DONINGTON PARK JULY 10/11 PREVIEW – NANKANG TYRE CITYCAR CUP CHAMPIONSHIP
It’s been quite the energetic start to life as a new championship for the new Nankang Tyre CityCar Cup, which is already two weekends old after opening the 2021 campaign on the Donington Park National and Oulton Park International circuits. This meeting will see the drivers heading back to Donington, but with good reason – not only will their races take place on the full GP circuit this time, but they will also take place as part of the support package for this weekend’s latest installment of the Intelligent Money British GT Championship – quite a memorable and prestigious weekend in store all round!
There’s one driver who right now is simply unstoppable, no matter what his rival try to do and put a halt to his deadly form, and that’s Nic Grindrod. The former Pickup Truck racer has led every lap of all four races, all started from pole position and with the fastest lap to boot. He has the absolute maximum score of 204 points on the board right now and given his winning margins to date, it’s looking likely he’ll be the favourite once more this weekend.
Richard Bliss, along with sibling Stuart, is a late withdrawal from this weekend’s festivities, meaning that it could be an easy path for both Liam Browning and Andrew Dyer to make take the advantage not just in the overall standings but within the internal Novice Racer contest. Both Liam and Andrew have at least one podium to their name this year and will be wishing to add to that tally where possible. Liam in particular scored his 3rd place at the Donington opener in May, so his earlier success here might just put him in good stead to score a strong result.
Moving further down the current top 10, Duncan Stone has a podium to his name after he managed to work his way into 3rd at Donington and while he was unable to match it last time at Oulton Park, he too will be hoping his strong form at the opening races carries over again this time. There’s no Dylan Brooks or Paul Toolan present here either, so Tim Evans will take up the mantle as the best placed Toyota Aygo in the field, just three points ahead of the experienced Tony Trotter who appears to have made a steady start to proceedings and has been getting quicker and stronger as he completes each race. One driver who really did make a big leap was Elliott Lettis, now sitting at the bottom of the top 10 heading on the return leg to Donington off the back of a fabulous pair of races at Oulton to give his points total a large boost.
Amongst the many experienced and Novice racers in the field is one notable name in BRSCC circles making their very first race start. After spearheading the resurgence of the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship, their coordinator Laura Payne has chosen this weekend to swap her club uniform for a set of overalls as she climbs behind the wheel for the first time ever. Having completed a successful initial test at Mallory Park aboard her Citroen C1, Laura will be fulfilling a long term ambition to take her first steps into racing and to do it on a weekend supporting British GT is something she’s always going to remember – best of luck, Laura!
Scott Woodwiss
