Jason Plato: “It’s the death of front-wheel drive in the BTCC”

Triple Eight’s Jason Plato has claimed the current pace of the West Surrey Racing BMW 125i is the “death of front-wheel drive in the BTCC.”

Never one to mince his words, Plato has spoken out strongly after a qualifying session at Croft where he ended up nearly 0.4s behind Colin Turkington in P2 on the grid.

It follows the comments made by both Plato and Triple Eight team boss Ian Harrison after Oulton Park, where both called for the BMWs to be pegged back.

Plato said: “If you take into account the weight Colin was carrying, he’s a good eight tenths quicker than me; that’s not a whinge, that’s just fact. What we are witnessing, unless the regulations are changed, is the death of front-wheel drive in the BTCC.

“Rear-wheel drive is a better package for a racing car than front-wheel drive, and now WSR and Colin have got their house in order, we’re seeing that in the BTCC.

“I’ve been in the game a long time and the BMW is now a better package. We’re not allowed to develop the cars to the extent that we need to. The BMW with rear-wheel drive is fundamentally better across a lot of aspects; weight distribution, tyre degradation, etc. it’s a quicker package in the regulations than front-wheel drive.”

Assessing his performance in qualifying, Plato added: “That was about the best we could’ve done. I was a little rusty due to the earlier lack of running and I possibly left a tenth on the table as a result of that. I can only dream of being as quick as Colin was, but I’m not surprised by Colin’s pace.

“As for Sunday, second is the best we can realistically hope for, it’ll be a great battle with the Hondas, and it’ll be like that for the rest of the year unless Colin and WSR manage their pace. I’m happy with what I’ve done today, I’ve done a good job and I’m the best of the rest.”