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Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport collected a solid haul of points from the British Touring Car Championship opener at Donington Park, as their campaign got underway with a battling weekend display.
The team and their WSR-run BMW 330i M Sport took to the track at the historic Donington Park, the scene of the past three season openers since 2022, looking to make a successful start to their 2025 title defence.
The weekend started with plenty of running in the opening two free practice sessions of the weekend, with Kent-based driver, Jake Hill, finishing P14 and P6 respectively as the team geared up for the all-important qualifying session that followed.
Jake would put in a valiant effort behind the wheel of the #1 'Laser Beamer' to record P8 on the grid for the opening race of the 2025 season, with all eyes set on making progress to the front of the field on Sunday morning.
The opening race of the season would see Jake making a great start from P8, launching off the line to immediately challenge those around him as the field charged into Redgate for the first time. As the race continued, the benefit of a mid-race Safety Car and a closely-knit field would see Jake make some calculated overtakes to jump up the order and take the chequered flag in P4 after a post-race penalty was issued to Tom Chilton.
Race Two, later that afternoon, would again see a lightning start from the BMW as Jake sped away from the second row of the grid to seize third into the opening corner. Again, Jake would stay clear of danger as he looked to close on the leading pair, but ultimately he would concede his podium place on the penultimate lap to finish just shy of the top-three in P4 at the fall of the chequered flag.
With the reverse grid draw taking effect for the final race of the day, Jake started the final race of the day in P3 and would start well to be running at the sharp end in the opening stages. After an intense battle with his competitors, Jake would endure contact, placing him down the order as the race drew to a close, rounding out the Sunday with P10.
After a hard-fought race day, Jake and Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport leave the season opener in 6th place of the drivers' standings on 32 points. The team now looks to gear up for the second round of the BTCC season at Brands Hatch Indy on the 10th - 11th of May.
Jake Hill shared his thoughts following the opening weekend:
"It was a testing weekend for us in the season opener at Donington Park, we didn't quite have the raw pace to challenge those at the very front of the field on Sunday, but myself and team worked incredibly hard across the weekend to make strides forward with the car. We gathered plenty of information from all three races, and we finished the day with a good points haul, but we know there is still more work to be done. A massive thanks to all at Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport and the #1 crew who were faultless all weekend with their support and hard work. We go again at Brands Hatch Indy, where we will be looking to return to the front of the grid."
Mark Blundell, Sporting Director of Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, reflected on the weekend positively as the team look to return to form in Round Two:
"It was a challenging season opener for us at Donington, but the hard work and dedication from Jake and the team ensured we still collected a good amount of points despite the difficulties we faced across the weekend. It was brilliant to welcome our partners trackside once again for 2025 and your support was invaluable as we looked to give it everything out on track. Rest assured, we are working hard to build upon this solid start to our 2025 campaign and will be back stronger at Brands Hatch."
