Eoin Murray’s involvement in the British Touring Car Championship resumes at Donington Park this weekend following his enforced layoff for the Oulton Park round two weeks ago. A new engine has now been procured for the Arguscarhire.com Alfa Romeo and the team is confident of a strong showing.

The 2005 European Alfa Challenge Champion commented: “Sitting at home watching the Oulton Park race was a huge disappointment. So far this has been my worst season of racing to date with reliability problems but now I am determined to turn things around and finish with some strong results, it’s not too late to sneak a few surprises!”.  Eoin made a major impact in Donington Park last year even with newcomer ballast and although most teams have made a step forward this year Eoin is confident that he has a really strong package for the weekend. “The Alfa Romeo is well suited to the high-speed Donington Circuit and the knowledge which we gained last year gives us a strong edge. Team Quest has done a fantastic job with the resources available and I hope I can reward their hard work with a strong performance this weekend”.

The BTCC could not be arriving at the Midlands venue at a more dramatic moment, with Italy’s Fabrizio Giovanardi and Briton Jason Plato separated by just one point at the top of the table. And with Donington enjoying an excellent location BTCC race day is expected to draw a bumper crowd. Indeed, tens of thousands of fans from across the region and neighbouring cities of Birmingham, Derby, Leicester and Nottingham are likely to flock to the historic Donington circuit for what will be the BTCC’s only visit of 2007.
 

The Donington Park fixture marks something of a home event for a number of the high-profile teams and drivers in the BTCC, chiefly reigning champion Matt Neal (Droitwich), new race-winner Mat Jackson (Henley-in-Arden) and his family’s Jacksons MSport BMW team, front-runner Mike Jordan and his Eurotech Honda squad (Sutton Coldfeld), rising star Adam Jones (Solihull) and also Richard Marsh (Ashbourne), who not only drives for but also owns the newly-formed Coventry-based A-Tech Alfa Romeo team.

Derby city centre in fact last Saturday played host to a display from Marsh’s A-Tech outfit just eight days ahead of its home round. Marsh had two of his team’s distinctive N.Technology-built Italian Alfa 156s and the A-Tech squad’s impressive race transporter on show in the city's main central square. He was present from to greet the public and show interested passers-by around his BTCC race car. “It’s important with the BTCC coming to Donington that Derby knows it has a driver in the championship,” said Marsh. He is clearly proud of his Derbyshire roots - his Alfa races in the BTCC carrying the blue and green flag of Derbyshire on its roof.