From Árón Taylor-Smith’s first British Touring Car Championship victory in 10 years to a potentially grounding weekend for Cataclean Plato Racing, there are plenty of talking points from Brands Hatch.
Cataclean Plato Racing continued their maiden campaign with a slightly more flattening weekend than the dream start at Donington. However, there are still plenty of strengths shown by the Mercedes-powered outfit.
Ashley Sutton furthered his title credentials with another exceptional weekend around the Indy circuit. His haul of one win and two P2 finishes primes him for talk of becoming a five-time Champion in 2026.
But it was Taylor-Smith who stole all the headlines. The Irishman’s first victory in 10 years at a wet Brands Hatch brought tears to his eyes as he heard the Irish national anthem ring around the circuit.
10 years on, Árón Taylor-Smith is a winner once more
While it is journalistic clique, no one put a victory from Taylor-Smith on their scorecards when Sunday started at Brands Hatch.
Nor would they as the cars lined up on the grid for Race 2, with the Laser Tools with MB Motorsport man having finished P13 just earlier.
The Irishman, who last came closest at Silverstone in 2023, had not won a BTCC event since 2016’s Round 24 at Rockingham. So long ago, in fact, that the circuit no longer exists.
However, it was all put to the wayside when the Toyota Corolla started to carve its way through the field at a wet Brands Hatch.
Taylor-Smith found pace where no one else could on the slicks, as a classic wet-weather race unfolded.
Chaos was rife around the short circuit as the likes of Lewis Selby, Charles Rainford and Sam Osborne found themselves stricken off track.
The striking blue Toyota sprinted past Ashley Sutton with 10 laps to go, and had built up a four second lead over the next few laps.
But, a collection of cars at Druids forced the session to be red-flagged, and Taylor-Smith declared the victor.
Speaking after the race, the BTCC veteran struggled to hide his emotions at the incredible result.
A 50th BTCC win for Ashley Sutton on the way to his fifth title?
Ash Sutton’s Saturday went about as well as a BTCC driver could ask for.
Despite not topping the charts in timed Qualifying, the NAPA Racing UK man piloted his Ford Focus to the lead of the Qualifying Race before the end of the first lap.
While he admitted his fortune in the collision between Daryl De Leon and Tom Ingram that parted the seas for his run to first, there was no luck needed in the dominant drive that saw him through to the chequered flag.
Sunday started the same for Sutton, with an excellent start on the greasy Race 1 surface seeing him sprint way at the front.
While Ricky Collard did provide significant challenge in the early stages, Sutton held him off and began to peel away towards his half-century with a multi-second lead.
Race 2 and Race 3 saw similarly cool drives from Sutton, especially in the challenge of slicks-in-wet Race 2, as he collected a double of P2 finishes.
The weekend’s running sees Sutton top the standings with 129 points after six rounds, collecting three wins and three second-place finishes.
Ingram follows behind on 82 after claiming his first victory of the season in Round 6, but little offers suggestion to the contrary that Sutton will be able to claim a record-breaking fifth title at the end of 2026.
Cataclean Plato Racing push on in maiden campaign
Much of the coverage surrounding BTCC in 2026 will focus on Jason Plato’s squad, and for good reason.
Not only does it mark the two-time Champion returning to the fold, but early signals suggest they are going to be amongst the leading pack.
Speaking to Motorsport Week on Friday, Adam Morgan asserted that his team are not just in the paddock to make up numbers.
While Race 1 started with Morgan’s Mercedes in the barrier at Paddock Hill, his team did an exceptional repair job to return him to running in time for Race 2.
It was effort that rewarded a point, with Morgan coming home in P15. Building on this, Morgan delivered a seasoned drive in Race 3 to climb to P6 and finish just 10 seconds back of the lead.
However, Daniel Rowbottom struggled through a difficult weekend in the other purple Mercedes.
Qualifying P17, Rowbottom gained points with a P15 in Race 1 and P13 in Race 2, but fell to P17 in Race 3.
While it won’t be a weekend to look back on for Plato’s squad, it will all contribute to their push for BTCC success.
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