Goodyear's tyre allocation will take centre stage this weekend as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) heads to Donington Park's Grand Prix circuit for rounds 22, 23 and 24 of the season. The 2.49-mile GP configuration, featuring additional challenges compared to the National layout used for the opening rounds, places particular demands on traction and braking.

Drivers will receive two sets of Goodyear's yellow-stickered medium compound tyres and one set of the red-stickered hard compound tyres for the weekend. These will be the choices for the races, but a significant change is that carryover tyres from previous rounds, which include the white-stickered soft compound tyres, can be used in qualifying for the first time. 

The extended GP layout requires drivers to optimise their setups to handle the circuit's varied demands, making tyre strategy even more critical across the three races.

Michael Butler, Goodyear's BTCC Event Leader, previews the weekend: "Donington's GP configuration presents one of the season's most comprehensive challenges for our tyres. The extended layout features three significant heavy braking zones, including the Melbourne and Goddards Hairpins and the technical Fogarty Esses section, where drivers will rely on the braking stability and high traction level of their chosen Goodyear tyres.

What makes this weekend particularly interesting from a strategic perspective is the free choice of carryover compounds. Teams can select any compound they've accumulated from previous events and deploy these strategically across practice and qualifying. These choices promise to add spice to the qualifying session.

Rainford maintains momentum following Wingfoot Award success

Charles Rainford claimed his first Goodyear Wingfoot Award during the previous round at Knockhill. The 27-year-old’s pole position demonstrated the confidence to attack the kerbs and precision needed to extract maximum performance from Goodyear's soft compound tyres during qualifying.

Last year's race three winner at Donington GP, Dan Cammish, aims to close the seven-point gap with Goodyear Wingfoot Award leader Tom Ingram. With free choice of carryover compounds available this weekend, he will be looking to challenge for pole position and the weekend's Wingfoot Award.

Cammish praised the balance achievable across all three compounds: "You actually get a very good balance across all three compounds. You don't have to change the car drastically, sometimes not much at all, from the soft to the hard. The balance remains relatively similar, it's just the grip level that goes up, how hard you can lean on the tyre. In the case of a soft, you can really almost overstep the mark and let the tyre sort it out for you. You can really attack and carry speed, hit the throttle hard and early, and just let the tyre grip bail you out. With the hard, you've got to be more respectful of its limits and drive to its strengths."

The Goodyear Wingfoot Award rewards the fastest qualifying lap at each round. Drivers accumulate points based on their qualifying results throughout the season, with the highest scorer ultimately crowned the 2025 Goodyear Wingfoot Award winner.

Goodyear Wingfoot Award standings: