The AmDTuning.com team will hope to add to the success it enjoyed at Brands Hatch when the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads to Donington Park this weekend for the second round of the 2013 season.
The West Thurrock-based team enjoyed a solid start to the new campaign in its home event last month, with Isle of Wight-based racer James Kaye becoming the first driver to take victory in the new Jack Sears Trophycreated this year for teams running Super 2000-based machinery.
Despite this year marking his first full season in the BTCC since 2006, James was on the pace throughout the Brands Hatch weekend on his debut in AmdTuning.coms turbo-powered Volkswagen Golf, with a gearbox issue the only thing that prevented him from adding to his race one success.
With that gearbox issue having now been resolved, James heads to the East Midlands for the second race of the year eager to add to his Brands Hatch victory as he looks to reclaim top spot in the Jack Sears Trophy standings, with his one win to date meaning he currently sits second behind Ford rival Liam Griffin.
We put in a good performance at Brands Hatch and it was a shame that the gearbox issue we had prevented us from taking at least one more win in the opening round of the year, he said. However, weve now solved the issue there was with the box and we go to Donington Park looking to try and improve on how we performed in the opening round.
Although Ive driven the car at Donington Park during the media day, the conditions were so cold that we werent able to learn too much but Im confident about how well perform given the speed we showed last time out.
Donington is a circuit that I enjoy as it is very fast and flowing, and it is one where the Volkswagen has always run well in the past. As ever, Ill try my best, and hopefully we can come away from the weekend with more silverware.
Team principal Shaun Hollamby said he was confident of another strong weekend for the team at a circuit where the Volkswagen had always been strong, with the team also seeking to bring home more silverware to celebrate the signing of a new sponsorship agreement which will come into force from the Donington Park weekend.
The gearbox has had a rebuild since Brands Hatch so weve solved the issues we had there and we are looking forward to Donington, he said. For whatever reason, the Golf has always been strong at Donington and James did a good job during the test on media day, despite the conditions and the fact that he wasnt really pushing.
The target for this weekend has to be to come away with three wins in the Jack Sears Trophy, but we know it wont be easy as there are five other drivers hoping for the same result. Donington suits the car as it changes direction well through the fast and flowing corners and were confident about our chances.
It would also be good if we have a strong weekend as Donington is the home circuit for one of our partners, Milltek, and this weekend we also have a new sponsor onboard in the shape of F1K Indoor Karting. They will shortly be launching a new indoor go-karting circuit down the road from our base, so a deal between us is something that makes sense for both parties. It would be fantastic if we could start our relationship with F1K with a trip to the top of the podium.
The new sponsorship deal with F1K comes as the company prepares to add to its portfolio of indoor go-karting circuits with a new venue in West Thurrock set to open next month.
As part of the deal, F1K logos will feature prominently on James Volkswagen Golf, while the company will play host to a series of AmDTuning.com karting events at its various venues over the course of the year to tie in with the remaining events on the BTCC calendar.
This is the first time we have undertaken a major sponsorship deal in motorsport and is a natural progression in our marketing strategy, F1K director Julian Henton said. AmDTuning.com are new neighbours for us in West Thurrock, where we are opening our new fifth indoor karting circuit in May. We are delighted to team up with them as we launch the new site.
The BTCC is the pinnacle of saloon car racing in the UK with a UK TV audience of 17 million views last year and over 350,000 race fans attending the races themselves, so it is a perfect fit for us. I wish James, Shaun and the whole AmDTuning.com team a successful and safe season and look forward to our new partnership getting underway.
