Cataclean Plato Racing made history at Donington Park as Dan Rowbottom took victory in the first ever BTCC Qualifying Race. The victory came during the debut weekend for the team. Jason Plato, Team Principal and Team Manager, cut an emotional figure with his incredible BTCC comeback producing an immediate fairytale story.
Qualifying Race Action at Donington Park
The ‘Race to Pole’ saw the best tin top drivers in the UK battle for grid positions and the first haul of points of the new campaign. Tom Ingram (Team VERTU) and Ash Sutton (NAPA Racing UK) lined up on the front row of the Qualifying Race. Both Ingram and Sutton earned their positions by virtue of their flying laps during the earlier session.
The start of the race was breathtaking. Ingram, Sutton, Rowbottom and Dan Cammish fought it out for P1.
Sutton slipped his #116 Ford Focus Titanium down the inside of Ingram at the start of lap two. With the gap running out, Sutton’s car slid across the grass and into the gravel. Cammish was held up by the incident. Ingram, Rowbottom and Josh Cook pulled clear.
Ingram’s Penalty and Rowbottom’s Victory
News filtered through of a five second penalty for Ingram for being out of position at the start of the race. Ingram needed to pull clear, but finished just 0.024s short as the chequered flag waved.
Dan Rowbottom said: “We’ve made a little bit of history. We’ve put the car on pole for tomorrow for Cataclean Plato Racing and it obviously feels fantastic. We still have to do a lot of work, but we made the best of it.”
- Ingram grabbed second.
- Cook finished third.
- Mikey Doble finished fourth.
Rounding Out the Top Ten
The LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing duo of Mikey Doble and Aiden Moffat enjoyed a great debut in the new Audi A3 Saloon. Moffat finished eighth.
WSR’s Charles Rainford, Team VERTU’s Tom Chilton and Cataclean Plato Racing’s Adam Morgan were next in the order. Gordon Shedden and Dexter Patterson rounded out the top ten.
Rounds 1, 2 and 3 of the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship takes place at Donington Park tomorrow. The action will be LIVE on ITV4 from 10:45.