A stunning victory in the second of the day’s three races saw Silverline Chevrolet driver Jason Plato continue his strong bid for the title in the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.
After a frustrating first race that saw the Silverline Chevrolets drop from the second row of the grid to seventh and 10th overall, Plato started from seventh to battle his way through the grid in an action packed race, after a tussle with Tom Onslow-Cole’s Ford on Lap 10 saw his Chevrolet Cruze emerge victorious.
Plato had earlier battled with both Mat Jackson and Tom Chilton, while a puncture for Gordon Shedden on Lap Two was also advantageous. A first lap incident involving Rob Collard’s BMW and Tom Chilton’s Ford also worked in Jason’s advantage, after the BMW was left stranded through the Island hairpin.
Unfortunately, the stranded BMW caused problems for Silverline Chevrolet’s Alex MacDowall, who collided with the stricken car and fell down the rankings – yet still put in an impressive performance to nurse his damaged car home in ninth position overall – one ahead of his original grid position.
The ninth position worked in his favour after the BTCC’s reverse grid lottery saw MacDowall winning pole position in Race Three, yet despite a fantastic start that saw him pull out an impressive lead, the Cumbrian teenager suffered from a damaged driveshaft that put him out of the race.
With Plato starting from 10th with full race ballast, the pressure was on to score a decent points tally – yet a smooth and efficient drive saw the Oxford-based driver come home a clean sixth position overall, adding further to his points tally.
“It was a mixed afternoon,” said Jason. “Obviously we were thrilled with the victory, but I still think we can extract some more performance out of the car and reap more benefits later in the season. But the important thing is we’re still well in the running.”
Heading into the fifth meeting of the season, Plato sits second in the driver’s championship, just eight points behind Matt Neal, while a good performance at Croft could easily return Chevrolet to the top of the manufacturers’ rankings.
The next three rounds of the BTCC take place at the Croft circuit, North Yorkshire, on Sunday June 20.