Jason Plato happy with “mixed weekend”

Jason Plato isn’t getting too excited despite pulling out a slight lead over second placed driver Matt Neal at Knockhill at the weekend, with just two rounds remaining.

Jason scored points in every race, with a victory in the third race to see his 14 point lead from Tom Onslow-Cole at the beginning of the day, change to a 20 point lead over Honda’s Matt Neal.

“It’s been a mixed weekend for me but this win is a great result for all of us. It’s great for the guys, they work so hard and we needed to get some extra points,” said Plato.

“We’re in a nice position with a great car beneath us.”

Team Aon’s success at Silverstone was not repeated at Knockhill, as expected the Ford Focus was not suited to the twisty Scottish circuit, with the best result Tom Onslow-Cole’s second place in race three, but Team Principal Mike Earle was not too downhearted.

“We didn’t think we’d be very strong here, it is a bit too stop and go for us, which doesn’t suit a turbocharged car like our Focus,” said Mike.

“Therefore It was a damage limitation exercise and with that in mind today was okay. Hopefully we will be stronger at Donington and Brands Hatch still to come.”

Honda’s two victories at the circuit put them right back in contention for the championship, retaking the lead in the manufacturer/constructors standings and promoting Matt Neal back up to second in the drivers championship.

“It has been a great weekend for the Honda Racing Team because not only did I manage to take a race win but we have also moved to the top of the Manufacturers’ Standings, which is important for the team as a whole and shows what a great job everyone’s been doing,” said Matt.

“In the Drivers’ Standings, the whole situation has closed up which is what we wanted to achieve.

Team Principal Steve Neal was delighted with the weekends results:
“We needed to score some big points here at Knockhill and we won two of the three races, so we have done what we set out to do. Donington Park is another circuit that plays to the strengths of our car. Things are looking good.”

Jason Plato now leads the championship with 202 points over Matt Neal in second with 182. Tom Onslow-Cole has dropped to third with 178, with Gordon Shedden just behind on 169.

In the manufacturer/constructors championship, Honda/Team Dynamics sneak ahead of Team Aon/Arena by two points, with the Chevrolet/RML team 61 points further back.