KIDDERMINSTER’S Dan Rowbottom made history by winning the first-ever British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) qualifying race.
Rowbottom, driving for newly-established team Cataclean Plato Racing, triumphed in the BTCC’s maiden race-to-pole spectacle.
The race-to-pole concept, introduced during the off-season, sees the best 10 drivers battle it out on the track for grid positions.
And the event at Donington Park saw drivers compete for the first points haul of the new BTCC season.
Despite defending BTCC champion Tom Ingram crossing the line first, a five-second time penalty for the Team Vertu driver, saw Rowbottom promoted to first place.
Celebrations followed as team principal and manager Jason Plato cut an emotional figure on his BTCC comeback.
Rowbottom said: “We’ve made a little bit of history. We’ve put the car on pole for race one for Cataclean Plato Racing and it obviously feels fantastic.
“We still have to do a lot of work, but we made the best of it.
“We didn’t have the pace of [Tom] Ingram if I’m honest, but he had that five second penalty, so all I had to do was manage the gap.
“It’s been a long winter but this is an incredible moment for Cataclean Plato Racing.”
However, despite securing pole for the opening race of the BTCC season, Rowbottom dropped to fourth by the end of the first lap.
And repeated track limit offences saw the Kidderminster driver receive a 10-second time penalty later in the race as he finished 11th overall.
Rowbottom then suffered a DNF in race two and finished the weekend with another 11th place finish in race three.
The BTCC season continues at Brands Hatch on the weekend of May 9 and 10.
