Cataclean Plato Racing made an instant impact in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park this weekend (18-19 April) as the team claimed a historic victory in the series' first-ever Qualifying Race, before then showcasing its podium potential on race day.
The team arrived in Leicestershire on the back of encouraging pre-season testing form and drivers Dan Rowbottom and Adam Morgan both found a good rhythm in their Mercedes-AMG A35 Saloons as qualifying got underway on Saturday.
They both started the 13-lap 'Race for Pole' inside the top-ten, and Dan immediately joined the battle for victory as he settled into P2. When it became clear that race leader Tom Ingram would receive a 5-second time penalty after the race, Dan produced a wheel-perfect performance to shadow him all the way to the chequered flag and to victory.
Dan's historic first victory for Cataclean Plato Racing meant he would start the first of Sunday's three races from pole position. Further back, Adam showcased his overtaking prowess as he enjoyed a number of sublime battles, getting the better of several drivers to progress up to P7.
The opening round of the season on Sunday however, would be more challenging for both drivers. After losing the Race 1 lead at the start, Dan battled valiantly to remain within the podium positions and crossed the line in P3 – only to be handed a late time penalty for exceeding track limits. That demoted him to P11, but bumped Adam up the order after he enjoyed a relatively trouble-free race.
Adam would fly the flag for the team in Race 2 as he found himself in the thick of the midfield action. With varying levels of TOCA Turbo Boost available and battling understeer, the Lancastrian driver dug deep to secure a solid haul of points inside the top ten. For Dan, his race would sadly come to a premature end as he was forced to return to the pits after a handful of laps with a technical issue.
Following a herculean effort to remove and replace the engine in Dan's car before Race 3, both cars closed out proceedings in the reverse grid finale with Adam finishing P8 and Dan coming home in P11.
Jason Plato:
"While the results on Sunday weren't what we may have hoped for, I'm coming away from Donington feeling really proud of what we've been able to achieve. Every single person has contributed to getting us on the grid and it was special to see it all come together. We've got masses of data to go through, so the three-week gap until the next event is good for us."
Dan Rowbottom:
"If you'd have said six months ago that we'd win the first-ever Qualifying Race and be in the mix towards the front of the field then I'd have snapped your hand off. Everyone within the team can be really proud. Now it's time to pour over everything we've learned and go again in three weeks."
Adam Morgan:
"First of all, I must give a huge amount of credit to everyone in the team because they've done a great job all weekend. From my side it was a bit of a difficult weekend because we've been managing some over-boost issues and also understeer, so to come away with a hat-trick of top ten finishes isn't the worst thing in the world."
The 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will resume on 9-10 May at Brands Hatch.