2026 Touring Car Thread - BTCC, TCR, and more.Touring Cars 

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Good to see that the Saturday running was not a mirage and the Plato Mercedes are genuinely fast now in all conditions. Bodes well for a bit more competition the rest of the year. Silverstone National and Donington GP should be strong tracks for them.
 
Great to see the Plato Mercs finally have their "breakthrough" weekend, and on a track where you'd normally not expect them to go well. Hopefully now as Morgan mentioned in his post race 3 interview that they can just make little changes each weekend and keep the form going.

Elsewhere, Ingram's race 2 troubles and Sutton's continued superlative consistency is surely the turning point for this year's title. Really is Sutton's to lose barring any dramatically poor weekend for NAPA. 81pts is a huge gap even in modern BTCC terms.
 
Michelin Man
Elsewhere, Ingram's race 2 troubles and Sutton's continued superlative consistency is surely the turning point for this year's title. Really is Sutton's to lose barring any dramatically poor weekend for NAPA. 81pts is a huge gap even in modern BTCC terms.
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Sutton could potentially win the title by the biggest margin since Alain Menu won by 110 points in 1997.
 
Plato Racing appears to be for sale in it's entirety already.
panteravaluations.com

Project Speed – Pantera Valuation Services

A unique opportunity to acquire the recently established British Touring Car Championship team, Cataclean Plato Racing, together with associated assets, intellectual property, commercial relationships and operational infrastructure by…
panteravaluations.com panteravaluations.com

And it seems have gone into administration.
 
From reading elsewhere it seems like Cataclean trying to pull the plug and recover some of their investment. Looks like they maybe gambled on bringing a big sponsor onboard and have run out of time with the costs piling up. Very bad look for the championship if the big new team can't even finish the season.
 
Fezzik
From reading elsewhere it seems like Cataclean trying to pull the plug and recover some of their investment. Looks like they maybe gambled on bringing a big sponsor onboard and have run out of time with the costs piling up. Very bad look for the championship if the big new team can't even finish the season.
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Very bad indeed, teams relying on pay drivers, well funded outfits going bust, long term stalwarts struggling to justify it.

Worrying times.
 
That's concerning, although I can't help thinking they probably should have spared some expense.

daan

Touring Cars Post in thread '2026 Touring Car Thread - BTCC, TCR, and more.'

bliprunner


Fascinating stuff.
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I hope they do well, but I just got massive...

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...vibes from that video.
 

Following today’s (18 August) statement from Cataclean, TOCA confirms the team will continue competing in the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship under a new name and management structure, in order that it can move positively forward.

The matters concerned are internal to the organisation and relate solely to its directors, shareholders and relevant parties. TOCA is not privy to those matters.

However, TOCA has been provided with assurances of the team’s participation in the BTCC going forward. Those assurances reflect Cataclean’s continuing commitment and confidence in both the team and the Championship.

We understand that the programme will operate through a new entity, without the further involvement of Jason Plato in its management or ownership.

In the interim, the team will be entered as CPRL.

Jason is unquestionably one of the BTCC’s greatest stars, and his exceptional record speaks for itself. He has long been – and will remain – a valued part of the BTCC family. Although his involvement with this particular venture appears to have reached its conclusion, we look forward to seeing Jason in the BTCC paddock in the future.
 
jus1029

Following today’s (18 August) statement from Cataclean, TOCA confirms the team will continue competing in the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship under a new name and management structure, in order that it can move positively forward.

The matters concerned are internal to the organisation and relate solely to its directors, shareholders and relevant parties. TOCA is not privy to those matters.

However, TOCA has been provided with assurances of the team’s participation in the BTCC going forward. Those assurances reflect Cataclean’s continuing commitment and confidence in both the team and the Championship.

We understand that the programme will operate through a new entity, without the further involvement of Jason Plato in its management or ownership.

In the interim, the team will be entered as CPRL.

