promote Jelley to eighth place and fourth on the reverse grid for race three.

Jelley jumped past multiple BTCC champion Plato to take third place into the first turn at the start of the final race of the day, but was unable to fend off the attentions of Smiley on lap four and slipped back into fourth. Sutton then began to apply the pressure and got past, but Jelley wasn’t giving up, staying with Sutton as he closed on Smiley, poised to capitalise on any errors. Unfortunately, he was unable to regain the positions and crossed the line in fifth, the highest-placed BMW driver.

Jelley now prepares for the penultimate weekend on the BTCC calendar, and his home event, at Donington Park on 9/10 October. He will be hoping to achieve further podium glory at the Leicestershire venue as the championship heads into the final stages of an action-packed season.

“It was a really tough weekend [at Silverstone],” admitted Jelley. “The field is so close, and I think I drove very well. The car had a nice balance, and I don't think we can engineer it any better at the moment. Race one was just a bit of consolidation from qualifying. On the second lap, it just became about managing the problem [with the tyre] for the whole race and staying consistent.

“In race two we were a bit more racy but the times are so close that it’s hard to find an advantage, and we couldn't get the drive down the back straight to get alongside anyone, so you're always going to be relying on a late lunge to try and get by and then you risk blitzing a tyre. I got stuck behind Chris Smiley as early on he had a really good drive off Becketts and we didn't have the front tyre temperatures, just from the nature of it being a rear-wheel drive car. We don't have the advantage off the line anymore, and we still have to put up with cold tyres for two laps. That's when he got by, so we had stronger pace but not track position.

“In race three I did my best to keep Ash Sutton behind for the team and nearly worked, but not quite. The braking in that race was very, very strong and the car was handling nicely, but cars kept driving up alongside me which you can't mitigate.

“We've come away with three decent finishing positions, but the win still eludes me. I think we're looking good for the remaining two race weekends as Donington Park is a bit more of a flowing circuit and at Brands Hatch on the Grand Prix circuit we should be really, really strong. I'm looking forward to those.”