Josh Files made the best possible start to his TCR Germany campaign by claiming a double victory in the opening two races at the Oschersleben Motorsport Arena.
In a last minute change the Poringland racer was sitting behind the wheel of a SEAT Leon Cup car for the Target Competition team as their Opel Astra wasn't quite ready for the heat of battle with Files taking fifth place on the grid for race one despite suffering from fuel surge.
The local racer then made a blistering start to race one and was in second place by the first turn to follow the leader.
'I watched him push so hard he was destroying his tyres,' said Files.
'Half way through the race I out-braked him in turn one and built a comfortable gap. I was over the moon to say the least.'
Files started race two from grid six and was up to third by the end of the opening lap and after a short safety car interlude moved into second place.
'I tried to catch the leader but was struggling for traction but then he received a drive through penalty and I inherited the lead,' he said.
'I then had to hold on for 15 minutes with a queue of cars behind, all on newer tyres, but I held my nerve and didn't make a mistake and took the win again.'
Dereham's Dan Zelos had to call upon the skills of his team, Ciceley Motorsport, once more at Donington Park to repair his Renault Clio between races.
Zelos had to clamber out of his up-turned Evergreen Tyres supported Clio after just a few corners of the opening race.
'Donington was a hugely frustrating weekend,' reflected the 17-year-old Dereham Sixth Form College A-Level student who had survived the incident unscathed.
'In the first race, I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and my lack of knowledge regarding slicks in cold conditions caught me out.
'The Ciceley boys did an incredible job to fix my car and it was such a shame race two didn't last longer as I felt a top 10 finish was on the cards.'
In the repaired car Zelos had made his way up to 13th place but he retired when his engine began to misfire once more which was the reason for his poor qualifying performance.
The Jazzy Potato crew of Iain Anderson and Amanda Black secured first and second places respectively in the opening two Britcar races at Donington Park in their Lifetime Racing of Watton prepared Ginetta G55.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here