Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport head to Donington Park this weekend for round seven of the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, returning to the venue for a second time this season, this time on the longer GP configuration.
The squad arrives on the back of a front-row start, podium finish and an Independents victory at Knockhill, where home hero Gordon Shedden claimed the 142nd rostrum of his career and team-mate Árón Taylor-Smith banked a solid points haul in Fife. The aim now is to carry that momentum back to the scene of the season opener.
At 2.49 miles, the GP layout adds a further test for the drivers and opens up more genuine overtaking opportunities, with the addition of the Melbourne Hairpin.
Both drivers have form there. Dubliner Taylor-Smith swept to a hat-trick of Independent class wins on the GP circuit in 2024, in addition to a hard-fought overall second place in 2023. Shedden, meanwhile, has eight victories at the Leicestershire venue, with his outing on the GP circuit last year rewarding him with a third-place finish.
Heading into round seven, Gordon occupies tenth in the Drivers' Championship, with Árón occupying 14th. Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport sit sixth in the Teams' Championship and third in the Independent Teams' Championship, with the team focused on closing the gap in both standings as the second half of the season continues.
Following Saturday morning's opening 50-minute Free Practice session (11:00), the all-important Qualifying Groups (14:00) and 9-lap Qualifying Race (15:05) will determine the grid for Sunday's three races.
Sunday's races are scheduled for 11:45, 14:45 and 17:30, with all three broadcast live on ITV4 and ITVX.
Árón Taylor-Smith (#50) said:
"Donington GP is a circuit that holds plenty of good memories for me, with the likes of my return to the podium in 2023 after seven years away, and then the hat-trick of Independent wins in 2024. Knockhill was a challenging weekend for us with reliability issues, but we came away knowing we had the pace to fight at the sharp end with a bit of luck on our side. Plenty of homework has been done back at base to put us back in the mix this weekend. These races are won & lost in the workshop and I’m confident that once the car is in the window then we can challenge once again."
Gordon Shedden (#52) said:
"It's good to be heading back to Donington, and to the venue of my first podium with Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport at the start of the year. The GP circuit offers something a bit different with the hairpin thrown in, and that opens up some interesting overtaking opportunities come race day. Knockhill was a highlight for us, with a strong Saturday and a solid race day, delivering another podium and an Independents win to the tally. We had good pace all weekend, so the focus now is on taking that performance, executing properly, and coming away with another big haul of points."
Mark Blundell, Sporting Director at Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, said:
"As we head into the later stages of our 2026 campaign, the goal for Donington Park is to build on a productive weekend at Knockhill. As a team, we know what we're capable of, and Scotland reinforced that as we showed excellent speed across the weekend and learned what the Corolla can do when we get everything in the right window. Now it's about keeping that work rate up so we're in contention at the sharp end. The pace is there to be fighting for silverware, so it comes down to operating well as a team and putting ourselves in the best position to deliver the results and the points we need."
