The next stop for the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) package is Donington Park this Sunday (April 28, 2019) for Rounds 4, 5, and 6.

Ahead of this weekend’s racing, here’s an overview of what’s been happening so far with the Adrian Flux Subaru Levorg drivers.

Donington Park

Just off junction 23a of the M1, this former Formula One circuit is nestled alongside East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire and is a huge favourite with fans and drivers alike, with big elevation changes, large run-off areas, and iconic corners like Craner Curves and Old Hairpin.

All eyes will be on the two Adrian Flux Subaru Racing drivers Ashley Sutton and Senna Proctor as they look to make the most of the Subaru Levorg’s handling around this internationally-renowned circuit.

Momentum now building after Brands Hatch

The 2019 season began with an enthralling Sunday of racing at Kent’s Brands Hatch Indy circuit, with the Adrian Flux Subaru Racing team experiencing all the highs and lows of motorsport in the opening rounds whilst the weather changed direction more often than Brands Hatch’s famous tarmac.

With pole positions, races led, and podium visits, as well as collisions resulting in pit stops and being lapped, the team came away from their first Brands Hatch visit of the year with a highly creditable seventh place in the standings, just four points behind third-placed team AmD.

In terms of the all-important Drivers’ Championship, Ash currently lies in 7th place with 27 points after Brands Hatch, with Senna in 17th place having banked 6 points so far.  

Thruxton test results

“We did a lot of tinkering during the two 1-hour sessions that resulted in performance gains.”

In preparation of the Donington race, the BTCC teams made their way to an official test session at the high-speed Thruxton circuit, a circuit which tests drivers’ bravery, skill and concentration as well as a car’s ultimate speed.

Micky Sergeant, BMR Team Manager, said: “The annual visit to Thruxton for the official BTCC test always feels very limited with only two one-hour sessions available.

“So it was important to pack as much into the test programme for both cars to maximise the time on track and gather valuable data, tyre and set up information.

“Even more so this season with Thruxton appearing twice on the 2019 calendar.”

With the weather remaining fair and dry, Ash and Senna completed an impressive 101 laps between them during the testing.

Ash ended up finishing 4th overall on the day – the quickest non-Honda car on the circuit.

Mickey added: “A testament to the hard work by the team over the winter on chassis development and Ash’s raw pace.

“Senna was running through setup changes and finished 16th in his first visit to the mega fast Hampshire circuit in his RWD Levorg.

“Lap times in testing don’t always tell the true pace with different test programmes going on up and down the pit lane – but our next visit here in May is looking to be competitive.”

Ash finished the afternoon session in third place, fourth in total for the day.

Ash said: “Thruxton hasn’t always been that great for us but I feel we have made some improvements in terms of chassis. We did a lot of tinkering during the two one-hour sessions that resulted in performance gains.”

He added: “Overall we can’t read too much into the lap times as I am sure there will be a big mix up come race weekend, but we can only focus on ourselves.

“With the nature of Thruxton constantly being flat-out it means our straight line performance on paper isn’t suited to it. This just means we have to dive into our chassis toolbox a bit more.”

Senna continued to get to grips with the rear wheel drive Subaru, netting the day’s 16th best time overall in the afternoon session.

“Thruxton test went well for me, we did all the things we needed to.” he explains, “I feel comfortable with the car now and I can start to focus on getting the best out of it.

“The team did a great job as always, and I can’t wait to get going at Donington Park.”

Rounds 4,5 and 6 last year

Donington’s dynamic corners and long straights are a challenge for any team, but the drivers are looking forward to a solid weekend.

Last year, driving the Subaru Levorg, Ash Sutton managed 12th, 8th, and 6th places respectively for the three rounds, collecting a great haul of championship points.

Ash said: “I’m looking forward to getting back to it at Donington.

“Having the Thruxton test in between was perfect time to just clarify a few things that were left unanswered at Brands.

“This weekend is going to be about collecting points, but won’t ever give up on a podium/win!”

He added: “Let’s hope for some rain this weekend as we did at Brands, love a spanner being thrown in the works…”

Senna, driving a Vauxhall Astra, finished 8th and 22nd in the first two races but did not finish the final race of the day.

Keen to have a better race weekend this time round, he said “I have never been to Donington in the Subaru yet, but I’m sure the challenge of the BTCC will be as high as ever and we can bring home a few good results.”

Watch it on TV

If you’re unable to find your way to the circuit to experience BTCC in the flesh then don’t despair, ITV4 will once again be showing live coverage (available in HD) of 2019 BTCC rounds, with extensive coverage of the support races including Ginettas and Clios.

Qualifying will be live online on Saturday (April 27, 2018) at http://itv.com/btcc.

Rounds 4, 5 and 6 of the BTCC (as well as coverage of the support races) will be shown on ITV4 and ITV4 HD, Sunday (April 28, 2018) from 10:15am.

Adrian Flux Insurance

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Do you take part in motorsport or track days? Find out more about Adrian Flux’s race vehicle insurance and track day cover.

Photo credits (including header photo): Jakob Ebrey