This weekend, BTCC returns to Donington Park for a second time this season, this time on the longer GP layout as the race for the championship heats up. Increased freedom around the Goodyear tyre allocations is sure to add to the excitement as the season reaches its conclusion.
For the remainder of the season, teams will have a free choice of three sets of carryover tyres to use in free practice and qualifying. These are allocated from the previous event, so teams will select the tyres in the best condition to give them the best performance.
“It’s something teams have been considering since the beginning of the season,” explains Goodyear’s BTCC Event Leader Michael Butler. “The three carryover sets means the teams will have nominated which tyres from previous events to bring here. Teams will have considered which tyres they want in the locker for the rest of the season, and will use their sets accordingly.
“As always, hybrid allocations will dictate the strategy, and we’ll see a variety of approaches to Saturday’s qualifying, and could have a big impact on the rest of the season and championship fight.
Hill excited for ‘fun’ Donington
Team BMW driver Jake Hill has had an exceptional season, with more victories than anyone else and just three points off Tom Ingram in what could be his first BTCC title.
Talking to Goodyear about this weekend, Hill explains that “Donington is a really tough circuit, especially the GP layout. It has many different elements, with the final sector being incredibly slow and hard on brakes. But, of course, Donington is famous for being fast and sweeping as well so it’s great fun.
“It’s always tricky when you’ve got so many tyre options,” adds the six-time race winner this season. “It increases the number of strategic options which is great for the spectacle. Of course, Donington will be tricky, traditionally with weather playing a role meaning we may not need dry tyres at all!
“If we have a nice dry weekend it will be about selecting the strategy that best suits whatever hybrid we’ve got. With less hybrid, you might want to get the harder tyre out the way to have a better end to the [qualifying] day. Equally, you may want to do the opposite if you’ve got no hybrid you can run a soft to stay in the running.
“We lean on the Goodyear team for guidance throughout the weekend and season. We’ll have several conversations ahead of Donington to help us plan ahead. The Goodyear team is really experienced and their input is invaluable.”
Turkington rockets to the top of the Goodyear Wingfoot Award standings
Elsewhere, following his pole position at Knockhill, Hill’s Team BMW teammate Colin Turkington shot up the standings from fourth to lead with just three qualifying sessions remaining. He leads reigning Wingfoot Award champion Ash Sutton by 6 points.
The Goodyear Wingfoot Award in BTCC classifies drivers based on their qualifying performances, with points given out based on where drivers rank on a Saturday.
Source: Tyretradenews
