Jason Plato: “We weren’t moaning about RWD lap times”

Triple Eight’s Jason Plato says the concerns he raised about his rear-wheel drive competitors after Oulton Park were only connected to their advantage at the start, and he “wasn’t moaning about lap times.”

Plato endured a trying weekend at Oulton in his battles with rear-wheel drive cars, in particular Rob Austin, whose fine defensive drive kept him at bay in the second race.

And as the MG6 driver looks forward to Croft, he says he is pleased the issue has been resolved to his satisfaction.

Plato said: “I think we stand a good chance this weekend. It has historically been a good stomping ground for RWD cars, but with Turkington on maximum ballast after Oulton, that could level things; he only pipped me last year as he was running less weight in the car than me.

“Now the first gear issue for RWD has been resolved, in theory qualifying now means something again. Let’s be clear, we weren’t moaning about lap times, it was the leap-frogging of cars off the grid, the fact they can qualify fourth and lead into the first corner.”

Plato has traditionally seen Croft as his home circuit, and is looking forward to racing this weekend.

He said: “Croft is a spiritual home circuit for me. I’ve been lucky to get good support there in the past; it’s a nice weekend. The BTCC event there is the biggest motorsport show at the circuit, and it’s the only opportunity for locals to watch top drivers at the track. It’s great to see so many fans at any race, but at Croft they turn up in their tens of thousands. I think it’s fair to say Croft loves the BTCC and vice versa, it’s a great track.

“It’s a challenging circuit, it has very, very fast sections and some technically very tricky parts too. Your car has to be well-balanced at Croft and while you can never get a perfect car, the laws of physics never allow for that, you have to work closely with your engineer to get as close as you can. Similarly race setup at Croft is very different to that in which your qualify, and it’s naturally an understeery circuit, so you have to minimise front tyre wear, which is another reason why RWD cars often go so well here.”

Plato’s comments were echoed by his team-mate Sam Tordoff.

He said: “I love Croft. The atmosphere’s always really good, and it’s a great place to spectate at. The circuit itself is quite a challenge to drive well. You have to compromise with the setup of your car due to the contrasting halves of the track.

“The first part of the lap as you go through the fields is very balls-out and the latter half is very twisty and technical. I think the BMWs will do well, but we’ll be in the mix. We won’t be the cars to beat and I’m not sure about the Hondas – it’s a tough one to call.

“Despite it being the circuit nearest to where I live, it’s probably one of the circuits I’ve raced on least. That said, I’ve been on the podium here in the past, but I’ve never won a race here in anything, so I’m rather keen to try and break that duck.”