Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport enjoyed its best points-scoring weekend of the 2026 season at Donington Park (22/23 August), with a podium finish and Independent's victory for Gordon Shedden and a superb run of consistency from Árón Taylor-Smith, combining for 60 points across the weekend to lift the team and drivers up the championship tables.
The team headed to event seven looking to build on a strong run of recent results, and left Leicestershire having climbed from sixth to fourth in the Teams' Championship and from third to second in the Independent Teams' Championship, with Taylor-Smith also banking his best individual points haul of the campaign so far.
Qualifying arrived in cloudy but dry conditions, and Shedden continued his strong qualifying form from Knockhill, going second fastest in his group, while Taylor-Smith backed it up with the third-fastest time in the session. Combined across both groups, it left the Scotsman fourth on the overall qualifying order and the Irishman sixth, an excellent platform for the weekend ahead.
That set up Saturday afternoon's Qualifying Race, which determines Sunday's opening grid. Shedden crossed the line sixth and Taylor-Smith seventh, both cars keeping tidy races together to lock in a strong starting position for Round 19 on Sunday morning.
With two Safety Car periods punctuating the race, the #52 drove it home to an Independent class win, gaining three places to cross the line third overall for a superb podium finish. The #50 was right in the mix too, moving up from seventh on the grid to finish sixth overall, rounding out a solid morning for the team.
Round 20 saw Shedden start from third, but the race proved a tough encounter, as due to the regulations, he had to run the hard tyre after his third-place finish in race one and lost places through the pack to finish 13th. Taylor-Smith again delivered a consistent result, running from sixth on the grid to seventh at the flag and continuing to bank valuable points.
The third and final race of the day brought a strong response from the three-time champion, who fought back from 13th on the grid to finish sixth, a superb recovery drive to end the day with a memorable overtake on Dexter Patterson at the Melbourne Hairpin. Taylor-Smith was again the model of consistency, starting and finishing fourth to record his best individual result of the weekend.
Following the weekend, Shedden sits eighth in the Drivers' Championship, up from tenth after Knockhill, with Taylor-Smith now 13th, up from 14th. Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport moves up to fourth in the Teams' Championship and second in the Independent Teams' Championship, while the #52 and #50 sit third and sixth respectively in the Independents Trophy.
The team now looks ahead to the eighth event of the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Croft (5/6 September).
Árón Taylor-Smith (#50) said: “It’s been a really positive weekend for us and, from a points perspective, it’s been my best weekend of the season so far. Qualifying sixth overall gave us a really strong platform and we were able to carry that pace into the races. To score points in all three and finish fourth in the final race is something we can be really pleased with. We’ve been consistent throughout the weekend, which is exactly what we’ve been looking for, and the 37 points I’ve scored is a great reward for the work the team has put in. We’ve got some good momentum now and I’m looking forward to taking that into Croft.”
Gordon Shedden (#52) said: “It’s been a great weekend overall. We had good pace in qualifying and to put the car fourth overall was a strong starting point, particularly after being second in our group. We then converted that into a podium and Independent win in Race One, which was exactly what we needed. Race Two was obviously a bit more difficult with the hard tyre, but we managed to regroup and fight back from P13 to P6 in the final race. To finish the weekend with a good battle and the overtake at the hairpin was a nice way to end it. We’ve scored some really important points and moved up the championship, so there are plenty of positives to take to Croft.”