Team VERTU will look to maintain an impressive run of form in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship when the series heads to Donington Park this weekend for the eighth meeting of the campaign.
The EXCELR8-run team leads the way in the Drivers’ Championship through Tom Ingram moving into the business end of the campaign, with team-mates Adam Morgan, Tom Chilton and Senna Proctor also inside the top ten overall.
Strong performances from all four drivers this season have seen Team VERTU bag 23 podium finishes thus far, meaning the team is also firmly in contention for both the Manufacturers’ and Teams’ Championship titles.
Ingram holds a 17 point lead in the championship standings going into the weekend, with nine races left to run before the 2025 campaign draws to a close at Brands Hatch.
The Donington Park GP circuit was scene of one of Ingram’s best performances last season when he recovered from an engine failure in race two to charge his way through the field to take second spot in race three.
With three podium finishes in six starts on the GP layout – including a 2023 win – Ingram will hope to maintain the strong form he has shown thus far retain his advantage in the standings.
Morgan is second best of the Team VERTU drivers in the standings going into the weekend, having moved a point clear of Chilton at Knockhill to sit in sixth spot.
Currently on course to score his best seasonal points tally in a decade, Morgan makes the trip to the East Midlands circuit looking to add to the three podium finishes he has scored at the wheel of the Hyundai this season.
Morgan bagged a podium finish on the GP layout back in 2023 and will hope for a strong haul of points to strengthen his championship position.
Chilton endured a tricky start to the weekend in Scotland last time out when he was excluded from the opening race for a technical infringement, but bounced back well to score a brace of top eight finishes; leaving him seventh in the standings.
The most experienced driver on the grid is already close to surpassing his previous best score in Team VERTU colours and goes into the weekend chasing his fifth podium of the campaign.
Chilton was a winner on the shorter Donington Park National circuit at the start of the year and is bidding to become the first driver to win on both layouts in the same season since James Thompson back in 1998.
Proctor meanwhile is the only one of the quartet with no prior experience of competing on the Donington GP layout but goes into the weekend looking to continue the impressive form he has shown since rejoining the grid at Thruxton.
With two podiums to his name – and having only failed to finish in the top ten on two occasions – Proctor now sits inside the top ten in the standings despite the fact that he missed the opening three meetings of the campaign.
Those results leave Proctor on course for the best season of his BTCC career to date, and he makes the short trip to Donington Park bidding to strengthen his championship position and close the gap to his rivals ahead.
Qualifying this weekend is scheduled to take place at 15:25 on Saturday and will be shown live via YouTube, with Sunday’s three races airing on ITV4 at 11:30, 14:15 and 16:55.
Tom Chilton, #3 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“Although Knockhill was frustrating on one hand because of what happened in race one, it was also extremely positive with the pace that we showed in the car as coming through the field like we did at such a tight and twisty circuit was no mean feat.
“It leaves me feeling confident as we head to Donington Park as it’s a circuit where we know the Hyundai has been strong in the past on both the National and Grand Prix layouts.
“I’d love to add a Donington GP win to my resume, and it’s certainly something that is achievable during the weekend ahead.”
Senna Proctor, #18 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“My goal coming in this season was to show I could challenge towards the front and battle for some silverware, and I wasn’t really thinking about points or the standings.
“Given how well things have gone so far, I’m suddenly chasing my best-ever championship finish, which has given me something new to focus on over the remaining three rounds.
“This weekend promises to be interesting given that I’ve never raced on the Grand Prix layout before but I’m sure it won’t take long to get used to turning left at the end of the back straight rather than right!
“I’m going there full of confidence after showing strong pace again at Knockhill and am aiming for three front-running results to strengthen my position inside the top ten.”
Adam Morgan, #33 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“Knockhill was a tricky weekend in terms of results but it also reflected how strong our season as a whole has been that we came away from Scotland having retained a top six position in the standings.
“Going to Donington Park, the goal is to at close the gap to the drivers ahead in the standings, and look to add to the silverware we have collected so far this year.
“The car was quick around the National layout at the start of the season and with the extra experience I now have in the Hyundai, I’m confident that we’ll be in contention towards the sharp end of the grid.”
Tom Ingram, #80 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“It’s nice to be going back to Donington Park with the lead we have in the championship, but the title won’t be won until the end of the final race at Brands Hatch in October and there is a lot of racing to be done between now and then.
“The Grand Prix layout this weekend is one that we know plays to the strengths of our package with the results we have picked up over the last two seasons, and it’s important that we maximise the results across the three races this weekend. That approach has served us well so far this season and like the saying goes, if it’s not broken then don’t fix it.
“The first goal is to maintain our record of making the Quick Six at every meeting - even with limited turbo boost - and then score as many points as we can come Sunday. Given the pace we’ve shown all season, I’m confident we’ll be looking to add more silverware to our collection.”
Justina Williams, Team VERTU Team Owner, said:
“Donington Park has been a happy hunting ground for us in recent seasons on both layouts, so we go into the weekend feeling confident about extending the strong form we have displayed this year.
“With all four drivers capable of challenging at the front of the field, were hoping for a big haul of points across the board to maintain our title challenge.”
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