Damien Smith

An incendiary first victory gave Jason Plato evidence that he's not just all talk, as his new team delivered on impact in the British Touring Car Championship season opener at Donington Park.

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Okay, so the victory was only in the BTCC's first-ever qualification race on Saturday, rather than in a properly counting round on Sunday, but Plato won't care about that. Nor that Dan Rowbottom's Mercedes-Benz A-Class saloon didn't actually cross the finish line first. Tom Ingram managed that, following edgy contact that spun out Ash Sutton at Redgate - but the reigning champion had incurred a five-second penalty for starting out of position, so victory and therefore pole position for race one on Sunday fell to 'Rowbo'. Cue Plato mania.

Thereafter, his team's fortunes dwindled and it fell short of its targeted podium in the main races. A track-limits penalty ruined Rowbottom's bid in the first, then engine trouble scuppered him in the second. But still, what a statement: he and team-mate Adam Morgan were straight in the thick of it, just as Plato had promised.

More impressive still was Sutton's recovery from that qualification disaster. From the back of the grid, he tore through the pack to finish on the podium in race one, then scooped a pair of victories - in what is also a brand-new car. Alliance has switched from the Focus hatchback to the Focus saloon and hit the ground at a sprint.