Jason Plato: “I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved”

Jason Plato was full of praise for the efforts of his new team after they made their British Touring Car Championship debut at Donington Park last weekend.

Having been the talk of the town in the run up to the series curtain-raiser, the Mercedes-AMG A35 Saloon squad enjoyed a strong showing.

Daniel Rowbottom made history by winning the first-ever Qualifying Race on Saturday while team-mate Adam Morgan tallied a hat-trick of top ten finishes on Sunday.

Despite some misfortune playing its part in both drivers coming away with more on race day, the former two-time title winner was pleased with how his team performed – although he hinted that this was just the beginning in their journey.

“While the results on Sunday weren’t what we may have hoped for, I’m coming away from Donington Park feeling really proud of what we’ve been able to achieve,” said Plato.

“Every single person – from the drivers, mechanics and engineers to truckies, chefs and hospitality team – has contributed to getting us on the grid and it was special to see it all come together. From an operational standpoint I felt we were very good while our look and feel was just incredible.

“Winning the qualifying race was a great moment on Saturday but sadly both Dan and Adam had a few little issues they were fighting on race day. That happens, but what is important is that we learn from them and make sure we can improve on them for next time.

“We’ve got masses of data to now go through so this three-week gap until the next event is good for us; everyone is extremely motivated to kick on and make sure we hit the ground running at Brands Hatch.

“This is where the fun starts now!”