Richardson Racing chases Donington success
Grantham-based Richardson Racing will hope to build on an encouraging start to the new Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup season when the series heads to Donington Park for the second round of the year this weekend (16/17 April).Brother and sister pairing Andrew and Louise Richardson showed impressive speed in the opening rounds of the season at Brands Hatch, despite both running into problems in their first weekend of racing in the G50 class.Andrew kick-started his title campaign with a second place finish in the opening race of the year before securing an impressive win in race two, where he also broke the G50 lap record.Having also diced for position with the quicker G55 class cars in the first two races, Andrew looked well placed to secure a hat-trick of podium finishes before a fuel pump issue meant he was unable to start the final race, although his earlier results mean he sits third in the G50 class and sixth overall.Andrew now heads to Donington Park for the latest three races keen to build on the speed he displayed at Brands Hatch at a circuit he admits is amongst his favourites on the calendar.“Donington is one of my favourite circuits and I have always been quick there,” he said. “The G50 is a quick car to drive and it should all come together to be a good combination for me – a good car on a circuit I love and where I have always done well. “I’m not sure what the difference in performance between the G55 and the G50 will be this weekend but I don’t expect it to be much different to what it was at Brands Hatch. My aim is to finish as high as possible overall and I’m definitely chasing at least a podium in our class. Hopefully we can come away from the weekend with another win.”Younger sister Louise endured a difficult start to her season at Brands Hatch, with fourth place in race one being her only finish of the weekend after she was knocked out of a podium place in race two and was then withdrawn from race three on safety grounds after a wheel nut sheared prior to the start.Louise goes to Donington Park this weekend sitting eighth in class and 18th overall after the opening rounds and is keen to move up the championship order after showing her potential at the wheel of the G50 in the first meeting of the year; even if the end results didn’t reward that potential.“I’m definitely hoping for a better weekend at Donington Park than I had at Brands Hatch!” she said. “I’ve not been in the car since Brands but hopefully we have fixed the problems that we had there and I’ll be in a position to fight for a place on the G50 podium. If I’m able to get a victory, then that would be great.“Donington is the closest thing to a home track for us, but I don’t feel any extra pressure because of that. It’s a great circuit to race on, especially when you go down the Craner Curves, and I would love to do well there this weekend.”The Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup will again be in action three times this weekend, with the opening 12 lap race scheduled to start at 16:05 on Saturday afternoon.Race two and three, both over 16 laps, take place on Sunday at 10:45 and 16:25, with action being broadcast on ITV4, ITV4HD and on ITV.com as part of the live coverage of the second round of the British Touring Car Championship season. The TV broadcast runs from 11:00 to 18:00.