Q&A: Warren Hughes.

In one of the drives of the season, Warren Hughes brought his MG ZS through the British Touring Car Championship field at Donington Park in the final race of the season to take second place from 15th on the grid. Victory at Brands Hatch in the previous meeting had seen Warren arrive at Donington with maximum ballast on his car, but once that was removed his MG flew and the Geordie - soon to be married - rounded off the season in style. We spoke to him shortly after Sunday's race.

Was today a good way to finish the season?

Warren Hughes: "It's good that we finished it off on a high note, we can party tonight with something to celebrate.

"What a race though! The early laps alone make it one of the most enjoyable races I have ever experienced. I mentally sat back and thought 'there must be 10 cars here all battling for position'. I just got stuck in and your instincts take over, and I came out of it really well.

"I was pleased that all the opportunities that came up, I read them as they were unfolding, and just dived in. It was great to come out in a strong position at that stage of the race."

Was the timing of your pit stop crucial?

WH: "We'd spoken about strategy before the race, and that worked brilliantly. One again WSR were spot on. As the season has unfolded we've really been getting a handle on maximising our strategy, and they did a fantastic pit turn-around to back it up. We must have been the quickest of the day, and I leap-frogged two cars in the pits. The team played a huge part in this result."

At what point did you suddenly realise that a podium finish was there for you?

WH: "I wasn't sure until I came out after the pit stop how things were going to shake up. I knew we would be there or there abouts, but I didn't know if it would be third, fourth or fifth, as I wasn't sure what other people were doing.

"I was P4 when I came out, someone in front pitted and that was P3, then one of the Hondas had a problem and I was second. It was great, and shows what a huge difference the ballast makes. I was a second a lap quicker without that weight."

Obviously that weight hurt you in qualifying as well?

WH: "We've worked hard to improve the car over the weekend, and if we had a test day here tomorrow we'd improve it again. The weight exaggerates the characteristics of the car's balance, it's hard to be sure at times whether it is a balance problem or just the weight, and another 42kg is always going to hurt your straight line speed."

Was the result a nice early wedding present?

WH: "Yes! We'll be having a nice celebration with WSR and MG tonight."