Ash Sutton takes early bragging rights after BTCC opener

Credit: BTCC

Two race wins after starting race one from the back of the grid was the perfect way to start 2026 for Ash Sutton. The new NAPA Racing UK Ford Saloon driver looked quick as he secured a sizable championship lead after the opening weekend of action.

The action began with the normal qualifying session, and surprise surprise, it was Team VERTU’s Tom Ingram who was quickest ahead of Sutton. The biggest talking point in qualifying was Dan Rowbottom finishing third in the debut weekend for his Plato Racing Mercedes.

With the new qualifying race taking place immediately after, the qualifying session became less of a focus, but it still showed the early pace setters and set the grid for the inaugural British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) qualifying race.

The first domino of the weekend to fall was the retirement of Sutton, as he ended up in the gravel after attempting to overtake Ingram. The race was filled with action, marking the start of another exciting BTCC season with Ingram crossing the line first.

However, he was given a penalty for being outside his grid box at the start of the race. Therefore, Rowbottom took a historic pole position for Plato Racing after winning the inaugural qualifying race. Ingram was demoted to second ahead of the Speedwords Toyota of Josh Cook.

The story of Sunday was the dominance of Sutton and the bad luck suffered by Ingram. The latter would go on to win race one from second on the grid, but would later be excluded from the race due to an overboosting issue. Meanwhile, Sutton would climb all the way to second from the back of the grid, as Mikey Doble took a historic win for Power Maxed Racing and their new Audi Saloon.

Sutton went onto dominate both race two and race three, as Ingram retired in race two with alternator issues. This meant he had two non scores to start the year. The Team VERTU limited the damage with a podium in race three.

WSR’s Charles Rainford and PMR’s Aiden Moffat leave the weekend second and third in the championship respectively after a very successful first weekend in both the overall and Independents championships. Nonetheless, they have a gap of 18 points to overcome already to catch the NAPA Ford of Sutton.

Credit: BTCC

A successful debut for the all new qualifying race

There was some initial concern from fans about the new qualifying race. Mainly, some questioned whether drivers would race as hard as they normally do due to the reduced points available, but also not wanting to ruin their chances of a good starting position for race one on Sunday.

However, the BTCC lived up to its usual high level entertainment. The inaugural qualifying race provided as much action as BTCC races usually provide, with many loving the new format.

Race winner Dan Rowbottom, said: “We’ve made a little bit of history. We’ve put the car on pole for Cataclean Plato Racing and it obviously feels fantastic”. Meanwhile, Sutton said he liked the format and Ingram labelled it as “super aggressive”.

It’s clear both drivers and fans appreciate the new Saturday format, providing the usual thrill of a normal qualifying session and the new addition of an engaging extra race on a Saturday. Opinions on the qualifying race could change throughout the season, but it was certainly a positive start, adding a new new layer to the BTCC.

Credit: BTCC

Ash Sutton looks hard to beat

Despite the various setbacks Sutton experienced throughout the weekend, rebounded to have one of his very best in the BTCC, including a win in his 300th start.  

The all new NAPA Ford Saloon also looks mightily impressive, also shown by the strong results from Dan Cammish. Sutton missed out on being quickest in qualifying by just eight thousandths of second behind Ingram. 

He then put the Hyundai under significant pressure in the qualifying race before ending up in the gravel. The amount of contact the pair made indicates we are in for another exciting championship battle this season.

Sutton however, looks to be in exceptional form, his drive in race one was nothing short of spectacular. He then managed to charge two wins in race two and three. He made quick work of Ricky Collard in the final race, whereas many had a much harder time to get past the of Team VERTU Hyundai. 

His confidence and resilience to fight back shows the championship mentality, and combined with his sizable points gap after the first weekend, especially over expected title rival Ingram, it looks like 2026 could already be Sutton’s year. 

“The car has been on fire, we also got a first one-two of the season for NAPA Racing UK, so it's just been an incredible day”, said Sutton after storming to a dominant opening weekend.

Nonetheless, Ingram suffered a bucket load of back luck in the opening weekend at Donington Park, and he certainly showed he will be right up the front, meaning we could be in for another Sutton vs Ingram showdown.

Credit: BTCC

Power Maxed Racing show their intent from the off

It’s safe to say PMR’s debut with their new Audi Saloon went better than anyone could’ve hoped for. A race one win for Mikey Doble, third in the championship and an Independents with Aiden Moffat and a Jack Sears Trophy win for Dexter Patterson, as well as all three cars featuring in the top ten multiple times throughout the weekend. 

