Looking Ahead – Racing at Donington Park

With Silverstone over and done with, the GT Cup heads to Donington Park for the penultimate weekend of the season. Where April’s visit to the Leicestershire circuit saw teams compete on the National layout, this weekend uses the full Grand Prix configuration.

Members of three different race groups make up the top points positions in the overall championship table with GTO duo Paul Bailey and Ross Wylie leading the way with 371 points. J&S Racing’s Sacha Kakad and Hugo Cook made further strides in Group GT3 to steal second place from Group GTC leaders Topcats Racing.

Group GTO this weekend sees a couple of entries returning after mechanical issues. Grahame Tilley and Sennan Fielding make a welcome return following an incident at Brands Hatch and a hefty rebuild for their Mercedes AMG GT3. Richard Chamberlain also returns to the grid with the bright orange Porsche 935 and will no doubt be hoping for a better weekend than last time out at Silverstone.

It should come as no surprise that as the leader of the Overall Championship, Bailey and Wylie also lead the Group GTO title fight. Woodrow Motorsport’s Chris Murphy sits second in the table with National Motorsport Academy’s Jay Shepherd in third.

J&S Racing’s Kakad and Cook continue to lead in Group GT3, now with over 60 points between them and Orange Racing powered by JMH’s Simon Orange and Tom Roche. G-Cat Racing’s Shamus came away from Silverstone with a pair of podium finishes and will no doubt be looking to improve on that this weekend.

Two invitational entries join the Group GT3 roster for Donington Park with 7TSix bringing their Mercedes AMG GT3 and Century Motorsport running a BMW M4 GT3 for Darren Leung and Jesse Krohn.

In Group GTC, TopCats Racing maintain their nearly 100-point lead at the head of the tables, remain the favourites for the title. Charlotte Gilbert will once again be paired with Gilbert Yates as they look to defend the GTC title for the team.

Behind the TopCats Lamborghini on 223.5 points is the Orange Racing powered by JMH pairing of Russ Lindsay and Patrick Collins. AF Corse’s Graham and Dan de Zille sit behind the Orange Racing Porsche but will not be joining the grid at Donington Park. Team Parker Racing’s Keith Bush rounds out the GTC field.

It’s tight at the top of Group GTH with just over 15 points separating Morpheus Racing’s Stephen Walton and Chris Hart, and the Feathers Motorsport pairing of James Guess and Tom Canning. Group GTH has been incredibly competitive all season and shows no sign of slowing down as we enter the final stages of the season.

Greystone GT’s Philip Carter has really begun to hit his stride in the McLaren 570S GT4, coming away from Silverstone with two wins, two podium finishes and enough points to put him third in the title fight with co-driver Michael Broadhurst. Another driver making solid improvements over the season is Jon Currie. Alongside Phil Keen, the second Morpheus Mercedes took a good points haul from Silverstone and will be looking for more of the same.

More invitational entries appear on the Group GTH grid, with three of them bolstering the lineup. Along with season regulars David Frankland and Ed Bridle, 24-7 Motorsport will be entering a Lotus Emira GT4 for Alanna Carter and Sara Misir as part of the Formula Woman initiative. JMH Motorsport will be bringing a McLaren 570S GT4 for Melly Zang and Michael O’Brien. Michael is no stranger to the GT Cup and will have no issues getting his copilot up to speed. Finally, we’re used to seeing Racelab in Group GTC, but the team joins Group GTH this weekend with a McLaren Artura GT4 with Callum Davies and pro Jon Lancaster behind the wheel.

Track action kicks off on Saturday morning with free practice at 9.30am. All four races will be broadcast live on Facebook and YouTube across the weekend, and live text coverage will be available on Twitter throughout the event.