WTCC 2007
2009 WTCC Chevrolet Cruze Preview
01/08/2009
A flying lap from Jason Plato secured pole position for the Racing Silverline team at Snetterton this afternoon, a firm reminder to his rivals that he is still very much a championship contender.
Having spent much of the practice sessions focusing on crucial car set up, Jason reached the top of the timesheets early in the qualifying session, with a time of 1:12.478. However as Turkington continued to improve on his personal best, pole was far from set. Jason responded, setting an unbeatable time of 1:12.672, taking the pole and a bonus point for his efforts.
Jason commented: "Really pleased with that. After FP1, where we do simulated race work for race set up, the car was feeling very good. We had good balance and a lot of natural speed.
We made some changes from FP2 for qualifying and in the beginning, the pace wasn't quite there, so we changed our tyre plan and got the balance back again. My 1:12.2 was almost a perfect lap. I knew it would take a special lap to beat that, so I'm chuffed with that. The last three races, we have been on pole twice."
With Turkington starting 2nd for the first race tomorrow, Jason remains realistic on his expectations for the start, "I've got to get the best start I can. If I get a stella start and Colin gets an average, he'll still be gone. But, I'm really chuffed with pole. The lads did a great job today and we have a new sponsor on the car in Matchthedeal.com, which launches their new business today. What better way to start than to be in pole position with matchthedeal.com?"
For further information please contact RML:
Michell Seaman
Events Manager
Tel: +44 1933 402440
Email: michells@rmlmallock.co.uk
