Restart Racing completed the opening round of the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park, rounding out a challenging but promising weekend with a strong top ten finish in the final race.
Following Saturday’s introduction of the new ‘Race to Pole’ format, Chris and James lined up 15th and 16th respectively for Sunday’s opening race, leaving both drivers with work to do on race day.
Race day itself was dry, bright and windy, with both cars starting on the medium tyre for the opening encounter. Chris held position through the early stages, whilst James dropped back slightly after the start and found himself right in the middle of a tight midfield scrap. The pair spent much of the race battling closely with those around them, with positions changing regularly as the group fought for track position.
A safety car after Cook’s Toyota ended up in the gravel at the chicane brought everyone back together and gave both drivers another opportunity to go again. From there, James began to move forward, making a clean move on Osborne at the Old Hairpin before pulling off a strong pass at the final corner on the last lap to take 14th. Chris, having been forced wide earlier in the race and dropped to the back of the pack, worked his way back through as best he could to finish 17th, showing solid pace along the way.
The second race gave both drivers a bit more to work with on the grid, and James in particular made the most of it with a strong opening lap to move up to 11th. Chris also made progress early on, settling into the midfield just outside the top ten. Another safety car interrupted the flow of the race, and once things got back underway the field remained tightly packed.
James briefly broke into the top ten with a move at the chicane, but like much of the weekend, it was difficult to hold position in such close racing and he was shuffled back in the pack after more contact. Chris kept things clean and consistent, continuing to chip away at the cars ahead. A late move on Doble secured 12th place, an important position heading into the reverse grid draw, whilst James came home in 17th after another busy race in the midfield.
With both cars switching to the soft tyre for the final race of the day, things started to come together. Although the opening lap didn’t quite go to plan, both drivers began to find their rhythm as the race settled down and gradually worked their way forward.
As the gap closed to the group ahead, Chris began to make moves count, picking off Shedden, Rowbottom and Taylor-Smith in quick succession to break into the top ten. James followed and was right in the mix just behind, showing similar pace as the pair pushed on.
A big moment came for James through the Craner Curves, where contact from Shedden sent him onto the grass at high speed. He did well to gather it up, but it cost him several places and dropped him back down the order.
Up ahead, Chris continued to push on into the closing laps. A move on Morgan on the final lap secured eighth on the road, before a post-race penalty ahead promoted him to seventh, capping off a strong recovery and giving the team a deserved top ten finish to end the weekend.
James ultimately crossed the line in 15th after a race that didn’t quite reflect the pace he had shown.
Chris Said: “So that’s Donington done. It’s been quite a tough weekend overall. Free practice didn’t start very well; we had an issue with the engine, and that left us chasing the rest of the weekend with the setup.
Race One this morning, we got caught up and were basically pinballed off. Race Two, we made some progress and moved forward a bit after making quite a few setup changes to the car.
Then in Race Three, we had a really good run to finish 7th. The car felt really comfortable, and I think we’ve learned a lot this weekend. I’m really looking forward to Brands Hatch, and with the knowledge we’ve gained here, it puts us in a good position going forward.”
James added: “So that’s Round One done at Donington Park. It’s been a tough weekend for the first one, for sure. We struggled a little bit with the car yesterday in qualifying, and to be honest in the races everyone is so close that if you start in the wrong position, you can get a bit stuck there.
There have been some rough battles, but we’ve learned a lot. The positive to take is that there is definitely pace in the car, and both Chris and I feel strong. We just got caught up in other people’s battles a bit too much this weekend.
There are a lot of positives, even if the results aren’t where we want them to be. We’ll move on to Brands Hatch and I’m confident we’ll be further up the order.”
Attention now turns to Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, where Restart Racing will look to build on the pace shown at Donington and convert it into stronger results.
Championship Standings
Following the opening round:
Drivers’ Championship: Smiley 15th, Dorlin 18th
Teams’ Championship: 8th
Independent Drivers: Smiley 8th, Dorlin 9th
Independent Teams: 5th
Jack Sears Trophy: Dorlin 3rd