Jason Plato insists Subaru results don’t matter

Jason Plato says results aren’t important for the new Subaru Levorg after he could only qualify in 23rd place for the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season opener at Brands Hatch.

Whilst the new cars weren’t expected to challenge at the front of the field this weekend having only been completed in the days leading up to the event, Plato’s challenge in qualifying was hampered by a brake bias problem that left him just over a second off the pace.

With the team barely scratching the surface on its first true day of running with the estate machine, Plato admitted that he wasn’t even thinking about possible on-track results, with the Brands Hatch weekend being little more than a very public test session.

“Colin put in a mega lap to qualify eleventh and it’s really positive to see him so close to the pace, but with my car, there was a problem with the brake bias that hampered my challenge,” he said. “However, we know we aren’t in the window with the car and have a lot still to learn, so this weekend is all about trying things out and working to get a decent set-up on it rather than chasing any results.

“For us, this is the start of our testing programme and we are developing a product and getting it to where we want it to be. We aren’t racing and the results aren’t important; what is important is gaining as much knowledge as we possibly can to help us move the car forwards.

“When we get this thing working, it will be absolutely mega and we are trying to discover what makes it tick so it hits that sweet spot. It’s all about looking at the science and the maths, which is what Carlos [Carl Faux] and I are good at. At the end of the day, it’s just a car with four wheels, three pedals and a steering wheel and we have to unlock its potential.”