In the six months since a wheel was turned in anger at the end of last season, there have been plenty of changes to the BTCC. There is a new format on a Saturday with just one free practice session, before qualifying to set up a qualifying race that determines the grid for Sunday’s opening race.

Other notable changes sees the grid with several new cars, drivers and notably a new team owned by a certain BTCC legend, Jason Plato. Will 2025 champion, Tom Ingram, retain his crown? Who knows as we let battle commence! 

Qualifying Race

Old adversaries Ingram and Ash Sutton lined up at the front of the grid together as it already looked like they couldn’t be separated in 2026. During the race, contact between the pair meant that Sutton fell to the back of the grid and subsequently, he retired from the race. 

Although Ingram crossed the line first, he was given a five second time penalty for being out of position at the start of the race. This meant that Dan Rowbottom inherited the win for Plato Racing by 0.024. Incredibly, it meant that Plato had secured pole position both as a driver and team owner in his first BTCC race. Josh Cook qualified third, with Mikey Doble, Charles Rainford and Tom Chilton completing the top six.

Race One, 6.5/10 – Tom Ingram*, Mikey Doble, Ash Sutton, Adam Morgan*, Charles Rainford

• As the lights went out, Ingram immediately jumped Rowbottom, who recovered to third by the end of the lap, with Rainford also making a positive getaway. 
• By the end of lap 2, Sutton had powered his way to eleventh and while his progress slowed over the next couple of laps, he still found himself eighth on lap 5 after passing Gordon Shedden. 
• A safety car period was needed at the end of lap 7 as Cook slid off at the end of that lap after running in second. Racing restarted on lap 12 and Sutton continued to move forward as he soon overtook Adam Morgan and Rainford to be fourth. Although the moves looked to be done, the pair did come back at him a couple of laps later. 
• Slightly ahead of them, Doble was all over Rowbottom, with more laps of boost, and Rowbottom eventually became a sitting duck. Worse was to come for Rowbottom as earned himself a ten second time penalty for exceeding track limits. 
• Ingram crossed the line for victory with Doble and Sutton behind him, but post-race, Ingram was excluded from the results as his car had over-boosted twice and Morgan was also guilty of a similar offence, but was punished with a 5 second time penalty. That meant Doble inherited victory and Audi’s first in the BTCC since Knockhill 2019.

Race Two, 5.5/10 – Ash Sutton, Dan Cammish, Gordon Shedden

• A rocket start from Rainford saw him lead off the line, before Sutton made his way through with contact when cutting back across the track. Nic Hamilton ended up in the gravel on the opening lap, which brought out a short safety car period. Rowbottom came into the pits during the period with a terminal issue, but worse had happened to Ingram, who didn’t make the start lights after suffering an alternator issue. 
• Racing restarted on lap 5 and plenty of close battles ensued, while Sutton cleared off into the distance. Dan Cammish soon found himself third after a brave move on Doble down the Craner Curves. That was the start of Doble falling down the pack as he lacked pace for one reason or another. 
• There was a good battle between Morgan, Daryl DeLeon, Dexter Patterson and Áron Taylor-Smith with Patterson showing that the new Audi looked a great race car. Similarly, there were other close midfield battles too. 
• On lap 16, Cammish won his battle with Rainford and soon Shedden was on his tail too. After losing out, Rainford then lost further places to Aiden Moffat and De Leon to finish sixth, while Sutton claimed his first chequered flag of the season. 

Race Three, 8.5/10 – Ash Sutton, Tom Ingram, Dan Cammish*, Ricky Collard

• The reverse grid draw is still a feature of the 2026 season and Sutton pulled out ball eight to promote the returning Ricky Collard to pole.  He made a great start as second placed Patterson fell behind the BMWs of Rainford and De Leon. By the end of the opening lap, Sutton was already up three places and on lap 2, he was third, while Rainford lunged from a long way back at the Craners to take the lead. 
• However, that didn’t last for long as at the start of the next lap, Rainford, Collard and Sutton were involved in a great scrap that Collard prevailed in, with Rainford effectively using boost to stay ahead of Sutton, while a huge train of cars gathered for fourth. 
• While De Leon was involved in contact with Shedden and then a big side hit from Chilton, Sutton and teammate Cammish were hunting down Rainford and on lap 5, he couldn’t hold on any longer. Ingram, meanwhile, had made his way to eighth from the back of the grid. 
• After a couple of laps of pressure, Collard ran wide allowing a Sutton through, but it took Cammish a few more laps to do the same. Ingram continued his charge and made his way to second at the end of the race, but there was bad news for Cammish as a ten second penalty for track limits dropped his final result from third to tenth. 

It may well be a new season, but it was pretty clear at Donington that the usual contenders will once again be at the fore in 2026. Reigning champion, Ingram, may have suffered two no points scores, but his pace on Saturday and in race three demonstrated he’ll be very much in contention.

After Sutton’s poor qualifying race, he bounced back in great style and leads the championship by a considerable margin given there’s only been one race weekend. Ingram is already on the back foot, but he knows that with nine race weekends to come, there will be plenty of trials and tribulations by October. 

While Sutton transitioned with ease from a hatchback Focus to a saloon, great credit must go to Plato Racing after a very strong showing on the team’s debut weekend. Many a time, a new team enters and struggles at the back of the grid, but for Plato Racing to have its Mercedes’ at the sharp end immediately is a seriously impressive feat. 

In general, it was a very positive opening weekend of the year. The qualifying race was met with a positive reaction, but whether that continues, remains to be seen. Last season’s use of boost worked much better than the previous hybrid  system and it was in full effect again at Donington. Arguably, it detracts from the fastest car from winning, or at least hindering it, but then Sutton would argue that he won race three with the least amount of boost available and by a comfortable margin as he was the fastest car. 

It also seemed that the difference between the tyre compounds will once again be a contributing factor towards the results, especially in weather extremes. At Donington the weather was generally average to good, but the differences were once again shown. 

Given the evidence supplied from Donington, the early signs would suggest that this is going to be another intriguing and exciting season to watch. Bring it on! 

British Touring car Championship Standings after 3 races:

1.	Ashley Sutton	61 points
2.	Charles Rainford	43
3.	Aiden Moffat	40
4.	Dan Cammish	38
5.	Gordon Shedden	34
6.	Dexter Patterson	31