Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship team Rich Energy BTC Racing kicked off its 2022 campaign with a podium finish at Donington Park.

The weekend saw Josh Cook improve throughout, securing points throughout the day before rounding off the trio of races as third-place finisher and the leading Independents’ Trophy runner in the third encounter.

Jade Edwards saw the chequered flag in all three races in Leicestershire, with a best finish during round two of 19th place.

Having ran as high as ninth during the opener, a last-lap puncture dropped Jason Plato down the order, although the two-time Champion would recover to bag a pair of points finishes in the following contests.

“It’s been an incredibly challenging off-season,” said Team Principal Danny Buxton. “But we came to Donington knowing that every single one of us has done all we can to deliver three cars that will give the drivers the best chance to start their season well.”

“I really had to dig deep for that podium,” said Cook. “My result in race three helped to keep me at the right end of the points table and I know that everyone within the team and at M-Sport will do what is needed to help us extract the pace from the car that we all know is there.”

“It’s clear that we have a really good car, but we just don’t have any grunt,” Plato reflected. “I’ve been doing this long enough now to know how to win and I also know that you sometimes need a bit of luck. [At Donington Park.] The luck didn’t come our way, but it will, and when it does, I’ll be there ready to make the most of it.”

“I came [into the weekend] knowing that this was going to be a difficult one and I leave knowing that I couldn’t really have done any more,” added Edwards. “I found myself in battles that weren’t mine to fight but that’s racing. The team has done a brilliant job to get all three cars as competitive as they are and whilst it’s clearly frustrating that I haven’t been able to open my points-scoring account, I’m ready to build on what we’ve learned. Bring on Brands Hatch.”