Aron Taylor-Smith continued his resurgent form in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, charging to another hat-trick of Independent victories – plus another outright podium – at Donington Park last weekend [24-25 August].
A fortnight on from the BTCC’s annual sojourn to Scotland, the UK’s premier motorsport category reconvened at Donington for the second time this season, this time making use of the Leicestershire venue’s extended, 2.5-mile Grand Prix configuration.
Taylor-Smith arrived among the in-form drivers, having impressed last time out at Knockhill with a front row qualifying result, plus two Independent wins on race day in his Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing-run Vauxhall Astra.
And the Irishman was among the pace-setters from the get-go, featuring in the top eight throughout both practice sessions, before storming to a third ‘Quick Six’ shootout appearance in a row during Saturday afternoon’s all-important qualifying session.
Lining up sixth, Taylor-Smith made a steady start in the first of three ITV4-televised races on Sunday and kept pace with the front-runners until an early safety car interruption.
The incident in question had scattered gravel across the racing line through the high-speed Esses chicane and, arriving flat out on the first lap after racing resumed, the #40 Vauxhall Astra skated wide on the low-grip surface.
Quick reflexes from Taylor-Smith behind the wheel kept the car pointing the right way, and he was able to resume having only lost a handful of positions.
The 34-year-old ultimately took the chequered flag in ninth after recovering some lost ground, then followed it up with a solid drive forward to eighth in the second contest. In both cases, Taylor-Smith was also the winning Independent driver, notching up his 15th and 16th class victories of the campaign respectively.
As is customary these days, Taylor-Smith’s efforts also earned him a spot in the coveted reverse grid draw, and luck rolled in favour of the Dubliner, promoting him to fourth on the grid for the finale.
A strong start gave Taylor-Smith a run at team-mate Mikey Doble, an opportunity he was quick to seize with a bold dive to the inside down the Craner Curves.
Another pass, this time on Osbourne’s Ford into the Melbourne Hairpin released Taylor-Smith into second. Two safety car interventions – plus a sprinkling of rain – gave the Vauxhall racer half a chance at the victory, but a risk-free move to pass never materialised.
Taylor-Smith was then forced to turn his focus backwards in the closing laps and opt for an ‘elbows out’ approach, as a charging Ingram closed in and squeezed by. Despite being shuffled back to third, Taylor-Smith and team celebrated a second outright podium of the campaign, and a clean sweep of Independent wins.
The net result of all three races means Taylor-Smith rises to seventh overall in the standings and extends his lead over Doble in the Independents Trophy to a commanding 59 points, meaning that it could be wrapped up next month at Silverstone.
Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing hold a similarly comfortable advantage in the Independent Teams Championship, 74 points clear of their nearest rivals.
Silverstone’s National circuit plays host to the penultimate weekend of the 2024 season on 21-22 September.
Aron Taylor-Smith (#40) said:
“To achieve what we have this weekend is, quite frankly, outrageous. I’m absolutely delighted to come away from Donington with a hat-trick of Independent wins, and another outright podium as well.
“It was great to showcase our one-lap pace yet again in qualifying and make the Quick Six shootout for the third event in a row. But equally pleasing was our race pace, and over those longer runs we were able to fight and mix it with the Manufacturer teams.
“Obviously that raises the stakes, and a little mistake in race one cost us a few spots, but we put in a really spirited fightback in race two, which gave us the platform we needed to go and battle onto the podium in the finale.
“It feels crazy to stand here and say we’ve only six races to go, but we’re into the business end of the season now, and I know both Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing and I will keep pushing, keep our performance levels up, and see what we can come away with.
“I very, very nearly managed to get a win at Silverstone last season, so it’s another circuit I’m going to with confidence, with optimism – as always – and looking to put on a show. Let’s see what we can do!”
