Silverline Chevrolet Star Jason Plato Makes History with 62nd BTCC Win

Jason Plato has rewritten the history books, taking a superb 62nd British Touring Car career win, proving the defending champion is back on full attack for the 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.  It’s a perfect start to the year for the Oxfordshire-racer, who left Brands Hatch top of the championship standings.

Capitalising on great starts off the line in round 1, both Jason and Alex placed themselves at the sharp end of the pack going into the first corner and Jason, managing to forge ahead in defiant style took a commanding lead and controlled the pace pulling over a second between him and second-placed man, James Nash.

Speaking after the race Jason said:  “That’s a great result and an important win for the championship defence.  It’s unfortunate for Neal, he’s definitely got great pace in that car.  For me it was a sensible race from start to finish, with the aim of bringing the car home and bagging those all important points.  It now means full ballast for race two, but we’ll go out there and give it our best again.”

And on that record-breaking win, Jason adds: “That’s definitely something special for me.  BTCC is without doubt one of the best championships in the world – it promises exciting, dramatic racing and it always delivers.  I love it and honestly couldn’t imagine not doing this.”

It was a solid performance from Alex in the sister Cruze, finishing 5th having enjoyed some close, clean racing with the likes of Chilton and Boardman.  Alex commented:  “I’m happy with that.  I made a great start off the line but then it got a little tight into the first corner and I lost momentum on the exit.  I fought hard to keep Chilton behind but it was a good clean fight and I had some enjoyable racing with him and Jackson.”

It was a second visit to the top of the podium for Jason in round two after a stellar drive in which he led from start to finish.  Both Cruzes flew off the line from the start, with Alex’s quick-thinking ensuring a clean move past the bogged down Ford of Chilton, but a subsequent review of the start would lead to a drive-through penalty for the BTCC’s youngest driver on the grid.

Jason summarised:  “What a great way to start 2011.  We’ve been a little fortunate in that we’ve been in the right place at the right time, but that’s no coincidence.  The performance of the turbo on the straights is simply incredible but my Cruze looks after the tyres well and is definitely better on exiting the corners, which is a real strength we can exploit.  We’ve got a great points haul this weekend and we can be very satisfied with our performance.”

Alex:  “It’s been a challenging weekend for me but I’m really pleased with my performance in the first race and that’s some championship points in the bag.  I got a great start off the line in race two, which is an area I’ve been working on since last year, but obviously on review it was deemed a false start so I had to take a drive-through penalty.  It’s a shame because I think we’d have been challenging for the podium but lesson learnt.”

In the final race of the day Jason and Alex took the flag in 5th and 9th, both bagging more vital championship points towards to the drivers and manufacturers titles.

The championship standings:

1. Jason Plato               38 points
2. Mat Jackson              30 points
3. James Nash              26 points
8. Alex MacDowall         8 points

You can read all the latest news on www.chevroletbtcc.com, or at www.rmlmallock.co.uk

About RML

RML returns in 2011 to defend their titles in the FIA World Touring Car Championship, British Touring Car Championship and the ACO Le Mans Series LMP2 class, having claimed a total of five major titles last season. 

The RML Group comprises the following divisions; Motorsport, Automotive, Engines and Events.  Based in Northamptonshire, England, the company’s 4,300 square metre facility includes design, development, manufacturing and operational support for international race/rally programmes and automotive engineering projects including performance engine development.

Since its formation in 1984 RML has achieved success in a diverse range of motorsport categories including GT/sportscars, touring cars, rally cars, single seaters and oval speedway cars. 

For more information, please contact:
Sara Lambden - RML Group
Email: Sara Lambden
Telephone: 01933 402440