Their new Audi looked right at home in the BTCC and was able to fight against the already proven Hyundai’s among the other quick manufacturers on the grid. All three drivers demonstrated that with the right machinery they will be competing near the front this season. Undoubtedly, the Independents and the JST will be the target for the team this year as well as competing for overall wins and podiums, they will certainly be a team to watch in 2026.

Plato Racing aren’t here to just make up the numbers

Much like PMR, Plato Racing exceeded expectations for the teams’ debut weekend in the BTCC. To be on pace, fighting at the front immediately showed the hard work, determination and dedication that has gone into the project, as well as the efforts of both Dan Rowbottom and Adam Morgan.

The elation Jason Plato showed post qualifying race showed just how much it meant to the team, rewarded after many months of preparation, with Rowbottom saying “it’s been a long winter”. 

However, the team have emphasised they still have a lot to do in order to remain this competitive, highlighting the team remain in the early stages of the project. There is no doubt the BTCC looks to be as competitive as ever, and the new Plato Racing are certainly a welcome addition. 

It will be interesting to see how the car develops over the season, especially with Mercedes returning to the championship, but there’s plenty of positives after the opening rounds of the campaign.

Credit: BTCC

An exciting year of close racing ahead

NAPA Racing UK leave the weekend with the biggest plaudits, as Team VERTU will likely feel at least somewhat disappointed, despite their being signs of what is to come. PMR and Plato Racing showed their potential immediately, as did Toyota, as much as it was a weekend of what ifs for them, especially Josh Cook. 

WSR will look to build on a positive opening weekend, with Charles Rainford second in the championship. It was a difficult start to what hopes to be a championship challenge for Daryl DeLeon, but with Brands Hatch Indy coming next, the circuit where he took his first BTCC win, he is likely to return to form. 

Restart Racing leave Donington Park as probably the most disappointed team. Team VERTU showed the Hyundai has pace, but both Chirs Smiley and James Dorlin struggled for the majority of the weekend. After the potential the team demonstrated last year, they will certainly look to learn and forget the opening weekend.

Donington Park provided plenty of racing action, with championship narratives already beginning to take shape as well as a competitive edge developing. 2026 is going to be another great year for the BTCC, make sure to keep up with the action, which is sure to be close and dramatic.

Who do you think will be the 2026 BTCC champion?

An action packed support bill

Credit: British F4

Unsurprisingly, the BTCC support package delivered at Donington Park with action throughout each series. 

British F4 was the focus for many as it puts a spotlight on potential future Formula One drivers. The start of the weekend was McLaren junior Dries Van Langendonck, the Belgian took a double pole position along with race wins in races one and three. 

However, he was given a post race penalty, dropping to fourth in the final race of the day and handed the win to Joseph Smith. Ethan Lennon took the win in race two. Van Langendonck leads the championship ahead Smith, potential title rival and Mercedes junior Ethan Jeff-Hall, Red Bull junior Scott Lindblom and Theo Palmer. It certainly appears the McLaren junior will be hard to beat in 2026. He also leads the rookie championship.

The Mini Challenge is a key feeder series for the BTCC, with both the JCW and JCW Sport classes in action at Donington Park. Like the British F4, there was a dominant driver. In this case, it was reigning champion Tom Ovenden taking all three race wins. 

The Minis also provided some great racing action, despite the dominance of Ovenden, who for 2026 will serve as Team VERTU’s BTCC development driver. He has a commanding lead in the championship over Max Edmundson. 

The Porsche series, the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, gives drivers with an aspiration of moving into top line GT racing a chance to develop. The championship favourite for 2026 is former FIA Formula 3 driver, Callum Voisin. 

The Briton missed out on pole position, but managed to take the opening race win of the season in a dominant fashion ahead of Will Jenkins. Race two was won by Oliver Jackson, taking his first outright win in the championship and leads the Pro-Am category after the opening weekend. 

Jenkins finished second and first in class in race two, meaning he leads the Pro standings ahead of Voisin. Max Coates, Isaac Phelps and Jack Sherwood also impressed during the first two races of the year.

The Porsche Sprint Challenge GB serves as a stepping stone into the Carrera Cup, with two classes. The weekend was dominated by Joe Marshall, winning all three races in the RS Clubsport Pro category. He leads that championship ahead of teammate Joshua Rogers. Dean Burden leads the RS Clubsport Am standings as Gabe Fairbrother leads the Clubsport championship.

Finally, the Legends Elite cup provided some of the best racing action throughout the whole weekend. The hectic nature of the championship makes it a real fan favourite. The highly competitive championship had some close racing at Donington Park across their six races.

The BTCC returns to action on May 9th-10th at Brands Hatch Indy. The grid looks incredibly competitive this year, and with the short twisty circuit coming up, it should be an exciting weekend next time out. There will be support action from British F4, the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, the Mini Challenge and Caterham’s.