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Jason Plato
Jason Plato
Driver Details
Nationality Flag of England English[1]
Date of Birth 14/10/1967[1]
Date of Death Unknown
Début 1997 Donington Park I[1]
Championships 2 (2001, 2010)[1]
2015 Position 2nd (344pt(s))
First Win Snetterton 1997
Previous Teams Williams Renault
Vauxhall Motorsport
SEAT Sport UK
RML
Career Statistics
Total Entries 0 (0 Starts)
Pole Positions 0
Fastest Laps 0
Wins 92 (0 in Class)
Total Points 0
Current Season
Team Team BMR
Car Subaru Levorg GT
Number Standings Points
99 0

Jason Plato is a double BTCC champion, currently competing in the BTCC in 2014.[1] Plato holds more race wins than any other driver in the history of the BTCC, and has finished in the top three of the drivers standings in nine of his fifteen seasons in the series.[2]

Current Season[]

Plato is currently competing for a third successive season in an MG 6, prepared by Triple Eight Race Engineering and run under the MG KX Club Card Fuel Save banner.[1] In the opening round at Brands Hatch Indy, Plato claimed two podium finishes, after contact in race two.[3]

Background[]

Plato began competing in go-karts, before entering the Formula Renault Eurocup in 1991.[2] After winning the championship, Plato entered the British Formula Three championship in 1992, alongside competing in the Formula Renault GB championship.[2] In 1996, Plato left the single seater categories to compete in the Renault Spider championship, and, within a year, entered the BTCC for the first time in 1997.[2]

BTCC History[]

Plato made an auspicious start to his BTCC career, after beating Gianni Morbidelli and Jean-Christophe Boullion to a drive with Williams Renault in 1997.[2] After 'door stepping' Sir Frank Williams (and a five hour wait), Plato was offered the chance to test the team's Renault Laguna, with the fastest of three getting the drive for the season.[2] After defeating the other two drivers, Plato secured third in the driver's standings, taking two wins and supporting team mate Alain Menu to the title that season.[2]

JP Laguna 1998

Plato in his 1998 contending Renault Laguna.

1998 saw Plato remain with the Renault factory team, although he could only manage fifth in the driver's standings at the end of the year.[2] The following season saw Plato take fifth again, with the aging Laguna becoming more unreliable as the season progressed.[2] Plato decided to switch to the factory run Vauxhall team (Vauxhall Motorsport) for the 2000 season, taking fifth place yet again in the final standings.[2]

Champion and Ambitions[]

In 2001, Plato stayed with the Vauxhall team, who after new regulations were introduced) had the best car on the grid that year.[2] A season long duel with team mate Yvan Muller resulted in Plato winning the title, after Muller's car caught fire in the final race of the season.[2] With his BTCC crown secure, Plato's ambitions turned to the NASCAR series in the United States, which resulted in him leaving the BTCC to drive in the British ASCAR championship in 2002. 2003 saw Plato employed by SEAT as a driver coach, a move which led him back to the BTCC.[2]

Return[]

JP Leon 2008

Plato in his final outing for SEAT Sport UK at the season finale in 2008.

SEAT Sport UK, running a pair of SEAT Toledo Cupras, entered the BTCC for the first time in 2004, taking Plato with them.[2] Using the new rules to his advantage (where-by the driver who finished in tenth in race one would sit on pole for race two at each meeting, without any weight penalty) Plato claimed seven wins that season, taking third in the final standings.[2] The reverse-grid rule was changed the following year, preventing Plato from using this technique to the same effect, leaving him unable to put a real challenge to rivals Matt Neal and Muller.[2]

SEAT introduce their new Leon in 2006, giving Plato (now team mates with former BTCC champion James Thompson, and later Darren Turner) a better chance of taking the title.[2] Eight wins proved too little for Plato in the end, finishing behind Matt Neal in the final standings.[2] 2007 saw Plato in a season long duel with Fabrizio Giovanardi for the title, with Plato ultimately losing out in the final race of the season, after being blocked by Neal for much of the race.[2] Plato finished third in the drivers standings for the third time in 2008, with SEAT pulling out of the BTCC at the end of the season.[2]

Chevy Power[]

JP Lacetti 2009

Plato leading at Brands Hatch Indy in 2009.

In 2009, the privately run team RML confirmed that Plato would be driving for them for the year, using a Chevrolet Lacetti.[2] The team struggled for funding, until Silverline Tools funded the team, leading them to be renamed Racing Silverline from the second meeting on-wards.[2] At the season finale at Brands Hatch's GP circuit, Plato became the first driver since Dan Eaves to win all three races at a meeting, putting him in a strong position for the following season.[2]

Chevrolet took note of the teams achievements, and took over the running of the team in 2010.[2] Plato was issued with a WTCC spec Chevrolet Cruze for the season and quickly proved to be a title contender for the year.[2] Plato won the title with victory in the penultimate race of the season, a feat which meant he equaled Andy Rouse's record of 60 BTCC wins.[2] In 2011, Plato broke the record at the first race of the season, although he could not hold on to his title that year.[2]

Triple Eight's Main Man[]

With Chevrolet's brief romance with the BTCC over, they left the series, leaving Plato without a drive for 2012.[1] Plato joined Triple Eight, who were débuting the new MG 6 with backing from MG themselves, and managed to take the car's first win in only it's third race.[1] A third place at the end of the year was repeated in 2013, with Plato partnered by débutante Sam Tordoff. Both were retained for 2014, again running MG 6s.

