Plato Wins But Leaves Disappointed
It was a tough weekend for the Silverline Chevrolet team and Jason Plato in particular as the teams took to the Thruxton circuit for the third round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season.
After the 30 minutes of qualifying, Plato could only manage 5th place on the grid and nearly a 1 second difference between himself and pole-sitter, Gordon Shedden in the Honda Civic.
Race one was difficult for the two-time British Touring Car Champion and ended with misery as a puncture on his nearside front tyre sent the 43-year old spinning into the wall at Club chicane and putting an end to his race.
As a result of his DNF in race one, Plato started the second race of the day from the back of the grid but a hard fought race meant that Jason would climb up into the points and finish the race in 8th position. The reverse grid draw then ensued and a 9 spot reversal meant that the Oxfordshire-based racer would start the final race of the day from the front row of the grid.
Starting from the front row, Jason made a exceptional start, moving ahead of the SEAT Leon of Boardman quite comfortably and never looked back. A safety car period halted his momentum but Jason held on to take the flag and his third victory of the season.
Despite taking the victory, Plato still believes that parity needs to be regained after the recent 0.1 bar reduction is not enough.
“The organisers of the series promised equality, but it was difficult to see that here this morning,” said Plato. “I had to drive each lap like it was a qualifying lap, and that’s not strictly fair.”
“It was tough out there today and I think the series organisers have to look long and hard at the disparity between turbo and S2000 cars before the next round,” added Plato. “But it’s great that we still came away from Thruxton with a victory for our fans and for the team.”
Photo Credit: Steve Kilvington
James Mappin
