RISING Kelty motorsport star Ronan Pearson was left to wonder what might have been after a post-race penalty saw him miss out on a podium finish during his debut weekend in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.

The talented youngster, who is driving for EXCELR8 Motorsport, headed into the biggest weekend of his racing career to date on the back of a solid pre-season testing programme in his Macklin Motors and Saltire Energy-backed Hyundai i30 Fastback N.

The 2023 BTCC season began at Donnington Park and, after putting himself in a strong position going into race day after qualifying in 11th, he dealt with the wet conditions well in race one to move up to ninth place, before an unfortunate error at turn one saw him run wide through the gravel, resulting in a trip into the pits that dropped him down to an unrepresentative 24th place.

In race two, however, after gambling on diving into the pits to change from slick to wet tyres, Pearson made up an astonishing 15 places in three laps, and found himself in third spot, from where he brought the car home for a podium finish.

There was, though, a sting in the tail as, following emotional scenes on the podium (pictured), he was stripped of the result for failing the post-race ride height checks; a legacy of on-track contact as he battled his way up the order.

Demoted to the back of the grid as a result for race three, Pearson eventually finished in 19th place, and commented: “It’s difficult to really put into words the emotions that I felt coming away from Donington Park.

“On the one hand, I felt extremely proud of how I performed on track and the pace that we showed – both in qualifying and the races – but, on the other, I was absolutely gutted to have lost the podium finish in race two.

“A result like that hadn’t even been on my radar going into the weekend, and even less so after race one when I have to hold my hands up to a mistake that cost me a sure-fire top-ten finish.

“Crossing the line in P3 and then climbing onto the podium was the most amazing feeling so to be told we’d then lost the result, particularly when it was due to damage from the race, was just devastating.

“Putting the disappointment of the results to one side, I showed I have the pace to fight towards the sharp end of the grid, and my determination to now get back onto the podium is stronger than ever before.”