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Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport head to Donington Park this weekend to commence the 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship and aim to get the campaign started on a high at the Leicestershire venue.
Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport and their WSR-run BMW 330e M Sport will make the trip to the 1.98 miles National configuration of the Donington Park circuit. The sweeping corners and fast back section of Donington Park always produce great racing; with picturesque views and huge spectator areas, Donington is undoubtedly one of the fans’ favourite on the calendar.
Heading into 2024 on the back of his most successful campaign, last year saw Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport's Jake Hill finish in third-place in the Drivers' Championship for the second consecutive year. As well as finishing 3rd in the standings, Hill doubled his career win tally in one season as he took six victories across the season. Heading into 2024, Jake and the team share the same ambition with their eyes firmly set on the championship title.
During the winter hiatus, the team implemented numerous improvements and upgrades to their WSR-run BMW 330e M Sport. A successful pre-season testing regime has seen the team rack up plenty of mileage at the official BTCC test days at Brands Hatch, Croft, and last week's Media Day at Donington Park - putting the team in a strong position heading into the opening weekend.
Donington Park has been a happy hunting ground for Jake Hill and Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport in recent years, with Jake the current holder of the race lap record on the National configuration as well as finishing on the podium on his previous four trips to the circuit. The 2022 season-opener at Donington Park holds fond memories, with Jake securing his first-ever pole position in the BTCC before going on to take victory in the final race of the weekend.
BTCC organiser – TOCA – has introduced a number of exciting new regulation changes including the doubling of hybrid boost and a new qualifying format, whilst Goodyear’s option tyres are also set to further spice up the action in 2024.
Now, from 2024 that same push of the button will have double the amount of power output through a combination of both hybrid and turbo boost, which will provide a whole different complexion to race strategy and performance.
Additionally, the BTCC’s newly introduced ‘Quick Six’ qualifying will feature a number of short ten-minute segments, creating further interest for fans in attendance and the hundreds of thousands more that will be able to watch every qualifying session and race live via ITV Sport.
The format – similar to the one successfully used in IndyCar – will see the cars divided into two groups for the opening qualifying session.
The fastest six from each group will go through to make a 12-car second segment of competition. The top six from that next session will proceed to the grand finale of qualifying each weekend – Quick Six – a final ten-minute dash to determine pole position and the top six grid positions.
Goodyear’s option tyres have also been revised with tyre choice during the races adding a further tactical element to proceedings, whilst the top ten of race 1 at each event will be forced to use the hardest available tyre compound in their next race – making successive victories on a weekend even harder to achieve.
TOCA also announced that every race of the 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will also be streamed LIVE around the globe via TikTok – in full-screen horizontal mode – thanks to a world-first agreement with its partners at ITV Sport.
This ground-breaking agreement is in addition to the BTCC’s expansive and existing UK television contract with the ITV network, which sees around eight hours of broadcast – live and free – from each event across ITV4 and ITVX, as well as the continued highlights and catch-up offerings across the network.
All three races take place on Sunday, with live coverage available on TikTok, ITV4 and online at ITVX. The three races are scheduled for 11:30 (BST), 14:35, and 17:25 respectively. Live timing across the weekend is available here.
"I cannot wait to hit the track at Donington Park this weekend and kick off the 2024 season. Pre-season preparations have been seamless, with the team working tirelessly to bring improvements to our package. Throughout testing, we have shown great potential and we’ll be looking to turn that into strong results when we get going this weekend.
I have fond memories of Donington and I always enjoy racing here so we’ll be aiming high for the opening round. I'm hopeful that we can set the tone for the season from the start and have the Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport BMW 330e M Sport as the car to beat this season.” - Jake Hill
"The countdown to the start of the season at Donington Park is on. We're carrying high expectations this year, confident in our exceptional team, fantastic partners, and the skill of our twelve-time race winner, Jake Hill. With all the pieces in place, we're poised to challenge for the Championship again this season, aiming to kick off the campaign in stellar fashion this weekend.
As we enter our fifth season on the grid, we want to say a huge thank you to our partners, fans and friends - their incredible support from year to year has helped us get on the grid, kept us motivated through the highs and the lows of the BTCC, and we can’t wait to do it all again!" - Mark Blundell, Sporting Director
Donington Park
British Touring Car Championship | Round One
Saturday 27 April
Free Practice 1: 09.30 – 10.05
Free Practice 2: 12.35 – 13.10
Qualifying: 15.25 – 16.20
Sunday 28 April
Race One: 11.30 (18 laps)
Race Two: 14.35 (18 laps)
Race Three: 17.25 (18 laps)
