BTCC Donington Park GP Preview: Sutton looks to extend title lead, Plato Racing replaced
- Owen Bradley
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) returns for Rounds 19, 20 and 21 at the iconic Donington Park circuit. Ashley Sutton comes into the weekend with a mammoth lead in the championship standings, 81-points ahead of the next challenger, Tom Ingram.
The BTCC returns to Donington Park for the second time this season, this time racing on the Grand Prix loop that includes the Melbourne hairpin. Sutton recorded an incredibly impressive weekend at Donington Park earlier in the season, coming across the line in second place in race one, before taking two victories in the other two races that weekend.
The Donington Park GP circuit is mostly similar to the layout that drivers used earlier in the season, with the final sector extended with two slow speed corners, allowing for impressive dive-bomb manoeuvres, especially into the aforementioned Melbourne hairpin.
However, with the GP circuit keeping most of the characteristics of the national circuit, it could be a pivotal moment in the championship for Sutton, who will be looking to extend his lead in the championship standings. With Sutton’s form around Donington recently, this could be match point in the title race, with the Briton’s significant advantage.
Following their maiden BTCC victory just two weeks ago at Knockhill, Cataclean Plato Racing are, unfortunately, no more. BTCC legend, Jason Plato, will no longer be involved with the team after his company entered administration, with the racing team losing nearly £1 Million, despite having just completed two thirds of the season.
Cataclean have revealed that they will provide interim funding for a newly rebranded ‘CPRL Racing Team’, and that the team will still run using the Mercedes A35 saloon cars. Dan Rowbottom and Adam Morgan will remain with the rebranded team for the duration of the 2026 season.
The CPRL Mercedes cars have also been re-designed from Plato Racing’s purple colour scheme, to a plain black colour scheme.
Last season’s Donington Park GP event saw Tom Ingram claim victory in race three, racing for Team VERTU Hyundai, with the Briton also picking up another podium in race one. With Ingram’s previous performances around the GP edition of the Donington Park circuit, and Sutton’s impressive form at Donington Park’s national circuit earlier this season, the two championship contenders come into the weekend with momentum.
The Circuit
Tom Ingram holds the lap record around the Donington Park GP circuit, recording a blistering 1:33.621 just last season, driving the VERTU Hyundai.
This clockwise circuit features 12 corners, with most of those corners being right-handers. The main overtaking zones will likely be at Turn 1, with the nature of the wide right-hander allowing for drivers to take an early or late apex, meaning that there may be spaces and opportunities for a driver to dive to the inside of the corner, or attempt to run wider and pick up better traction as the drivers go downhill into turns 2, 3, 4 and 5.
The major overtaking zone will likely be through the esses and into the penultimate corner, the Melbourne hairpin. The fast esses section followed up by a slow right-hander allows for drivers to carry momentum through the esses chicane and dive to the inside of another car by going late on the brakes.
The Schedule
Racing action for the BTCC at Donington Park begins on Saturday at 11:00 for Practice, followed by Qualifying at 14:05 and the Qualifying Race at 15:05. Sunday’s racing action sees Race One commence at 11:45, Race Two at 14:45 and finally Race Three at 17:30.
Support series action this weekend includes the competitive Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain, F4 British Championship, Mini Challenge Trophy and Caterham Seven Championship. The support series offers one-make series such as the Porsche Carrera Cup and open-wheel racing such as the F4 British Championship. The support series is likely to be just as competitive and action-packed as the headline event.
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