BTCC battle set to begin at Donington Park
The British Touring Car Championship takes centre stage at Donington Park this weekend, as the Leicestershire venue plays host to the opening three races of the 2026 season.
In what promises to be another ultra-competitive year in the UK’s premier motorsport series, one that includes the introduction of a new qualifying race on a Saturday, a 21-car field is poised to commence the new campaign.
Two-time champion Tom Ingram enters the season as the driver to beat having reigned supreme last year. Sticking with EXCELR8 and the Hyundai i30 Fastback N once again, Ingram is gunning for back-to-back titles – although he’s set to face stiff opposition from a host of contenders.
Four-time champion Ash Sutton will continue his pursuit of a record-breaking fifth crown in the new Ford Focus Titanium while his Alliance Racing team-mate Dan Cammish is looking to claim a maiden championship win.
Others that can’t be discounted is three-time champion Gordon Shedden, his Toyota stablemate Josh Cook and the Plato Racing duo of Dan Rowbottom and Adam Morgan in their Mercedes-AMG A35 Saloons.
Continuing down the order, this year’s entry list includes a number of other race winners that could easily break into the title conversation too.
Tom Chilton enjoyed a strong 2025 season while West Surrey Racing team-mates Daryl De Leon and Charles Rainford have each topped the times at the two official pre-season test days in their BMW 330i M Sport machines.
Power Maxed Racing trio Mikey Doble and Aiden Moffat will be ones to watch in their new Audi S3 Saloons, whilst the likes of the returning Ricky Collard, Sam Osborne, Árón Taylor-Smith and Chris Smiley can’t be overlooked either.
Six drivers will also be battling for Jack Sears Trophy honours in the shape of James Dorlin, Lewis Selby, Nicolas Hamilton, Dexter Patterson and Max Buxton.
While the tried and tested format of three races on a Sunday remains the same, one thing that will be new for everyone this season is the introduction of a new format for Saturday’s.
One single practice session will allow drivers to get dialled in before they then split into two groups to embark on an all-important qualifying session.
The results from qualifying will set the grid for what is being called the ‘Race for Pole’. Billed as a short sprint race, the finishing order of this contest will decide the starting grid for the first of Sunday’s three races; points will also be on offer to the top ten as well.
Timetable – Donington Park
Times in BST
Saturday – 18/4
10:35 – Free Practice
14:00 – Qualifying
15:05 – Qualifying Race
Sunday – 19/4
11:30 – Race 1
14:40 – Race 2
17:30 – Race 3
2026 BTCC Entry List
2 – Daryl De Leon – West Surrey Racing – BMW 330i M Sport
3 – Tom Chilton – EXCELR8 Motorsport – Hyundai i30 Fastback N
11 – Ricky Collard – EXCELR8 Motorsport – Hyundai i30 Fastback N
15 – Lewis Selby – Alliance Racing – Ford Focus Titanium
16 – Aiden Moffat – Power Maxed Racing – Audi S3 Saloon
17 – Dexter Patterson – Power Maxed Racing – Audi S3 Saloon
19 – Max Buxton – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Corolla GR Sport
22 – Chris Smiley – Restart Racing – Hyundai i30 Fastback N
27 – Dan Cammish – Alliance Racing – Ford Focus Titanium
28 – Nicolas Hamilton – EXCELR8 Motorsport – Hyundai i30 Fastback N
32 – Daniel Rowbottom – Plato Racing – Mercedes-AMG A35 Saloon
33 – Adam Morgan – Plato Racing – Mercedes-AMG A35 Saloon
50 – Árón Taylor-Smith – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Corolla GR Sport
52 – Gordon Shedden – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Corolla GR Sport
66 – Josh Cook – Speedworks Motorsport – Toyota Corolla GR Sport
77 – Sam Osborne – Alliance Racing – Ford Focus Titanium
80 – Tom Ingram – EXCELR8 Motorsport – Hyundai i30 Fastback N
88 – Mikey Doble – Power Maxed Racing – Audi S3 Saloon
99 – Charles Rainford – West Surrey Racing – BMW 330i M Sport
116 – Ash Sutton – Alliance Racing – Ford Focus Titanium
132 – James Dorlin – Restart Racing – Hyundai i30 Fastback N
