Dan Rowbottom pleased to prove himself with Donington pole

Dan Rowbottom admitted he was pleased to start his debut race weekend with NAPA Racing on pole position after topping the times in qualifying at Donington Park.

Rowbottom emerged as the front of a 1-2 for the Motorbase-run team after the first top-ten shootout of the season, edging team-mate Ash Sutton to the quickest time.

It marked Rowbottom’s third career pole and first since Thruxton 2021 after a tough 2022 campaign that saw him unable to build on the results he gained the previous year.

“We had a really hard year last year, and there is a lot of work that has gone in over the winter to make this possible – and that is the end result,” he said. “I had some real low points in 2022 that make you question if you really are as quick as you think you are, but I think that shows I am.

“We’ve had good pace all day and it’s nice to end up with P1 after qualifying. We had a bit of luck on our side with Ash losing a lap to track limits, but I’m really pleased to grab pole.”

Rowbottom will now seek to convert pole into victory on race day, but the threat of rain is set to play a part in proceedings.

“We did a race run in FP1 and the car felt good, but the weather is going to mix things up a bit tomorrow,” he said. “A 1-2 is a great start for NAPA Racing UK today and now we’ll look to build on it.”