Photo: BTCC Media

Plato confident for Snetterton

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Jason Plato is confident of maintaining his sudden 25-point lead at the top of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship in the series’ next rounds at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk on Sunday 29 July – a circuit where last year he won twice.

Plato says if his SEAT team can hone its Leon to work as effectively through Snetterton’s mixture of high and low-speed turns as in 2006, then it will be enough to overcome the car’s lack of pace in a straight line compared to the rival Vauxhalls, Hondas and BMWs.

“We went well at Snetterton last year, we know we have a good set-up that works well and we just have to find that sweet spot again,” said the Briton. “There were a couple of corners at Snetterton where we were better than everyone else last year and that made all the difference.

“We’re certainly not going to be the quickest all around the circuit, but if we can get those important corners right again, we’ll be competitive at Snetterton.”

Plato, who won the BTCC in 2001, leads Vauxhall driver, Italian Fabrizio Giovanardi by 25 points after a pair of wins last weekend at a rain-lashed Donington Park. Giovanardi, who had led by a point arriving at Donington, had a terrible time, failing to score in the third race when his Vectra’s windscreen wipers failed. Having made up 24 points on Plato in the season’s first half, he now has it all to do again.

“Our team is full of confidence after our performance at Donington and, even though we go to Snetterton, with a lot of hard work to do, the pressure’s off a little bit now,” added Plato. “We’ve established a bit of a lead in the Drivers’ and Teams’ championships and we’ve closed the gap in the Manufacturers’. It’s still all very close and there are twelve races to go, but we feel on top of our game.”

Plato’s wins at Donington, plus points finishes for team-mate Darren Turner, mean SEAT Sport UK has moved into a 33-point lead at the head of the Teams’ table from Vauxhall’s VX Racing squad which now finds itself just ten clear of reigning champion Team Halfords.

Vauxhall, though, continues to lead the Manufacturers’ championship which, after five years on top, it lost to SEAT in 2006. However, problems for Giovanardi and young British team-mate Tom Chilton at Donington meant its advantage over SEAT was slashed from 29 points to just 14.