EXTRA FIVE MINUTES ‘A JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN’ AT DONINGTON

Nathan Edwards says he feels revisions to the regulations around race distances in the Vertu MINI CHALLENGE mean that the season opener this weekend at Donington Park will be a step into the unknown.

Although the opening two races of the weekend are still scheduled to run for 20 minutes, the final race will run for an extended period of 25 minutes this weekend – as it will at a number of meetings during the season.

The opening race could also run to a longer period of time if the safety car is deployed, which will automatically add five minutes to the race distance.

The fact that the longest race will come at the end of the weekend means drivers will have to be particularly wary about tyre wear and Edwards – who qualified third on the grid for the opening meeting – said it be interesting to see how drivers approached proceedings.

“It’s proper tight in the times which we knew it was going to be, but I had a good car and now we’ll see what we can do in the races,” he said.

“It’s going to be all about making sure you keep the tyres alive, and that’s going to be even more important when we get to tomorrow and the third race.

“It doesn’t sound like a lot, but an extra five minutes is going to mean a lot of looking after the car to keep it alive. We might get a 25 minute race if the safety car comes out today and it will already be tricky with the temperatures, so it’s going to be a bit of a journey into the unknown.”