James Kaye and his AmD Tuning.com team are confident of taking more victories in the Jack Sears Trophy of the British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park, after scoring a win in the category last time out at Brands Hatch.
Kaye took the class win in race one and came second in race two at Brands Hatch, before retiring from the final race of the day with a gearbox issue. With the Jack Sears Trophy decided not on points like the main championship but on race wins and podiums, Kaye knows that it will be important to be immediately on the pace at Donington.
“We put in a good performance at Brands Hatch and it was a shame that the gearbox issue we had prevented us from taking at least one more win in the opening round of the year,” said Kaye. “However, we’ve now solved the issue there was with the ‘box and we go to Donington Park looking to try and improve on how we performed in the opening round.
“Although I’ve driven the car at Donington Park during the media day, the conditions were so cold that we weren’t able to learn too much but I’m confident about how we’ll perform given the speed we showed last time out.
“Donington is a circuit that I enjoy as it is very fast and flowing, and it is one where the Volkswagen has always run well in the past. As ever, I’ll try my best, and hopefully we can come away from the weekend with more silverware.”
AmD socred their first-ever points finish in the BTCC at Donington in 2011 with Tom Onslow-Cole and Team Principal Shaun Hollamby is hoping for another strong performance at the Leicestershire circuit, following a gearbox rebuild since the last round.
“The gearbox has had a rebuild since Brands Hatch so we’ve solved the issues we had there and we are looking forward to Donington,” said Hollamby. “For whatever reason, the Golf has always been strong at Donington and James did a good job during the test on media day, despite the conditions and the fact that he wasn’t really pushing.
“The target for this weekend has to be to come away with three wins in the Jack Sears Trophy, but we know it won’t be easy as there are five other drivers hoping for the same result. Donington suits the car as it changes direction well through the fast and flowing corners and we’re confident about our chances.”
The Essex-based team will also be sporting an updated livery at Donington, thanks to a new sponsorship deal with indoor karting firm F1K.
“It would also be good if we have a strong weekend as Donington is the home circuit for one of our partners, Milltek, and this weekend we also have a new sponsor onboard in the shape of F1K Indoor Karting,” added Hollamby. “They will shortly be launching a new indoor go-karting circuit down the road from our base, so a deal between us is something that makes sense for both parties. It would be fantastic if we could start our relationship with F1K with a trip to the top of the podium.”