Two teams head to Silverstone's round of the BTCC with very different approaches to the event. One's got a shot at the championship (for the second year running), and the other is looking to round off a successful season with more success, if not necessarily a title. So here's how Chevrolet's Jason Plato and the Toyota teams are preparing for the event
Plato: “We’ll give it our best shot”
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| Jason Plato |
Less than a month ago,
Silverline Chevrolet driver Jason Plato’s chances of winning the
2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship were looking slim.
Very slim, in fact.
But when life’s
full of opportunities, the last thing you do is give up, and as the
most exciting racing formula in the UK builds up to its inevitably
dramatic climax at Silverstone on Sunday 16 October, Plato finds
himself just five points adrift of championship leader, and his
historic arch-rival, Matt Neal. Plato is also tied on points with
Neal’s Honda team-mate, Gordon Shedden.
Whatever happens
when the series takes to the Silverstone
National circuit for its curtain call, the 2011 season will be one of
the closest on record, a fitting finish to one of the most dramatic
and controversial seasons on record, and one that has seen viewer
numbers on ITV4 increase by over 45 per cent since last year.
Heading into the final
meeting, Plato reflects on a season in which his hopes have been kept
alive by a combination of gritty determination, hard driving and
teamwork.
“It’s been one
of the toughest seasons ever,” reflects the Oxfordshire-based
driver. “On the one hand, we’ve won eight races, broken lap and
race win records and the car has got better and better as the season
has gone on. On the other, we’ve had politics and some spectacular
low points. The dramatic roll at Donington back in April was probably
the biggest shunt ever in my entire career, we had a miserable
weekend up at Knockhill and it’s impossible to overtake with a
normally-aspirated car on some of the circuits. It’s astonishing
that we are where we are, that we’ve even got a fighting chance
going into Silverstone.”*
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| Silverline Chevrolet is up for a second title in as many years. |
But Plato isn’t the kind
of guy to roll over, and nor are the team behind him. In 2010, when
the BTCC went into its mid-season break, Plato was the outsider in
the championship thanks to some bad luck at Oulton Park and Croft. He
went on to take the driver’s championship, an achievement he
immediately dedicated to his team.
“The Chevrolet Cruze is
without a doubt the best Touring Car I’ve driven,” said JP. “And
that’s entirely down to the guys that build it at RML. We’ve
worked together long enough now to have a real understanding of each
other, and that helps us set up the car perfectly. At Brands Hatch
last time out, the car was mint – it could not have been better,
and that was reflected in the results we got against cars that, on
paper, are much quicker and more powerful.”
Heading into the
last meeting, Plato is under no illusion that he remains the
outsider. The fast, wide Silverstone circuit is expected to suit the
turbocharged Hondas, whereas the Chevy excels on the more technical,
handling-oriented tracks where driver skill and experience is
critical. The five point deficit to Neal will be a massive challenge
to overcome, but Plato is in the right mindset.
“A month ago, we
had nothing. We were 40 points adrift, with three race meetings left
– you’d never have thought we’d have clawed it back this far.
At Rockingham and Brands, we got some amazing results, driven mostly
by a desire among everyone in the team to not roll over and not give
up. It runs deep through the team, from the team manager to the
truckie, the drivers to the caterers. Remember, these are the guys
that got my wreck of a car back out on track at Donington, when I was
changed and ready to go home.”
The points Plato scored at
Donington in that infamous third race could end up crucial in the
final meeting of the season, almost as much as the huge points haul
the team has racked up in the past two meetings.
“To be where we are now
is a remarkable achievement, and if it rains at Silverstone we’ll
grab the bull by the horns and give it our best shot. Even if it’s
a perfect track, where on paper our chances are slim, we can’t give
up without a fight. Absolutely anything can happen in motorsport, and
with the championship this close, all it takes is a puncture or a
simple driver error to turn the whole thing on its head.
“But even if it
doesn’t come off, if I’m to take one thing from this season it’s
the fact that against all odds, we gave it our best shot and we took
it to the wire, where weaker teams would have given up. That’s
because the Silverline Chevrolet BTCC Class of 2011 are amazing, and
it’s absolutely my belief that RML are the best Touring Car team in
the world – that’s why I’m proud to drive their car.”
To read the
interview in full, and to keep up with the Silverline Chevrolet BTCC
team ,visit www.chevroletbtcc.co.uk
TOYOTA
INDEPENDENTS LOOKING FOR STRONG END TO BTCC SEASON
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| Hughes is looking to round off a successful season in style |
Toyota’s
independent BTCC racers, Frank Wrathall and Tony Hughes, will bring
their maiden seasons in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car
Championship to a close at Silverstone this weekend (15/16 October),
and each is looking to end the year on a positive note in preparation
for a renewed assault on the UK’s most popular race series in 2012.
Wrathall
and his Dynojet Racing Team are hoping for further podium success for
their ‘Next Generation Touring Car’ Toyota Avensis.
Last
month, at Knockhill and Rockingham, the Dynojet Toyota claimed four
top-three finishes on the trot and came within 0.4s of an historic
race victory when it crossed the Round 25 finish line right in the
wheeltracks of championship frontrunner Gordon Shedden’s Honda.
Wrathall,
who celebrated his 25th birthday last week, is keen to return to that
sort of form: “We were on the crest of a wave at Knockhill and
Rockingham, and that made it all the harder to take a weekend like
Brands Hatch…” Earlier this month at the Kent track Frank posted
two non-finishes, his first retirements since Snetterton.
“Everyone
within the team is determined to make up for last time and put
everything into getting it right and finishing the season on a high,”
adds Wrathall. “Fortunately the damage suffered at Brands Hatch was
mostly cosmetic and easily fixed, and we have had a good, relaxed
time in the workshop getting everything prepared. We will shake the
Toyota down at Donington on Thursday and hopefully arrive at
Silverstone with everything well prepared and in good shape.”
The
track in use at Silverstone will be the triangular 1.6-mile National
Circuit with its three long straights, which should provide some
speedy and breathtaking action. “The Toyota has the potential to go
well there,” says Frank, “although I have been caught out before
with my predictions – circuits where I have thought we might
struggle we have gone well, and vice versa.”
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| Wrathal has proved to be very impressive this season |
For
Tony Hughes and the Speedworks Motorsport team the hope is for a
trouble-free weekend. Last time out, problems with the TOCA ‘stock’
engine of their Avensis washed out their qualifying hopes and left
the squad on the back foot. “We want to get through this weekend
solidly and reliably,” said Tony. “I want to be able to come away
from Silverstone with everything in one piece so that we can crack on
and get as much set-up and experience as possible to start 2012.”
The
weekend’s action will decide which of five drivers – Matt Neal,
Jason Plato, Gordon Shedden, Mat Jackson or James Nash – will wear
the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship crown. It’s the
first time in the 53-year history of the BTCC that so many drivers
have taken the title fight down to the wire.
The
weekend’s BTCC action kicks off with two free practice sessions and
qualifying on Saturday followed by three races on Sunday – at 1135,
1435 and 1715 – all of which will be live on ITV4.
*We're bored with the whole NA vs Turbo argument now, Mr Plato.
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