BTCC Record[]

A table containing Jason Plato's best results in the BTCC. The figures after the information about the car used indicate Jason Plato's best finish at that meeting.

British Touring Car Championship Record
Year Rounds Pos Pts
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
1997 DPGP SS I TH I BH I OTNP DPNT CRFT KNKH SNET TH II BH II SS II 3rd 170
2 Ret 10 3 Ret 7 3 5 2 4 4 Ret 2 4 Ret 5 4 1 7 6 2 Ret 3 1
1998 TH I SS I DP I BH I OP I DP II CRFT SNET TH II KNKH BH II OP II SS II 5th 163
2 4 3 3 Ret 5 4 Ret 4 1 9 Ret 8 6 2 3 Ret Ret Ret 5 7 4 6 2 4 6
1999 DPNT SS I TH I BH I OP I DPGP CRFT SNET TH II KNKH BH II OP II SS II 5th 122
3 3 6 1 Ret 4 4 Ret Ret Ret 3 8 6 6 4 6 5 4 Ret Ret 6 8 Ret 6 Ret Ret
2000 BHGP DPNT THRX KNKH OP I SS I CRFT SNET DPGP BH II OP II SS II 5th 160
4 1 6 7 3 2 8 8 7 2 Ret 5 Ret Ret 1 2 5 7 7 3 9 4 Ret 2
2001 BH I THRX OP I SS I MONP DP I KNKH SNET CRFT OP II SS II DP II BH II 1st 336
2 2 1 2 9 Ret 3 1 17 2 2 1 2 1 3 3 2 2 3 1 3 3 5 3 3 2
2004 THRX BH I SILV OTNP MONP CRFT KNKH BH II SNET DONP 3rd 224
8 1 4 Ret DNS Ret 3 9 2 8 2 Ret 9 1 Ret 9 1 1 10 1 7 9 1 2 11 3 10 1 6 2
2005 DONP THRX BHI OTNP CRFT MONP SNET KNKH SILV BHGP 4th 208
6 5 6 2 5 5 4 2 3 1 10 3 4 13 3 2 10 Ret Ret 10 1 6 8 5 3 DSQ 6 3 1 Ret
2006 BH I MONP OTNP THRX CRFT DONP SNET KNKH BH II SILV 2nd 241
Ret 5 1 2 2 8 14 6 1 Ret Ret 3 1 2 3 7 Ret Ret 1 1 6 1 Ret DNS 1 1 3 8 Ret 4
2007 BH I ROCK TH I CRFT OTNP DONP SNET BH II KNKH TH II 2nd 297
1 1 4 3 5 1 2 6 1 7 2 8 7 5 2 5 1 1 8 3 4 2 2 5 3 5 3 2 2 4
2008 BHI ROCK DONP THRX CRFT SNET OTNP KNKH SILV BHGP 3rd 223
3 3 5 9 9 6 1 2 3 DSQ 7 1 12 8 12 1 1 Ret 1 NC 9 1 1 Ret 1 7 5 5 Ret 13
2009 BHI THRX DONP OTNP CRFT SNET KNKH SILV ROCK BHGP 2nd 270
6 10 1 10 6 4 7 4 3 2 3 5 3 3 5 Ret 3 13 1 Ret 2 2 1 7 2 1 12 1 1 1
2010 THRX ROCK BHGP OTNP CRFT SNET SILV KNKH DONP BHI 1st 260
2 4 3 3 1 5 8 Ret Ret 10 1 8 3 3 16 1 1 5 3 4 9 6 3 1 Ret 3 3 1 1 9
2011 BHI DONP THRX OTNP CRFT SNET KNKH ROCK BHGP SILV 3rd 236
1 1 5 18 Ret 6 Ret 8 1 2 1 11 4 Ret 11 1 3 3 7 7 Ret 1 4 5 1 1 6 Ret 7 2
2012 BHI DONP THRX OTNP CRFT SNET KNKH ROCK SILV BHGP 3rd 376
4 3 1 4 NC 2 3 2 4 NC 3 2 NC 7 1 1 3 3 Ret 11 Ret 1 3 3 1 Ret 1 8 5 8
2013 BHI DONP THRX OTNP CRFT SNET KNKH ROCK SILV BHGP 3rd 380
1 1 5 4 2 8 2 5 22 1 1 Ret 5 20 6 2 Ret Ret 4 7 5 5 6 3 1 1 7 1 1 10
2014 BHI DONP THRX OTNP CRFT SNET KNKH ROCK SILV BHGP 2nd 401
2 11 3 1 2 6 6 7 Ret 3 4 4 3 5 10 1 1 4 5 2 10 3 2 7 1 1 4 1 13 7
2015 BHI DONP THRX OTNP CRFT SNET KNKH ROCK SILV BHGP 2nd 344
3 Ret 16 1 5 8 4 1 7 1 1 5 27 2 5 3 4 2 23 7 6 27 7 1 25 7 4 5 6 1
2016 BHI DONP THRX OTNP CRFT SNET KNKH ROCK SILV BHGP 0

References[]

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