Jason is unquestionably one of the BTCC’s greatest stars, and his exceptional record speaks for itself. He has long been – and will remain – a valued part of the BTCC family. Although his involvement with this particular venture appears to have reached its conclusion, we look forward to seeing Jason in the BTCC paddock in the future.
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Internal power struggles perhaps then, resulting in Plato leaving?
 
Fezzik
Jason left and took all the colour with him
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The burgundy colour they used isn't a Cataclean, ASUS or Ciceley Commercials colour, so it must have been nothing more than a colour favoured by Plato. So yeah, maybe he literally did just take the colour with him.
 
TheCracker
The burgundy colour they used isn't a Cataclean, ASUS or Ciceley Commercials colour, so it must have been nothing more than a colour favoured by Plato. So yeah, maybe he literally did just take the colour with him.
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It reminds me of either...
images (1).webp

...Sauber's 1992 F1 test livery, or....
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Minardi at the 1988 Brazilian Grand Prix.

(The latter was quoted as "looking like a hearse!")
 
Catacleans statement on the whole situation...

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Whatever has happened behind the scenes the Mercs are now the fastest cars on the grid.
 
Great to see CPRL competitive this weekend.

Does this count as their "first" win?

Donington looking great in sun, we were looking at being there this weekend but it wasn't possible this time around.
 
Touring Mars
Great to see CPRL competitive this weekend.

Does this count as their "first" win?

Donington looking great in sun, we were looking at being there this weekend but it wasn't possible this time around.
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I'm here representing the gt planet community!
My first live btcc werkend, here with my wife and both enjoying it very much. Much busier than a bgt weekend. Great atmosphere!
Excellent performances in both races so far, race 3 about to start.
Shame about the plato saga undermining it a bit.
 
After all their recent drama, 2 wins for the Mercs today, thanks to Morgan.

Cammish wins Race 2 for NAPA

Oh, and Ryan Bensley opens his points account in Race 3.

Massive crash for Lewis Gilbert in Race 1 but WSR's day salvaged by a Race 3 podium for DeLeon with Rainford promoted to 5th after a post-race penalty for Sutton.

Ash now 98 points ahead in the championship with 9 races to go.
 
Here is Jason Plato's statement:

img_2_1787652983924.webp

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One has to wonder what is going on, but it is not a good look, to say the least.

I guess we may have a long wait to hear a good explanation for why JP has been treated like this...
 
I imagine its one of those situations we'll never get a clear explanation for. Clash of personalities between Plato and one of the sponsors? An unfulfilled promise of bringing further sponsorship and funding to the team? The team has been on a surprisingly sharp trajectory this season so there can't be much wrong operationally.
 
TheCracker
I imagine its one of those situations we'll never get a clear explanation for. Clash of personalities between Plato and one of the sponsors? An unfulfilled promise of bringing further sponsorship and funding to the team? The team has been on a surprisingly sharp trajectory this season so there can't be much wrong operationally.
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Some people suspect it's something to do with Rowbo or Cataclean or both.
 
Well that was epic.

3 laps of Knockhill in a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 driven by Gordon Shedden.

It was absolutely fantastic, but made SO much better for the fact that Gordon is an amazing guy - so friendly, so enthusiastic, and an absolutely amazing driver. He was talking the whole way round, explanation exactly how to take each corner - it was hard to pay attention, though, since Knockhill is one hell of a place to be driven around by a BTCC legend. And he also signed my Spark model too 😅

What a day, and what a guy Flash is!


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A massive thank you to my lovely sister for treating me to such a fantastic experience, though at least I was able to reciprocate and she was able to do the experience as well. :)
 
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Another great day of racing in the BTCC series - Race 3 was a bit of carnage, but an impressive win for Josh Cook in R1, and a very good result for him in R3 starting from the back of the grid :cheers: And a podium for Gordon Shedden as well 👍
 
The stupid change to the track limit penalties ruined the racing for me, especially focusing on that rather than the decline in driving standards. I love a bit of old fashioned argy-bargy but it's getting a bit too silly at the moment.
 
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