The latest exhilarating chapter of the 2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship will be played out this weekend (April 28/29), with Donington Park providing the backdrop for rounds four, five and six.

Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, the series kicked into life at Brands Hatch in blockbuster fashion at the start of the month and that level of excitement is set to continue under the flightpath of East Midlands airport.

Three breathtaking races around the Kent venue brought three different winners as Jack Goff, Senna Proctor and Tom Ingram all topped the rostrum. Such is the competitive nature of this years grid, nobody visited the podium more than once – meaning a total of nine different drivers picked up silverware.

Further proof of how open the BTCC is this year is that the top ten in the championship standings sees ten different marques operated by ten different teams filling those spots. At the helm of the points arriving at the second event of the year is Speedworks Motorsport’s Ingram.

Adding a race win to a pair of solid points finishes at the curtain-raiser, the Toyota Avensis driver holds a slender three-point buffer over fellow Brands Hatch winner Goff and will carry 75kgs of success ballast into qualifying and race one.

Scoring a win at Donington Park last year, the Independent champion will be keen to further cement himself as the man to beat in the early stages; however challenges are set to come from all angles.

At the wheel of his Honda Civic Type R, Goff showcased that he isn’t a man to count out this year and he will be sighting further silverware for WIX Racing with Eurotech.

Adam Morgan and Rob Austin both scored podiums at Brands Hatch and the pair will be looking for more of the same in their respective machines. Despite expecting a tough time, reigning champion Ashley Sutton underlined his quality at the opening event to descend on Donington Park firmly in the mix in fifth.

Double champion Colin Turkington is another top name that will be eyeing victory to further ignite his title battle. Power Maxed Racing’s Proctor achieved that feat in a race that will live long in the memory for years to come having charged from P27 on slick tyres and a drying track.

Ollie Jackson, Rory Butcher and Mike Bushell round out the names that will carry success ballast into the weekend, virtue of their respective positions in the championship.

In total, 25 out of the 32 drivers competing this year having already scored points – once again echoing the level of competitiveness that the BTCC boasts this year.

Beyond the top ten, a host of names will be looking to strike at Donington Park and thrust themselves into contention. The likes of Andrew Jordan, Matt Neal, Sam Tordoff, Tom Chilton, Rob Collard, Josh Cook, Dan Cammish and Jason Plato, to name a few, will be notable drivers to look out for.

The introduction of the Dunlop hard option tyre will also no doubt play its part over the course of what is set to be a thrilling weekend of tin top action from Britain’s premier motor racing series.