Wrotham based Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher heads to Donington Park this coming weekend with silverware firmly on the agenda as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship reconvenes at the Leicestershire circuit. Fired-up by the pace shown during the season opener at Brands Hatch earlier this month, Tom Chilton and James Cole are looking to capitalise on their ballast-free advantage and work their way up the championship standings with a strong showing in the Ford Focus RS.

“Brands Hatch proved to be a bit of a topsy-turvy weekend throughout the grid;” commented Team Manager Oly Collins. “Our performance was strong, but the results didn’t come our way. The weather played a big part in that but our qualifying performance shows the outright pace of the new RS.

“Having all the cars in the top 14 and less than two tenths off the front row, we know we are very much in the ball park and that gives us confidence going into this weekend.”

The Motorbase Performance-run outfit has an excellent record on the world-renowned track and Donington Park has been the scene of success for the Kent-based squad in past seasons, with its former Ford Focus ST charge tasting victory here in 2011, 2012 and 2016.

“On paper, Donington should suit the RS better than the Brands Indy circuit;” added Collins. “It’s a little faster and the  aero and chassis improvements that we’ve made to the Focus should make a big difference there.

“We went well at the media day test last month and it’s been a happy hunting ground for us in the past, so we’re aiming to continue that trend this weekend and hopefully bag ourselves some new silverware to take home on Sunday night!”

Speaking ahead of the weekend, Tom Chilton said: “Donington Park is always a great circuit to race at. I took my first race win there, way back in 2004 and I have a lot of happy memories of racing there over the years.

“I was second fastest there on media day and we showed at Brands Hatch that we have the pace to be challenging for wins. I can’t wait to shake off the run of bad luck we had at Brands Hatch and get our championship challenge off the ground this weekend.”

Images courtesy of PSP Images