**Thrilling BTCC Weekend at Donington Park**

The second round of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) got off to an exciting start as drivers took to the grid at Donington Park. The holiday sunshine brought out the best in the drivers, with many pushing themselves to the limit on the circuit's 2.5-mile layout.

As the lights went out, Jordan Anderson made a great getaway from pole position, grabbing the early lead and setting the tone for a thrilling battle ahead. His teammate, Ash Sutton, was hot on his heels, and the two drivers quickly became embroiled in a heated duel for supremacy. Meanwhile, Jake Hill's BMW was quickly slipping down the order after a puncture left him sliding off into the gravel.

However, Anderson's lead was soon under threat as Sheldon van der Linde's Honda closed the gap rapidly. The South African driver had made a great start to his campaign and was determined to capitalize on his early pace. As the laps ticked by, Van der Linde continued to push hard, eventually taking the lead from Anderson.

Anderson responded well, however, and the two drivers were locked in a fierce battle for the top spot on the track. The tension was palpable as they hurtled around the circuit, nose-to-tail, with the margin between them growing ever smaller. In the end, Van der Linde emerged victorious, taking his first win of the season with a narrow margin of just 0.4 seconds.

The victory marked a stunning return to form for the Honda driver, who had struggled in his debut campaign last year. His team-mate, Ollie Benson's teammate at Team Hard (Benson was on the grid but the text does not mention him), Jack Goff, also enjoyed a great weekend, taking third place with his MG.

The Audi of Rob Austin was another car to watch, as the 2012 BTCC champion fought hard for points. However, disaster struck when Collard's tap off the car forced him off into the kitty litter, and he retired from the race.

Meanwhile, Jason Plato's BMW suffered a dramatic puncture on lap three, leaving him sliding off the track. The former triple champion was left to nurse his damaged car, which ultimately ended up in second place behind Van der Linde.

In the final round of the weekend, Neil Wilson drove on as expected but had an un eventful time. His teammate Sam Toftham's BMW had also suffered a puncture earlier in the race and was forced into retirement.

The Honda driver did manage to climb the order with great experience, coming from 12th on the grid to take third place. The win marked Neil Wilson's 54th BTCC victory, and he celebrated an impressive start to his campaign with two wins out of three races.

As for the Championship standings, the team is realistic about the challenge ahead, knowing that Jason and the BMW guys have had incredible pace this weekend and will be tough to beat. The new weight penalty will make things difficult at Donnington, but the Honda driver is looking forward to the challenge.

The circuit itself is a favorite among fans, with its fast sweeping corners and challenging braking points. While some drivers dread certain sections of the track, others relish the opportunity to push themselves to the limit on the 2.5-mile layout. For Anderson, it's a circuit where he has had success in the past, including his first-ever BTCC win back in 2017.

Looking ahead to the next round at Donington Park, which is always a challenging track, Wilson will be looking to build on his impressive start to the campaign. With the new Honda engine proving itself to be reliable and potent, he'll be hoping to continue his winning ways and make it three wins out of four for the team.

