TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK targeting rapid Park run
Team ready to put Toyota Corolla through its paces around ex-Formula 1 circuit
Rob Huff says ‘confidence is massively up’ heading into final part of season
Andrew Watson excited to ‘open the car up a bit more’ on longer ‘GP’ layout
For the second time this season, the British Touring Car Championship is heading for Leicestershire and Donington Park this weekend (24-25 August), with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK targeting a home soil celebration around the circuit’s legendary ‘GP’ loop.
Donington Park’s Grand Prix layout – famous as the scene of one of Ayrton Senna’s most memorable Formula 1 successes – only returned to the BTCC calendar last year, but the British-built Toyota Corolla GR Sport immediately proved its prowess there with a top three qualifying display and a win 24 hours later. Indeed, the Speedworks Motorsport-prepared ‘hot hatch’ has frequently shone at Donington, claiming its maiden victory in the UK’s premier motor racing series at the track in just its sixth start in 2019.
In evidence of its evergreen potential, the Corolla has won at each of the most recent three events in 2024, too. Last time out at Knockhill, it was former FIA World Touring Car Champion Rob Huff who ascended the highest step of the rostrum, after staving off championship leader Tom Ingram in a duel for the ages.
That enabled Huff to climb two positions to seventh in the Drivers’ standings amongst the 21 high-calibre contenders, and the last time the Cambridgeshire ace competed around Donington’s ‘GP’ circuit – in the WTCC back in 2011 – he achieved a brace of runner-up results.
Team-mate Andrew Watson was a top ten finisher there 12 months ago and advanced to the ‘Quick Six’ in qualifying on the ‘National’ circuit back at the beginning of the current campaign. The 29-year-old Northern Irishman – the BTCC’s reigning Jack Sears Trophy winner – is ready to redouble his efforts to secure his first podium of the season this weekend.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK will arrive at its home track – with the road-going Corolla produced less than 15 miles away at Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK (TMUK) in Burnaston – occupying sixth spot in the Teams’ table.
Following Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session at 15:05 – streamed on ITV Sport’s YouTube channel – every moment of Sunday’s doorhandle-to-doorhandle action will be broadcast live and in high-definition on ITV4, beginning at 10:45. All three races will also be shown on the ITV Sport TikTok channel, in the UK and globally.
Christian Dick, Team Principal, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK, said:
“It seems hard to believe we’re already approaching the end of the BTCC season, but while there might be just nine races left to go, we fully intend to make the most of every single one of them – and with the package we’ve now got, we’re confident we can do just that.
“Knockhill proved that our performance at Croft was no flash in the pan, and there’s no reason why that upturn in form should not also translate to Donington this weekend. The Corolla has won on both the ‘National’ and ‘GP’ layout over the past year, and we know how much we have improved the car since we last raced at the track in April.
“Far from being just a couple of extra corners, the ‘GP’ loop changes the whole nature of the lap from a racing and set-up perspective. It will also affect the way drivers deploy hybrid, so there’s a lot to take into consideration, but we’re more than up for the challenge and the aim is very much to hit the ground running and keep our recent run going in front of all our friends and colleagues from TMUK.”
Rob Huff, Driver, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK, said:
“It’s good to go back to a track we’ve already raced at this year, even if it’s been a long time since I’ve driven the ‘GP’ loop. Donington is a naturally fast, flowing circuit, but that can make it difficult to overtake, whereas the two hairpins towards the end of the lap this weekend represent strong passing opportunities, so that should add a bit of spice.
“We’re really finding our way with the Toyota now, and coming off the back of a pretty epic win at Knockhill, my confidence is massively up. We learnt a lot again in Scotland, and there’s generally just a really positive vibe inside the team at the moment, which is great. It’s all coming together and we’re moving in the right direction.
“The Speedworks guys and girls did an amazing job to develop the car in every area over the summer break, which has made it much more driveable, so huge credit must go to them for getting us back up towards the front on a consistent basis.
“The ‘GP’ layout is clearly a slightly different proposition and I’ll have a bit less hybrid to deploy than usual due to my championship position, but historically, the Corolla has been very strong at Donington and we love a challenge. We want to carry our current momentum with us through to the end of the season and come away with some more trophies and champagne. Let’s get cracking!”
Andrew Watson, Driver, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK, said:
“We’ve obviously had some decent track time at Donington already this year, and we qualified well around the ‘National’ circuit at the start of the season so we know the car is quick there. We’ve made a step forward with the Toyota since then, so I think we should be in solid shape. The Corolla is in a good place now, we’re building from weekend to weekend and team spirits are high.
“The ‘GP’ loop definitely adds another dimension with its two slow-speed, technical hairpins at the end of the lap – there’s a lot of time to be won or lost there, particularly through the last corner back onto the start/finish straight. It produces great racing with more overtaking opportunities than the ‘National’ layout, and we’re all very much looking forward to it. We’ve been on primarily tight, twisty circuits since Oulton Park, so it will be nice to open the car up a bit more again around a bigger track.
“Hybrid I think will be quite significant. We’ve seen that its effect varies from one circuit to the next, but it does tend to shake things up, which is exactly what it was intended to do. Having the full allocation like we do should make a difference, so it will come down to us to figure out where we need to use it to take maximum advantage. We’ll be pushing hard for some strong results.”
Images: Jakob Ebrey Photography