Sam Tordoff made some impressive laps of the Donington Park National Circuit in Derbyshire.

Despite a dry start to team testing ahead of the new British Touring Car Champinship, the rain soon began to fall, restricting some teams’ time on the track, with others not managing to venture out at all.

Tordoff, in his MG KX Momentum Racing MG6, completed 59 laps with a top speed of 99.72mph and a lap time of 1min 11.441sec, only a 0.354sec gap behind top man and last year's championship winner Andrew Jordon in his Honda Civic.

Sam made his Touring Car debut in 2010 competing in the final meeting of the season at Brands Hatch, driving a Vauxhall Vectra for Uniq Racing and finishing tenth.

Returning back to the BTCC in 2013 with Triple 8 Race Engineering, now branded as MG KX Momentum Racing, he is racing alongside team-mate Jason Plato.

He claimed his first podium finish in the BTCC in the third race of last season at Brands Hatch, finishing third behind the Team Dynamics Hondas. He secured his first BTCC pole position at Snetterton, leading an MG one-two ahead of Plato.

Prior to his Touring Car fame he has been a popular driver in other motorsport, including the Renault Clio Cup UK in 2009 and 2010 and driving for Team Parker Racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB in 2011 and 2012.

In 2010-11 he won the British Racing Drivers Club “Rising Star” Award and he is the grandson of rally driver Jack Tordoff.

Tordoff and MG KX Momentum Racing’s first three races are at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on March 29-30.

The British Touring Car Championship is by far the biggest motor racing championship of its kind in the UK and is in its 57th year.

It comprises of 30 races contested across ten weekends.