The championship remains wide open, with many drivers vying for the top spot in the standings. The BTCC has always been a competitive series, and Donnington Park is no exception. With its rich history and challenging layout, it's a circuit that will push the drivers to their limits once again.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthe 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship blasted into thrilling action at a busy brand hatch on Easter Sunday over the winter Britain's top series had witnessed its biggest driver shakeup in recent times it was all changed from top to bottom reigning Champion Colin turkington had switched from his title winning BMW to one of the four team BMR Volkswagen CC's record race winner Jason Plato was another new face in the ambitious VW camp with his seat at MG now being filled by former Champion Andrew Jordan meanwhile Honda had replaced its history-making tour estate with a new Civic typ R for Matt Neil and Gordon shedon Infiniti had arrived on the scene as well with a brand new Q50 biggest news of all perhaps was the return of triple World touring car Champion Andy prio who was filling turkington's BMW boots The Talented Channel Islander wasted no time laying down his marker by grabbing pole position for the first of the day's three epic encounters Aaron Smith lined up second with his two illustrious new teammates Plato and turkington locking out row two all the drivers are obliged to run the softer Dunlop Tire in one of the day's three races and prio was one of the few Front Runners to take the option in the opener as the Lights Went Out it seemed to be the right call too the pole man making a solid start to lead the jostling Pat into parak Hill bend it was teammate Rob Collard though who made a lightning getaway from fifth on the grid leap frogging the Volkswagens to make it a bmw2 further back the predictable first lap action saw Neil and Sam Toof make contact others in the tightly packed Midfield were forced to take avoiding action although the soft tires had given prio the early Advantage by half distance they were starting to feel the pace and it wasn't long before they started to fade in a Flash Collard Smith and Plato were all through the early leader would finally struggle home in ninth after dropping further places in the closing laps up front the faultless Collard held on to take what was a totally unexpected but thoroughly deserved Victory from the hard charging Smith and Plato behind the top three mg debut Jack gof was hounded by turkington and shedon but survived to claim fourth with VW and Honda filling his mirrors as they flashed over the Finishing Line with the race two grid now being set by a driver's fastest lap in race one it was Plato who lined up on pole for the day's second Showdown alongside prio shedan was third in the new Honda and card back and fourth this time with the softer dun loock tires on his BMW plus maximum 75 kilos of success ballast that that didn't stop the race one winner from making another great getaway slotting into second behind Plato but his glory was shortlived as first shedon then prio battled their way past the soft tired BMW into the top three positions by now the dominant Plato had made his getaway and seemed on target for maximum points until disaster struck a dramatic puncture set the Volkswagen sliding off into the gravel and instant retirement Plato's demise left shedon and prio locked in a Titanic two-way tussle for victory the BMW briefly nosed ahead but the Honda immediately fought back the squabbling pair was still locked together nose to tail around the final corner with the BMW drawing alongside on the dramatic drag to the checker flag it was shedon though who just held on to give the type R A stunning Maiden Victory the margin just 400s of a second with a top 10 reverse for the day's final race it was the Audi of Rob Austin on pole in the holiday Sunshine the mg of Jack Goff also lined up on the front row with Neil's Honda and Sam tof's BMW behind Austin made no mistake grabbing the early lead as Neil sneaked past gof on the blast to the first Corner further back first race Victor Collard went from hero to zero a tap forcing him off into the kitty litter the Audi bravely clung onto the lead as the top three ran nose to tail eventually the chasing Honda made its decisive move Goff also following Neil pass the Plucky Audi which quickly fell into the clutches of Jordan's hard charging mg as the dueling Duo Tangled so Smith slipped through into third an impressive climb from 12th on the grid back at the front Neil was summoning up all his experience to keep gof at Bay despite the mg's close attentions in the final few laps the triple champ held on to claim his 54th btcc win and complete an amazing d for the new Civic Type R after the champagne flowed Luise Goodman caught up with the Honda star well m a fantastic opening uh weekend of the season for you and the Honda urasa racing team two victories for the new Civic typ R and you're you're leaving this first round at the head of the championship yeah we came here with High Hopes but realistic expectations and but never in the our wildest dreams would we imagine two wins out of three this weekend it's just absolutely fantastic and you know sharing them out one each it's over the moon so next time we move on to Donnington which is very much your home race isn't it yeah it's where I had my first ever btcc win and uh emptied Allen's Allen gal's pocket for 250 Grand at the time so it's it's got a lot of special memories for me but you know we're realistic you know Jason and the blmr guys have had uh incredible Pace this weekend and they've it's not gone their way they're going to be light you know we we're carrying this new 75 kilo weight penalty at Donington so it's going to be uh it's going to be pretty tough and qualifying who else do you think is going to come into the mix at the next round I think the BMS are going to be always be there all three of them so um you know you've got to be realistic the whole Championship is wide open at the moment not just with BMW Honda and uh VW but everybody up and down the pit Lane it's it's wide open Donington is a circuit with a lot of history and a circuit that's absolutely fantastic for spectators to come along and watch that isn't it it very much opens itself up for them yeah I mean historically it's got some great viewing areas on the banks down through cran of Curves some absolute Classics it's a real flowing circuit with uh always provides some great racing and uh it's it's a tough one to win at any particular favorite corners or favorite parts of the track for you well one the drivers always dread is cran of Curves because it's flat out in sixth gear in one of these things for the last few years I haven't had the bottle to take it flatten but flash always does me down there so that's always a burn of contention for me where I got to focus on and what do you look for from car at a track like Donnington you just got to have a good balance uh all around you've got to have strong engine but the new Honda engine we've got this year is absolutely fantastic we've got no complaints in that area you know we're we're ride on the money with the best ones this