Restart Racing completed the opening round of the 2026 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park, rounding out a challenging weekend with a strong top ten finish in the final bout.

Following Saturday’s debut of the Qualifying Race, Chris Smiley and James Dorlin faced a challenging Sunday at Donington Park, lining up 15th and 16th respectively for the opening encounter.

Bright but blustery conditions greeted the field for race day, with both drivers opting for the medium compound tyre in Race 1. Smiley made a steady start, holding position in the early laps, while Dorlin was drawn into the thick of a tightly contested midfield battle after slipping back slightly off the line. The pair remained firmly in the fight throughout, with positions changing frequently as the pack scrapped for track position.

A mid-race safety car, triggered after Josh Cook’s Toyota Corolla GR Sport found the gravel at the chicane, reset the field and offered a renewed opportunity. Dorlin capitalised, executing a clean move on Sam Osborne (NAPA Racing UK) at the Old Hairpin before producing a decisive last-lap pass at the final corner to claim 14th. Smiley, meanwhile, had dropped down the order but responded with determination to recover to 17th, showing encouraging pace despite the setback.

Race 2 offered a stronger platform, particularly for Dorlin, who made an excellent start to climb to 11th on the opening lap. Smiley also made early gains, settling into the midfield just outside the top 10. Another safety car interruption kept the field compressed, and once racing resumed, the intensity remained high.

Dorlin briefly broke into the top ten with a move at the chicane, but in typical BTCC fashion, track position proved difficult to hold amid continued close-quarters racing. Smiley, in contrast, focused on consistency, gradually working his way forward. A late move on Mikey Doble (LKQ Euro Car Parts with Power Maxed Racing) secured 12th place, an important result ahead of the reverse grid draw, while Dorlin ultimately finished 17th.

With both cars switching to the soft tyre for the final race, the pace began to shine through. Despite not gaining ground on the opening lap, both drivers settled into a strong rhythm and started to close in on the cars ahead.

Smiley led the charge, making decisive progress by overtaking Gordon Shedden (Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport), Daniel Rowbottom (Cataclean Plato Racing) and Árón Taylor-Smith (Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport) in quick succession to break into the top 10. Dorlin was right behind, matching the pace and running firmly in contention.

However, his race took a turn at the Craner Curves, where contact from Shedden saw Dorlin onto the grass at high speed. Though he did well to regain control, the incident cost him several positions and dropped him back down the order.

At the front of the midfield, Smiley continued to push in the closing stages. A well-executed move on Adam Morgan (Cataclean Plato Racing) on the final lap secured eighth on the road, before a post-race penalty for a rival promoted him to seventh, capping off a strong recovery drive and delivering a deserved top ten finish for the team.

Dorlin crossed the line in 15th, a result that didn’t fully reflect the pace he had shown across the weekend, but one that underlined his competitiveness in the midfield fight.

Chris Smiley (#22) 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 1 this morning, we got caught up and were basically pin-balled off. Race 2, we made some progress and moved forward a bit after making quite a few setup changes to the car.

Then in Race 3, 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 Dorlin (#132) added: “So that’s Round 1 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 Rounds 3, 4 & 5 of the 2026 BTCC season at Brands Hatch (09/10 May), where Restart Racing will look to build on the pace shown at Donington and convert it into stronger results.