Dutch driver-team combination Daniël De Jong and MP Motorsport enjoyed a positive debut in the Auto GP Championship at Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit over the weekend, 16th/17th July, with the 19-year-old taking a best result of sixth position during an extremely wet first race. For De Jong, who is dovetailing selected events in Auto GP alongside his commitments in Formula Renault 3.5 Series, this weekend's race meeting marked his first ever experience of the British track in addition to his maiden run in the 550hp Zytek-engined Lola chassis. MP Motorsport also broke new ground with its first appearance in Auto GP, the front-running Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup team unsurprisingly proving capable of delivering a competitive car on its debut in the category. Improving markedly during the two dry practice sessions on Friday, 15th July, De Jong was seventh in the second session before lapping 10th fastest in qualifying with a time of 1m18.285 seconds (184.08 km/h), only a second shy of the front row. For the opening race on Saturday, 16th July, persistent heavy rain brought a dramatic change in conditions and left the circuit absolutely saturated. Providing yet another fresh challenge for team and driver with zero experience of the Auto GP car in the wet, as newcomers to the series the car also had to run on brand new treaded tyres rather than 'scrubbed-in' wets - a distinct disadvantage. Officials opted to start the race behind the Safety Car due to the volume of water and continued rainfall. De Jong circulated in ninth, having immediately gained a place due to problems for the car of Adrian Campos Jnr, and racing was expected to commence at the end of lap four but an excursion for Francesco Dracone at the Old Hairpin resulted in the Safety Car remaining on track. Along with approximately half the field, De Jong made his stop at that point and it proved to be the perfect decision by MP Motorsport. The early stoppers were able to catch the lead train as it continued behind the Safety Car and when the remainder pitted a lap later, De Jong was in sixth. Racing proper got underway on lap seven and De Jong moved into fifth briefly before slipping to seventh by lap eight. Consistently improving his pace in the dreadful conditions he dealt superbly with immense pressure from Adam Carroll and only the slightest of errors under braking at the end of lap 12 enabled the British driver to go through along with his team-mate Bruno Mendez. Running in ninth place as the race entered its final third, the order was by no means set and after passing Rio Haryanto for eighth on lap 17 De Jong gained another place a lap later when Fabio Onidi lost control of his car at Hollywood and slammed into the tyre barriers. Then, on the final lap, De Jong was able to get ahead of Mendez to take a very well deserved sixth place on his Auto GP debut. "It was really difficult to see anything, the rain was really bad but it was a good race for us", said the Karpack, Boix and De Jong ECOCUPS-backed driver, "The team did a great job with the car and the early pit-stop. I'd never driven it in the wet and this weekend was my first time at Donington too so there was a lot to learn. We only had one test before coming to the track so it's a good result." More points for De Jong in second Donington encounter Sunday's 17-lap race was dry with De Jong starting in third position by virtue of the 'reverse grid' employed in Auto GP for the second encounter each weekend. Unable to get away as he wanted, too few revs leading to a sluggish start, the Dutch teenager slipped to ninth place and faced a very tough battle but he improved his pace well throughout before an eventual finish of eighth. Running close behind Kevin Ceccon, both gained a position at the expense of Mendez on lap six but on the 12th tour De Jong was unceremoniously forced back into ninth following a do-or-die passing attempt by Rio Haryanto.  This resulted in a 25-second penalty for the Indonesian driver and so De Jong was credited with eighth at the flag, having held off a determined challenge from Campos Jnr. Pace-wise, De Jong made big steps forward and concluded the second race with a best lap time of 1m19.608 seconds - just 0.5 seconds shy of podium performance. "OK, the start wasn't so good but it was Daniël's first one in the dry in this car, he just didn't get enough revs and so lost a lot of places", said MP Motorsport team principal Sander Dorsman, "We got a bit stuck in among some of the others and then (Rio) Haryanto came through, he started on new tyres, and tried a do-or-die move. After that, the car wasn't so good. "Today wasn't as good as Saturday but overall it's been quite a good debut for us and for Daniël and we're looking forward to making more improvements at the next round. We've learnt a lot here this weekend, I think we can be quite satisfied." More Auto GP action is up next for MP Motorsport and De Jong with a visit to Oschersleben in Germany over the weekend 30th/31st July, an event which will also see the team participate in the supporting Formula Renault 2.0 NEC races.  After this, MP Motorsport will prepare for the next Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 race meeting which will take place at Silverstone in the UK on 20th/21st August. For that event, De Jong will return to his Formula Renault 3.5 Series seat with Comtec Racing.