Aron Taylor-Smith continued his resurgent form in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, charging to another hat-trick of Independent victories – plus another outright podium - at Donington Park last weekend [24-25 August].
A fortnight on from the BTCC’s annual sojourn to Scotland, the UK’s premier motorsport category reconvened at Donington for the second time this season, this time making use of the Leicestershire venue’s extended, 2.5-mile Grand Prix configuration. Taylor-Smith arrived among the in-form drivers, having impressed last time out at Knockhill with a front row qualifying result, plus two Independent wins on race day in his Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing-run Vauxhall Astra.
The Irishman was among the pace-setters from the get-go, featuring in the top eight throughout both practice sessions, before storming to a third ‘Quick Six’ shootout appearance in a row during Saturday afternoon’s all-important qualifying session. Lining up sixth, Taylor-Smith made a steady start in the first of three ITV4-televised races on Sunday and kept pace with the front-runners until an early safety car interruption.
Taylor-Smith’s efforts earned him a spot in the coveted reverse grid draw, and luck rolled in favour of the Dubliner, promoting him to fourth on the grid for the finale. The net result of all three races means Taylor-Smith rises to seventh overall in the standings and extends his lead over Doble in the Independents Trophy to a commanding 59 points, meaning that it could be wrapped up next month at Silverstone.
Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing hold a similarly comfortable advantage in the Independent Teams Championship, 74 points clear of their nearest rivals.
Silverstone’s National circuit will play host to the penultimate weekend of the 2024 season on 21-22 September.
Aron Taylor-Smith (#40) said:
“To achieve what we have this weekend is, quite frankly, outrageous. I’m absolutely delighted to come away from Donington with a hat-trick of Independent wins, and another outright podium as well.
“It was great to showcase our one-lap pace yet again in qualifying and make the Quick Six shootout for the third event in a row. But equally pleasing was our race pace, and over those longer runs we were able to fight and mix it with the Manufacturer teams."
