Cataclean Plato Racing showed its fighting spirit in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship this past weekend (9-10 May) as the team dug deep to score a top-six finish and handful of points at Brands Hatch.

On what proved to be an action-packed race day around the Kent circuit, drivers Adam Morgan and Dan Rowbottom found themselves in the thick of the action as they battled to make their way up towards the front of the field.

Keen to build on the early promise that was shown at Donington Park last month, the Mercedes-AMG A35 Saloon outfit kicked off proceedings by working through a methodical plan during practice on Saturday morning - all of which was geared towards optimising qualifying.

With the car still relatively early in its development journey, both drivers opted to explore different avenues in terms of set-up and it was Morgan that led the line as he closed out the series’ new Qualifying Race in sixth, while Rowbottom was a handful of positions further back.

Race one on Sunday would ultimately prove to be a character building affair for the fledgling squad, beginning with Morgan being unceremoniously punted into the tyre barrier at Paddock Hill Bend at the end of the opening lap.

The resulting impact left Morgan’s side of the garage with an uphill battle to ready his car for race two (which they achieved) while back on-track, Rowbottom was embroiled in a number of wheel-to-wheel battles as he fought his way up into the points.

Race two proved to be one of attrition for the entire grid as ever-worsening damp conditions played their part, leading to both Rowbottom and Morgan to showcase their overtaking prowess once more.

With nothing to lose, both drivers opted to pit for wet tyres and had they had more laps available to them, the gamble may well have paid off as they finished the race as the quickest cars on-track, with Rowbottom claiming the fastest lap.

Morgan arguably saved his best until last as he showcased the true potential of his Mercedes in race three by charging from 15th on the grid to sixth. Having honed the set-up of his car throughout the day, the multiple race winner was a man on a mission as he scythed forward.

Rowbottom also showed eye-catching speed by moving up five positions on the opening lap, only to see his work be undone following an excursion down Paddock Hill Bend. While able to recover and complete the race, his chances of a stellar result were sadly over.

Jason Plato, Cataclean Plato Racing Team Owner: “It’s been a challenging weekend but I’ve been around long enough to know that that’s how racing can go sometimes. The important thing is that we learn from it and improve for next time.

“We’re still scratching the surface of these cars and this weekend saw Adam and Dan branch off in two different directions in terms of set-up, all with the focus of understanding what avenues we should and shouldn’t explore moving forward.

“While that ultimately proved to be beneficial, it did mean that we were in the thick of the action. Adam was turfed off in race one which was frustrating but I have to give credit to the entire team as they put in a cracking effort to get him out for race two.

“For him to go from pretty much the back of the grid to sixth in race three was a nice way to end. Dan obviously had his struggles, but he never gave up and had it not been for his off in race three I think he could have been right up there with Adam too.”

Dan Rowbottom, #32 Cataclean Plato Racing: “It’s certainly not been the weekend that I had hoped for but we just have to take it on the chin, understand why perhaps things didn’t go my way and then move on to the next event.

“Getting pinged for track limits in qualifying meant that we were a little out of position for the Qualifying Race and that then snowballs the weekend because you’re in the midfield, getting caught up in other peoples incidents, etc.

“Throw into the mix the challenging weather conditions as well and you can see why we never got a proper run at things. What’s important is that we’ve learnt a lot about the car this weekend and hopefully that should put us in good stead for Snetterton.”

Adam Morgan, #33 Cataclean Plato Racing: “This weekend has been one of those ‘what could have been weekends’ I think. It’s been an uphill battle at times but we managed to bring home a top-six finish in that last one.

“We had really good pace on that opening lap of race one so it was frustrating to be taken out at turn one. The guys did a mega job to get me out for race two but with switching to wet tyres mid-race it was always going to be tough to fight back.

“At the moment we don’t quite have the car in that optimum operating window however when we find the sweet spot, I’ve not doubt that we will be fast because these cars have bags and bags of potential.”

The 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season continues at Snetterton in less than two weeks’ time on the 23-24 May.