Plato continues under Racing Silverline

Jason Plato has confirmed that he will continue in the BTCC this weekend, still at the wheel of an RML Chevrolet Lacetti, under the team name of Racing Silverline. The 2001 champion has also confirmed that he will remain in the championship for the rest of the year, after initial doubts following his outing at Brands Hatch.

The deal with Silverline power tools and Auto Windscreens will see Plato now able to challenge for the championship after having shown competitive pace in the opening races of the year despite no pre-season running. With the Thruxton circuit favouring those cars with a strong engine and straight-line speed, Plato is relatviely confident ahead of this weekend. Indeed last time out at Brands Hatch the Lacetti’s of both RML and Tempus Sport were some of the fastest cars in a straight line around the short Indy circuit.

“I’m delighted,” Plato told btcc.net. “Silverline and Auto Windscreens have been great and after everything that happened at Brands Hatch we’ve also caught lots of other people’s imaginations and had a load more interest, even though the world is having a bad time financially.

“Thruxton is of course a very fast circuit and if it was a drag race then the Chevrolet would be looking very good, but we don’t just go in a straight line – we go round and round so we have to get the car working through the corners as well. On paper, though, Thruxton should suit the Chevrolet.”

“It’s great James [Thompson] is back,” added Plato, whose confirmation now means there are four (Giovanardi, Neal, Thompson, Plato) previous champions on the grid, the first time since 1999 that there were so many. “He’s a great character to have on the grid. We exchanged some pleasantries on the phone earlier this week and both subscribed to the same view that at the weekend we will probably make contact at some point, even if it’s just a gentle love tap.”

All of the day’s action will be screened live on ITV4.