Daniel Rowbottom gave Cataclean Plato Racing a dream start to life in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, by delivering a win in the series’ first ever Race to Pole qualifying contest. This mean the new Mercedes A35 Saloon has not only taken a chequered flag on debut, but also secured pole position for Sunday’s opening race.
Reigning champion Tom Ingram actually crossed the line first, but was issued with a five-second penalty for an out of position start. Ingram’s Hyundai, starting from pole, resisted early pressure from fellow front row starter Ash Sutton in the new Ford Focus saloon, but the duo rubbed bodywork, allowing Rowbottom to end the opening lap marginally ahead.
Ingram was back on the inside as they approached Redgate, but Sutton had other ideas, attacking his rival once again. He spun out after contact however, almost collecting NAPA Racing UK teammate Dan Cammish, who’d been just behind, and retiring into the gravel trap. That left Ingram in the lead from Rowbottom, with Josh Cook third, with four-time title winner Sutton facing a last place start tomorrow.
From there, Ingram was able to edge away from the chasing pack, but he shortly afterwards received his penalty. This placed Rowbottom as the effective leader, albeit on the road, and for much of the race it seemed a comfortable cruise to second would see him take the qualifying race victory and pole. Ingram produced a stunning final lap, almost 1.5s quicker than Rowbottom to run it close though, missing out on rescuing the position by just 0.024s.
That meant that Cook, who drove home to third on the road was indeed classified third, just ahead of Mikey Doble, who delivered the Audi A3 Saloon to a strong fourth on its first outing. Charles Rainford completed the top-five in his Hyundai.
Behind that, Tom Chilton crossed the line sixth, ahead of Adam Morgan in the second of the Cataclean Plato Racing entries. Aiden Moffat, Gordon Shedden and Daryl De Leon rounded out the top-10.
Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Race to Pole
- Daniel Rowbottom, Cataclean Plato Racing, Mercedes A35 Saloon
- Tom Ingram, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N, +0.024s
- Josh Cook, Speedworks Corolla Racing, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +0.310s
- Mikey Doble, LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing, +1.302s
- Charles Rainford, WSR, BMW 330i M Sport, +2.005s
- Tom Chilton, Team VERTU, Hyundai i30N, +3.508s
- Adam Morgan, Cataclean Plato Racing, Mercedes A35 Saloon, +4.718s
- Aiden Moffat, LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing, +5.008s
- Gordon Shedden, Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport, Toyota Corolla GR Sport, +9.604s
- Daryl De Leon, WSR, BMW 330i M Sport, +10.699s
Click here to view full results and standings from this event.