Donington Park provided the backdrop to a spectacular two days of on-track entertainment this past weekend (August 10/11) as the British Automobile Racing Club took centre stage in Leicestershire for the 2024 edition of Convoy in the Park.Â
Billed as one of the biggest race meetings on the UK motorsport calendar, no less than five championships – and one additional guest category – served up captivating thrills and spills to thousands of fans that had flocked trackside.
Headlining the action around the 1.64-mile National layout were five blockbusters contests from the British Truck Racing Championship, where twists and turns played out in both Division 1 and Division 2.
Ryan Smith remains on course to clinch what would be a record-breaking ninth consecutive title in Division 1 after he bounced back from a frustrating qualifying session to add three more wins to his tally for the season.Â
The Daimler Freightliner driver twice charged from the back of the grid to claim runners-up laurels behind David Jenkins on Saturday however come Sunday there was no stopping him as he powered his way to a memorable hat-trick.
Over in Division 2, defending champion Paul Rivett continued his fightback in the points by claiming three impressive wins. There were also visits to the top step of the podium for John Powell and the returning Adam Bintn in his Volvo White Aerodyne.
That wasnât to be the only truck racing that took place though during the weekend as the International Truck Prix made a welcome return to the schedule following its popular debut last year.Â
Boasting an entry list that was packed with high-profile names, the weekendâs four races belonged to Jamie Anderson as he didnât put a wheel wrong in Neil Yatesâ MAN to claim all four race wins.Â
Over in the British Endurance Championship in association with Motorsport UK, perfection was the only word that could describe Peter Erceg and Marcus Clutton as they claimed yet another race win in their Audi GT3.Â
Maintaining their 100% winning record in the series, the PB Racing by JMH duo edged out the Lamborghini GT3 pairing of John Seale and Jamie Stanley to snare pole position, and they then repeated the feat in that afternoonâs two-hour race; triumphing by a little over a lap.
Further back was the Team Tasman Porsche 991.2 Cup entry of David Harrison and Nathan Luckey who claimed third overall; finishing just ahead of Xentek Motorsportâs Bal Sidhu and Josh Steed who were crowned GT4 champions.Â
The Britcar Trophy Championship complimented the long-distance racing with a pair of 50-minute races that threw up two different sets of winners.Â
In race one, Jasver Sapra and Bryan Bransom proved too much for the opposition in their BMW E46 M3 to win comfortably win before Lee Goldsmith utilised his rear-wheel-drive BMW to rocket up the order and onto the top step of the rostrum.Â
Standing on the highest peak of the podium became a familiar feeling for Matt Simpson who got his title challenge back on-track with a pair of wins in the Pickup Truck Racing Championship.
The former BTCC race winner was at times in a league of his own as he blitzed the opposition to triumph in races one and two however he was denied the chance of completing his hat-trick by Dale Gent, who tallied a win of his own in the finale.Â
Steve McDermid bounced back from a high-speed crash at Thruxton by returning to winning ways in the Adrian Flux MG Owners Club Championship. The MG ZR driver reigned supreme in race one however he could only muster second in race two as Howard Hunt came to the fore.
Concluding the weekendâs track action at Donington Park were three races from the MINI CHALLENGE Clubsport with Airtec Motorsport, where the spoils were shared between the seriesâ top two drivers – Stephen Berry and Ross Alexander.Â
To view the full classification of results from all sessions at Donington Park, CLICK HERE.
Every lap from the two-day event is also available to watch on demand via the British Automobile Racing Club YouTube channel HERE.