Jason Plato aiming for top step at Donington Park

Jason Plato is aiming to get his Volkswagen CC back to the top of the BTCC podium following a very strong showing in the opening practice session at Donington Park.

Having spent the first part of the session bedding in the car and general warm up procedures, Plato started putting in some very quick times in the final ten minutes of the session, following a red flag for an incident at the chicane.

From then Plato really put the hammer down and began setting sub 70-second times, the only driver to do so, half a second faster than second placed Gordon Shedden and almost seven tenths faster than the quickest of his team-mates, reigning champion Colin Turkington in fourth.

The two-time champion said he is now hunting for pole position and a trip to the top step of the podium following a disappointing Brands Hatch which saw a commanding lead end in the Paddock Hill gravel trap after running over a piece of debris.

“I think I’ll be pissed if I don’t get pole,” Plato told TouringCarTimes. “Especially being seven tenths up the road there. We’ve got to score some big points and get some points back on the rest this weekend. We want to win two races and get some some solid points in the third.”