Mikey Doble kicks off new season with Donington Park double
Mikey Doble enjoyed a spectacular start to his 2025 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season this past weekend (26-27 April) as he claimed two Independent race wins at Donington Park.
Returning to the UK’s premier motorsport series with Motor Car Parts Direct with Power Maxed Racing for a third consecutive campaign, last year’s Jack Sears Trophy winner demonstrated why he continues to be one to watch as he delivered a trio of battling drives.
Showing plenty of pace across Saturday’s free practice sessions, the 26-year-old comfortably progressed into Q2 in qualifying before he went on to secure tenth on the grid for race one.
Greeted with glorious sunshine and a huge trackside crowd on race day, Doble wasted no time in fighting his way up the order as he pulled off a number of eye-catching moves to capture fifth overall and his first Independents’ triumph.
Lining up on the third row of the grid for race two, Doble had the podium in his sights however a mechanical issue prior to the green flag lap meant that he was handed a drive-through penalty virtue of his team working on the car beyond the permitted time on the grid.
Thankfully the Vauxhall Astra did manage to fire into life and after serving his penalty at the end of the opening lap, Doble demonstrated his race craft by charging his way up to 16th place by the chequered flag.
Doble arguably saved his best until last at the Leicestershire venue in race three as he scythed his way through the field to finish seventh overall and crucially, snatch a second Independents’ win of the day from Chris Smiley at the final chicane.
Following the conclusion of Donington Park, Doble sits ninth in the BTCC Drivers’ Championship and second in the Independent Drivers’ Championship.
Mikey Doble: “I’ve absolutely loved this weekend! To come away with two Independent wins is a fantastic start to the season and the encouraging thing is that as a team, our best is still to come.
“We didn't quite maximise the set-up of the car in qualifying so to have made it up to fifth in race one was great; we were where I thought we should have been for the start of race two. That unfortunately was a gut wrencher as the car wouldn’t start and we were hit with a drive-through penalty once we did manage to get it going.
“To make it back to 16th was the best we could do and then in race three I felt like that was one of the drives of my touring car career so far. On the medium tyre we clawed our way to seventh and in the process wrestled the Independents win away from Smiley on the final lap.
“Given where the team was just a few months ago everyone can be proud of what we’ve achieved this weekend and as I said, I really feel like we’re yet to scratch the surface on what we can do in the BTCC this season - roll on Brands Hatch!”
Brands Hatch provides the next stop on the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship schedule with Rounds 4, 5 & 6 taking place on May 10-11.










