Jason Plato's dream BTCC comeback kicks off at Donington Park
Cataclean Plato Racing made history at Donington Park earlier today (18 April) as Dan Rowbottom took victory in the first ever BTCC Qualifying Race in the debut weekend for the team.
The highly anticipated 'Race to Pole' – introduced during the off-season – saw the best tin top drivers in the UK battle for not only grid positions for tomorrow's opener but also for the first haul of points of the new campaign.
It came as little surprise to see Tom Ingram (Team VERTU) and Ash Sutton (NAPA Racing UK) – with six BTCC titles between them – lineup on the front row of the Qualifying Race by virtue of their flying laps during the earlier session, but both hit trouble during Saturday's main contest.
It was a breathtaking start and opening lap as Ingram, Sutton, Rowbottom and NAPA Racing UK's Dan Cammish fought it out for P1.
There was little space as Sutton slipped his #116 Ford Focus Titanium down the inside of Ingram at the start of lap two, and with the gap running out his car slid across the grass and eventually into the gravel.
It was a double blow for NAPA Racing UK as Cammish was held up by the incident, while Ingram, Rowbottom and Speedworks Corolla Racing's Josh Cook pulled clear.
There was further drama shortly after as news filtered through of a five second penalty for Ingram for being out of position at the start of the race.
It proved to be a race against the clock, and with Ingram needing to pull clear, he eventually finished just 0.024s short as the chequered flag waved.
Celebrations ensued as Team Principal and Team Manager Jason Plato cut an emotional figure with his incredible BTCC comeback producing an immediate fairytale story.
Ingram did enough to grab second ahead of a promising performance from Cook in the #66 Toyota Corolla.
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 – finishing fourth and eighth respectively.
WSR's Charles Rainford, Team VERTU's Tom Chilton and Cataclean Plato Racing's Adam Morgan were next in the order, whilst Gordon Shedden (Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport) and Dexter Patterson (Steel Seal with Power Maxed Racing) rounded out the top ten.
Round 1, 2 and 3 of the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship takes place at Donington Park tomorrow with a huge crowd expected at the Leicestershire venue with many more able to watch the action all-day LIVE on ITV4 from 10:45.
Dan Rowbottom, Cataclean Plato Racing, 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.
"We didn't have the pace of [Tom] Ingram if I'm honest, but he had that five second penalty, so all I had to do was manage the gap. It's been a long winter but this is an incredible moment for Cataclean Plato Racing... let's try and make it happen tomorrow."
