Debutant team Plato Racing has today (7 January) publicly confirmed – in a feature with Motorsport News – that it will fulfil its 2026 BTCC entry with a pair of Mercedes-AMG A35 Saloons.

Jason Plato – two-time champion and a winner of 97 BTCC races – announced his intended return to the championship last September as boss of new team Plato Racing, which was revealed as part of the BTCC’s live ITV4 programme from Silverstone.

In December, it was confirmed that Plato Racing had secured two TBLs (TOCA BTCC Licence) in order to gain its official entry for the 2026 season.

Meanwhile, the team appointed world renowned engineering outfit RML to design and build its cars, and Plato has this week explained to Motorsport News the choice to enter with a Mercedes.

“I would say we looked at in excess of five different types of car, but the Mercedes AMG A35 -V177 Saloon was the one that stood out, not only does it sound like a rocket, we intend it to be so!” Plato told MN’s Matt James.

TOCA visited Plato Racing’s new facility towards the end of last year where all plans were assessed and approved, with the team choosing to make its public announcement this week.

Plato Racing will run a shakedown towards the end of February and will then take part in the official BTCC pre-season tests at Croft (24/25 March) and Brands Hatch (8 April).

A silver arrow last appeared in the BTCC back in 2020 when Ciceley Motorsport retired its successful Mercedes A-Class Hatchback, which had claimed several outright victories across seven seasons in the championship.

This latest Plato Racing announcement is front page headlines, and you can read the full article in this week’s Motorsport News.