Battle for BTCC supremacy set to continue at Donington Park
The British Touring Car Championship enters the business end of the season this weekend as the series prepares to make its second visit of 2026 to Donington Park, although this time to compete on the iconic Grand Prix layout.
It was back in April that the Leicestershire venue staged the season-opener around the National circuit and since then, four-time champion Ash Sutton has gone on to open up a commanding 81-point lead at the top of the standings.
Six wins have provided the backbone to Sutton’s championship challenge and more success this weekend could see the Alliance Racing driver edge closer to what would be a record-breaking fifth Drivers’ crown.
Reigning champion Tom Ingram heads up the chasing pack that are bidding to stop Sutton and with a clear understanding that opportunities to overhaul the four-time title winner are dwindling, the Hyundai driver is expected to be on maximum attack.
Ingram’s recent run of misfortune has allowed third-place man Dan Cammish to close the gap, with the pair separated by just 13 points. The Ford Focus Titanium driver has triumphed on the Grand Prix circuit before and will be hoping to repeat the feat this weekend.
Behind the leading trio is an almighty scrap that includes multiple podium finisher Ricky Collard, lead WSR BMW entrant Charles Rainford and front-running Independent Mikey Doble – who kicked off the season claiming victory on the National circuit.
Speedworks Motorsport’s Josh Cook sits seventh in the standings and looking to recapture the race-winning form he displayed at Thruxton after enduring a less than ideal trip north of the border to Knockhill.
Hot on Cook’s heels are the two CPRL, formerly Plato Racing, Mercedes of Adam Morgan and Dan Rowbottom. With the team having entered administration earlier this week, the multiple race winners will be eager to make headlines on-track.
Completing the top ten and aiming to build on the podium that he picked up at Knockhill less than a fortnight ago is three-time champion Gordon Shedden in the MB Motorsport Toyota Corolla.
Further down the grid, the weekend will also mark the return of defending Independent Drivers’ champion Daniel Lloyd, who will see out the remainder of the campaign with Restart Racing after replacing James Dorlin.
Track action at Donington Park begins with practice at 11:00 local time/12:00 CEST on Saturday morning before qualifying and the qualifying race commence at 14:05. Sunday sees three races staged; the first at 11:45, followed by race two at 14:45 and race three at 17:30.
