Donington Park next up for TOCA support package

The TOCA support package rolls into Donington Park this weekend (April 28/29) with five championships set to do battle and continue their 2018 campaigns.

In what proved to be a dramatic opening event of the year at Brands Hatch, each category served up plenty of high-octane entertainment alongside the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

Plenty of tin top thrills came from the Renault UK Clio Cup as Max Coates and Paul Rivett took a win apiece at the Kent venue. Establishing themselves as early title contenders both will have to be at their best to ensure they remain towards the summit of the standings following rounds three and four.

More than a dozen drivers are hot on the heels of Rivett and Coates with Lee Pattison and Mike Epps leading the charge. Daniel Rowbottom, Jack McCarthy, James Colburn, James Dorlin, Bradley Burns, Zak Fulk are all on the fringe of throwing themselves into contention too – making picking a winner for this weekend as difficult as ever.

The Ginetta Junior Championship will no doubt do its best to steal the show with its latest crop of teenage racers. Former Scholarship winner Adam Smalley heads the field entering the weekend after scoring a win and a second place at the curtain-raiser. No doubt looking to either replicate or better those results from Brands Hatch, the Elite Motorsport driver arrives at the Leicestershire venue as the man to beat.

Both Luke Browning and Ruben Del Sarte scored rostrum finishers last time out and are the closest challengers to Smalley as it stands. Throw into the mix the likes of Fin Green and Louis Foster and you begin to see why the one-make championship is renowned for producing stars of the future.

The Juniors won’t be the only Ginetta championship competing under the flightpath of East Midlands airport this weekend however as the Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup continues. Charlie Ladell grabbed two wins at Brands Hatch and he will be looking to continue his fine start to the season with further silverware.

Holding a slender three-point advantage at the summit, Ladell will need to be on top form across all three races, especially with the likes of Carl Boardley, Harry King and Jac Constable all breathing down his neck.

Spoils were shared between Dino Zamparelli and George Gamble in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB last time out and the battle for supremacy is set to further intensify at Donington Park. In what is shaping up to be a wide-open title fight this year, just four points separate the top three heading into the weekend with Zamparelli in control.

After narrowly missing out on the crown last year, the Redline Racing driver is gunning for glory and will be one to watch across both races this weekend, as will Tio Ellinas, Gamble and the ever-improving Lewis Plato.

Rounding out the track action at Donington Park will be three races from the F4 British Championship. Viewed as a crucial step on the motorsport ladder for those aspiring to make it to Formula 1, the single seater category has produced plenty of stars already.

Ayrton Simmons walked away with a brace of wins last time out and the youngster will be looking to go one better this weekend and make it a hat-trick, which in turn will see him scoop a prize of £10,000.

Sebastian Priaulx was the other race winner from the 2018 curtain-raiser and he will be keen to add further trophies to his collection in what is his maiden season in the category. Other drivers to keep a watch out for include the impressive Kiern Jewiss, Dennis Hauger and Jack Doohan.