We all knew it could happen… but like me, most of us probably had a lingering doubt as to whether Jason Plato would signal his 500th race start at Knockhill with a bang or merely blend into the background of a pulsating and frantic BTCC Championship that has reached a new level of competitiveness in 2016.
Well, credit where credit is due; Plato isn’t merely content to make up the numbers on the grid and rack up another season in BTCC just for the thrill of it. Plato has arguably been the most fearsome foe on the BTCC grid for the past 10 years – given his desire to win and a ruthless win at all costs attitude – which has seen his gain as many followers as enemies during his stay in the BTCC. Plato’s driving skills cannot be put into question – a career spanning so many years, race wins and two BTCC titles can’t be frowned at. But my question from afar was… did he still want it?
Well, today at Knockhill he signaled his intent to mark his 500th race start with a bang… and a big one at that.
Straight from the off Plato was pushing his Silverline Subaru BMR Racing machine around the tight twists and dips of Knockhill as break-neck speed – topping the opening session of the day ahead of the impressive Tom Ingram in the Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Avensis by just 0.007secs. Plato then followed up with a steady FP2, finishing the 20-minute session in 6th place behind Jeff Smith, Hunter Abbot, Jack Goff, Adam Morgan and Tom Ingram at the front of the field.
As qualifying got underway you got a sense that the timesheets were about to go a little bit crazy and that’s exactly what happened. Tordoff, Goff, Plato, and Ingram all topped the session in the opening stages as cars flew off left, right and centre in search of that extra-tenth – with Newsham, Neal, Abbot and Ollie Jackson all experiencing the trackside landscape of Knockhill – with Jackson’s off bringing a temporary halt to the session as his car was pulled from the tyre wall.
As the session resumed, Ingram went on a charge reeling off a series of fast laps – putting himself back in charge on the 17-minute mark, before he too took to the scenery after exiting the Arnold Clark Chicane on presumably two or no wheels, which seemed to be the norm throughout the session. Plato then reeled off three laps in the 51s bracket to take him back to the top of the times; quickly joined at the summit for a Team BMR lockout at the head of the field by Colin Turkington.
There were so many drivers leaping up and down the order it was hard to keep pace with what was actually going on; before Sam Tordoff blazed his way to the top of the times with a NEW qualifying lap record, around Knockhill, with a time of 51.551sec – carrying 66kilos of success ballast – point later eluded to by eventual pole-setter Plato in his post-qualifying interview.
There was still time for more drama to unfold however, following another quick stoppage for Jeff Smith who also pushed a little too hard around the unforgiving Knockhill track; before being forced to take evasive action into the shrubbery around the outskirts of Knockhill.
With 2-minutes on the clock, Ingram set another fast lap to take him back to the top of the timesheets; then further improved his lap time in the dying stages to all but seal his 3rd pole position of the season. However, Plato, using all those years of experience to his advantage managed to slip in just one more effort as the chequered flag fell… and well, he only just topped Ingram’s time by a measly 0.021s to secure a memorable pole on a special day for him in the BTCC.
Say what you like about Plato, I don’t think anyone can begrudge him this moment after all he has given to the BTCC. Quite frankly, a championship with a competitive Jason Plato, like him or loath him, is a better Championship all-round. And, rest assured, there will be a few more interested parties in tomorrow’s opening race because he’s the one on pole.
“I’m just relieved to get a good lap in, it’s tight around here to find the space and not get a lap ruined by the traffic. But Tordoff’s pace, with 66 kilos on, looks a bit racy doesn’t it?
“A win in my 500th race would be good. We’re in a good place and we can certainly go racing from there,” concluded Plato.
And with what we’ve seen today from the BTCC veteran, a race win during the opening encounter tomorrow is a distinct possibility.
Make sure you are here to see if Plato can drag that BMR Subaru across the line ahead of his peers, and engrave his name in BTCC folklore for many years to come.
Tickets are on sale via the Knockhill website until midnight tonight (at a discounted rate); otherwise you can pay at the gate throughout tomorrow’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Lokring Northern (UK) Raceday.