weekend we look forward to seeing you there and hopefully you'll be collecting a little bit more silverware for the trophy cabinet we'll certainly be trying thanks Lou ohthe 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship blasted into thrilling action at a busy brand hatch on Easter Sunday over the winter Britain's top series had witnessed its biggest driver shakeup in recent times it was all changed from top to bottom reigning Champion Colin turkington had switched from his title winning BMW to one of the four team BMR Volkswagen CC's record race winner Jason Plato was another new face in the ambitious VW camp with his seat at MG now being filled by former Champion Andrew Jordan meanwhile Honda had replaced its history-making tour estate with a new Civic typ R for Matt Neil and Gordon shedon Infiniti had arrived on the scene as well with a brand new Q50 biggest news of all perhaps was the return of triple World touring car Champion Andy prio who was filling turkington's BMW boots The Talented Channel Islander wasted no time laying down his marker by grabbing pole position for the first of the day's three epic encounters Aaron Smith lined up second with his two illustrious new teammates Plato and turkington locking out row two all the drivers are obliged to run the softer Dunlop Tire in one of the day's three races and prio was one of the few Front Runners to take the option in the opener as the Lights Went Out it seemed to be the right call too the pole man making a solid start to lead the jostling Pat into parak Hill bend it was teammate Rob Collard though who made a lightning getaway from fifth on the grid leap frogging the Volkswagens to make it a bmw2 further back the predictable first lap action saw Neil and Sam Toof make contact others in the tightly packed Midfield were forced to take avoiding action although the soft tires had given prio the early Advantage by half distance they were starting to feel the pace and it wasn't long before they started to fade in a Flash Collard Smith and Plato were all through the early leader would finally struggle home in ninth after dropping further places in the closing laps up front the faultless Collard held on to take what was a totally unexpected but thoroughly deserved Victory from the hard charging Smith and Plato behind the top three mg debut Jack gof was hounded by turkington and shedon but survived to claim fourth with VW and Honda filling his mirrors as they flashed over the Finishing Line with the race two grid now being set by a driver's fastest lap in race one it was Plato who lined up on pole for the day's second Showdown alongside prio shedan was third in the new Honda and card back and fourth this time with the softer dun loock tires on his BMW plus maximum 75 kilos of success ballast that that didn't stop the race one winner from making another great getaway slotting into second behind Plato but his glory was shortlived as first shedon then prio battled their way past the soft tired BMW into the top three positions by now the dominant Plato had made his getaway and seemed on target for maximum points until disaster struck a dramatic puncture set the Volkswagen sliding off into the gravel and instant retirement Plato's demise left shedon and prio locked in a Titanic two-way tussle for victory the BMW briefly nosed ahead but the Honda immediately fought back the squabbling pair was still locked together nose to tail around the final corner with the BMW drawing alongside on the dramatic drag to the checker flag it was shedon though who just held on to give the type R A stunning Maiden Victory the margin just 400s of a second with a top 10 reverse for the day's final race it was the Audi of Rob Austin on pole in the holiday Sunshine the mg of Jack Goff also lined up on the front row with Neil's Honda and Sam tof's BMW behind Austin made no mistake grabbing the early lead as Neil sneaked past gof on the blast to the first Corner further back first race Victor Collard went from hero to zero a tap forcing him off into the kitty litter the Audi bravely clung onto the lead as the top three ran nose to tail eventually the chasing Honda made its decisive move Goff also following Neil pass the Plucky Audi which quickly fell into the clutches of Jordan's hard charging mg as the dueling Duo Tangled so Smith slipped through into third an impressive climb from 12th on the grid back at the front Neil was summoning up all his experience to keep gof at Bay despite the mg's close attentions in the final few laps the triple champ held on to claim his 54th btcc win and complete an amazing d for the new Civic Type R after the champagne flowed Luise Goodman caught up with the Honda star well m a fantastic opening uh weekend of the season for you and the Honda urasa racing team two victories for the new Civic typ R and you're you're leaving this first round at the head of the championship yeah we came here with High Hopes but realistic expectations and but never in the our wildest dreams would we imagine two wins out of three this weekend it's just absolutely fantastic and you know sharing them out one each it's over the moon so next time we move on to Donnington which is very much your home race isn't it yeah it's where I had my first ever btcc win and uh emptied Allen's Allen gal's pocket for 250 Grand at the time so it's it's got a lot of special memories for me but you know we're realistic you know Jason and the blmr guys have had uh incredible Pace this weekend and they've it's not gone their way they're going to be light you know we we're carrying this new 75 kilo weight penalty at Donington so it's going to be uh it's going to be pretty tough and qualifying who else do you think is going to come into the mix at the next round I think the BMS are going to be always be there all three of them so um you know you've got to be realistic the whole Championship is wide open at the moment not just with BMW Honda and uh VW but everybody up and down the pit Lane it's it's wide open Donington is a circuit with a lot of history and a circuit that's absolutely fantastic for spectators to come along and watch that isn't it it very much opens itself up for them yeah I mean historically it's got some great viewing areas on the banks down through cran of Curves some absolute Classics it's a real flowing circuit with uh always provides some great racing and uh it's it's a tough one to win at any particular favorite corners or favorite parts of the track for you well one the drivers always dread is cran of Curves because it's flat out in sixth gear in one of these things for the last few years I haven't had the bottle to take it flatten but flash always does me down there so that's always a burn of contention for me where I got to focus on and what do you look for from car at a track like Donnington you just got to have a good balance uh all around you've got to have strong engine but the new Honda engine we've got this year is absolutely fantastic we've got no complaints in that area you know we're we're ride on the money with the best ones this weekend we look forward to seeing you there and hopefully you'll be collecting a little bit more silverware for the trophy cabinet we'll certainly be trying thanks Lou oh\n"