Jason Plato enjoys front-wheel drive return

Jason Plato admitted that he “soon felt at home” after sampling his new Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astra for the first time in testing at Snetterton.

The two-time champion makes the switch to PMR for the 2019 BTCC season after four years with BMR; the last three of which have seen him running in rear-wheel drive with the Subaru Levorg.

His return to front-wheel drive saw Plato complete 56 laps in mixed conditions at the Norfolk circuit and the 51-year-old said he was pleased with how things had gone.

“It felt great to be back in a front-wheel drive car again,” he said. “It took a few laps to get back into it, but I quickly felt at home in the car. I’ve worked with Martin [Broadhurst] before at Triple Eight, and he’s put together a really strong team in PMR, so it’s given me even more confidence that we’re going to take the Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing Astra to the pointy end from the off. Bring on Brands!”

Team manager Broadhurst was also pleased with the way in which the day had panned out.

“We were happy with the number of laps we got in, although the weather was less than ideal,” he said. “Having worked alongside Jason before, I was confident we would receive detailed feedback straight away, which alongside the data recorded during the day means we can make the changes needed for our next test week.”