Donington Park hosts rounds four, five and six of the 2012 British Touring Car Championship and for Toyota racers Frank Wrathall, Adam Morgan and Tony Hughes the weekend marks the homecoming of their NGTC Avensis.
2011 rookie of the year Wrathall leads the Toyota trio into the second weekend of the campaign and he is hoping for better fortune around the Donington Park circuit than he did last time out at Brands Hatch.
Ahead of the trip to the home circuit of the Avensis, Wrathall has had a programme of testing which he hopes will push the Dynojet Avensis into the top ten.
“Before we head to Donington we are going back to Brands Hatch for what will hopefully be a good full day’s worth of testing,” explains Wrathall. “The plan is to get close to an ideal set-up for the Avensis, and then we should be able to get near the front at Donington.
“I want to qualify in the top 10 again, as I did at Brands Hatch, and then three top-10 race finishes are what we need – if we can do any better it will be a bonus. I’m feeling the pressure to go well because I know that a lot of people from Toyota’s Burnaston factory will be coming down.”
After a disaster of a debut weekend at Brands Hatch, Ginetta GT Supercup graduate Adam Morgan is hoping to get a full race distance under his belt at Donington Park. His BTCC debut ended after one corner after he was punted off the circuit and into the Paddock Hill tyre wall.
“I have put Brands Hatch behind me and moved on,” explains Morgan, whose BTCC campaign is being funded by British Sportscar manufacturer Ginetta as a prize for winning the GT Supercup title in 2011.
“At Donington I want to build on the confidence I gained from my qualifying performance and hopefully get a bit further up the grid, out of the middle of the pack, and then try to stay out of trouble and get a finish.”
Donington Park is a favourite circuit of Morgan: “I have had some good results there in my Ginetta days, and it is quite a fast circuit, which I prefer. I have tested there in my team mate’s Toyota and have had some tuition from my driver coach, Paul Taft, so I have a few different lines to try and that should make me a bit quicker.”
Morgan’s team-mate at Speedworks Motorsport, Tony Hughes heads to the East Midlands circuit with a new engine in his #50 Avensis. Brands Hatch saw the Cheshire based driver finish all three races and he picked up his first BTCC point in the third race of the day.
“My engine at Brands Hatch was definitely down on power and they have taken it away to investigate,” explains Hughes. “I like Donington, the Toyota is in good shape, and with more power I think I can go reasonably well and hopefully score a few more points.”