Cataclean Plato Racing delivered its most competitive display of the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season to-date at Snetterton last weekend (May 23-24) as Adam Morgan and Dan Rowbottom swept their way to a strong haul of points.
Contending with scorching conditions across Saturday and Sunday at the Norfolk venue, the Mercedes-AMG A35 Saloon squad tallied double points finishes in all three races, while also battling for podium honours in the reverse grid finale.
Arriving at the longest circuit on the calendar with renewed optimism after unearthing more performance from its chassis’ between rounds, the team hit the ground running on Saturday as both Morgan and Rowbottom finished inside the top seven in the Qualifying Race.
Electing to split strategy for race one, Rowbottom ran the preferable soft tyre to finish sixth while Morgan contended with the medium compound - and an ever-worsening engine issue - to cross the line in 11th.
The multiple race winners continued to star inside the top ten in race two with Morgan this time leading the line. With a fresh power plant fitted into his front-wheel-drive machine, the Lancashire racer charged up the order to finish fifth, one place ahead of team-mate Rowbottom.
That double top-six result proved to be crucial when it came to the reverse grid draw too as it meant that the pair started second and third respectively behind pole sitter Gordon Shedden, although Rowbottom would be forced to line up on the slower medium tyre.
As the lights went out, the pair made impressive starts and the early exchanges saw Rowbottom remain a constant presence in the mirrors of Shedden, before he released Morgan on the soft tyre to launch an attack of his own on the Toyota driver.
Occupying second for a handful of laps, Morgan - along with Rowbottom - would frustratingly start to drop down the order in the latter stages, with a lack of straight line speed ultimately being their undoing.
Despite not being able to walk away with a maiden podium finish, both Morgan and Rowbottom held on to score points and the duo were left encouraged by the progress that had been made over the course of weekend.
Jason Plato, Cataclean Plato Racing Team Principal: “We’re obviously not going to be happy until we’re winning races but we can be pleased with how this weekend has gone, and credit to both Dan and Adam as they drove really well.
“We’ve made a big step forward with the chassis and part of that has come from us spending the day at Multimatic where we really dialled in on some key areas that we think can unlock more performance for us.
“Of course, having a good chassis is only as good as having some grunt down the straights and at the moment, I think everyone can see that we’re lacking in that area a little. Hopefully there will be a recalibration on that but in the meantime we’ll continue working hard and chipping away.”
Dan Rowbottom, #32 Cataclean Plato Racing: “It’s been a steady weekend in terms of results but I’m pleased that we’ve been able to move the car forward. We’ve got a clear direction on where to take things now so hopefully this is just the start.
“Races one and two were pretty eventful really but we obviously used the soft tyre in both of them, which left us with the slower medium for when it ironically really mattered in race three, starting on the front row.
“We had some good pace in those opening few laps and I tried to stick my nose where Gordon left a gap but when the softs came into their operating window I couldn’t match them. I let Adam go and tried to hold off the others but it was always going to be a tough ask to stay at the front.”
Adam Morgan, #33 Cataclean Plato Racing: “It’s probably been our strongest race day of the season so far but I’ve ended the weekend feeling a bit ‘meh’ as we had a chance to be on the podium in that final race.
“In race one we had an issue with the engine and credit to the team for getting a new one in the car for race two, especially given how hot it was. To then come from 11th to fifth was mega and that put us on the second row for the finale.
“Through the corners the car was really hooked up but everything we gained there, we lost down the straights. I’m proud of how me and the team performed, it just would have been nice to come away with a little bit more. Still though, we’re moving in the right direction and that’s a positive.”
The 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season continues in less than two weeks’ time at Oulton Park on June 6-7.
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