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Mark Blundell’s debut campaign in the British Touring Car Championship continues this weekend as the former Formula One star heads to Donington Park. Having enjoyed a point-scoring debut weekend, Blundell and the Trade Price Cars Racing team travel to the Leicestershire track buoyed by a positive display in the opening round of the season.
The season opener at Brands Hatch offered the 53-year-old his first taste of competitive action in the UK’s premier motor racing championship and, despite a long and varied career, his first real experience of both front-wheel drive and touring car competition. Despite getting his campaign off to a positive start, Blundell is under no illusions on the challenge that lies ahead.
“This weekend will be different because I am going into it with an understanding of what a BTCC weekend actually looks and feels like as a driver. The opener felt a little like going in blind but now my eyes are wide open as to how I have to play catch-up against the others up and down the grid.”
“It was great to score some points and get off to a positive start but the majority of these guys have years, even decades in some cases, of experience and I’ve got a single week! The team did a great job at Brands Hatch and that bodes well for the year ahead. We all still feel like there is a little more we can extract from the car but there’s no doubting it is still going to be a learning experience for us this weekend!”
Blundell’s first outing in the #8 HP Audi S3 this weekend comes on Saturday with two forty-minute practice sessions commencing at 09:30 and 12:35 respectively before qualifying begins at 15:15. Sunday’s showpiece action kick starts with race one at 11:35 before afternoon races at 14:30 and 17:15 respectively, all shown live on ITV4.