BTCC 2010 Drivers
SLR 722GT Trophy 2008 Review
25/04/2010
Jason Plato has moved to the top of the leader board following his third place finish in this morning's first of three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at Rockingham Motor Speedway.
A last minute decision to switch from wet rears to full slicks during the installation laps proved to be the right move, as several of the front runners fell foul of a drying track – forcing tyre grip to fade from the onset - in effect, mimicking sheet ice.
Pushed wide from the first turn on lap one, Jason fell through the field into P9, however the Silverline Chevrolet proved its pace and on lap four, Jason set the first of two fastest laps during the race, edging passed Onslow-Cole and challenging Shedden's Honda to the chequered flag.
As the pair raced away from the midfield pack, the gap to Neal was cut from 10s to just over 4s as the race developed – Jason setting his second fastest lap – an impressive 1.5s quicker than race leader, Neal.
Jason finished P3, moving into first place of the championship standings with 41 points.
Commenting on the last minute tyre switch, Jason said: "It was the right call. We knew the first few laps were going to be hard (the track was still greasy) and perhaps we were a little over cautious at the start. I got caught in the middle of the pack, but once we got going, the pace was there."
And his thoughts on whether a pass on Shedden could have been possible: "We're not playing catch up at this point, so there was no need to try anything brave and take a risk. I couldn't have made a pass from where we were."
Starting from 3rd on the grid, Alex made a solid start and kept with the front runners, avoiding the trouble at turn 1, but having opted to run with wet tyres on the rear, Alex struggled for grip and pace. From there it was very much a case of nursing the tyres and fighting to keep the car on track. Alex finished P12.
Speaking after the race, Alex summarized: "We got two installation laps on the track, and I thought I thought wet rears was the right way to go when you're that far up the grid. It was slippery on the first lap and then towards the end, there was just no grip. Every corner I was fighting the car, then I had contact and the steering was knocked out. But we finished 12th – everyone in front was on slicks."
And on his plans for the second race, Alex adds: "Maximum attack! I aim for a good finish."
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