Plato warns Giovanardi: “I’m coming to get you”

Jason Plato has warned Fabrizio Giovanardi “I’m coming to get you” as they prepare to square up for their latest HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship head-to-head at the Croft circuit on Sunday 1 June.

Plato, who hails from Newcastle and is a firm favourite among the Croft crowds, will arrive at the challenging North East track trailing reigning champion Giovanardi by 18 points at the top of the table.

Italian ace Giovanardi pulled in Plato by more than that last year to deny the Briton the crown in a dramatic final round to the season.

But Plato, now doing the chasing, told BTCC.net: “Fabrizio, I’m coming to get you! Last year the roles were reversed and he was hunting me down.

“Well now he’s going to feel what it’s like to be a deer in hunting season. The big bad man of touring cars is coming.”

Plato has won twice in the last six races in SEAT’s new diesel-powered Leon TDI to move into second in the Drivers’ standings.

And he added: “We could have been a lot closer had I not been disqualified at Thruxton. But still we’re up to second and putting the pressure on. That’s despite the fact we still haven’t hit the car’s absolute sweet spot and we haven’t been to circuits where I think it will be at its strongest.

“Croft this weekend, Snetterton, Knockhill and Silverstone – we’ve got them all to come yet and they are where I think the car will be at its most formidable.”

Plato said this was proving to be one of his toughest seasons in the BTCC since making his debut in 1997 – while SEAT’s rivals, including Giovanardi’s Vauxhall team, have a year’s development under their belts with their cars, the Spanish make’s diesel Leon is new to the championship.

He said: “It’s frustrating that we didn’t have any pre-season testing because that means the only real time we have to develop the car is during the practice sessions on Saturday mornings at race weekends.

“We’re not able to make informed decisions on set-up every time and we have to be prepared to go up a few blind alleys. If something doesn’t work in session one then the panic is on: do we go back to what we know is OK or do we push on even further?

“We are having to take some fairly big risks at the moment.”

Source: www.btcc.net