Jason Plato

[BTCC frog]

I don't remember the last time we went into the final round of a BTCC championship season knowing that a certain driver was going to be retiring at the end of it, with the best answer I can think of being John Cleland in 1999, and before him Andy Rouse in 1994. And in all cases, it was a true legend of the sport. I think Plato deserves his own thread here, for everything he has given to the sport over 23 years of racing in the BTCC. He will be sorely missed by the championship, as his great rival Matt Neal is, and I just wish Neal could have had a send-off in 2020 like Plato is having this year. It would have been amazing if Neal had competed in the third Dynamics Honda this year and given us a final edition of Plato vs Neal in the same car, but sadly it didn't happen. I still have a faint hope that Plato will change his mind about retiring, but think it is unlikely.

97 wins in his career is an incredible statistic of Jason Plato's, considerably higher than his closest rival, Matt Neal on 63. However, Plato has only won two championships in his career, in 2001 and 2010, despite having gone into the final round in championship contention, and finished in the top three, in every season between 2006 and 2015. This is perhaps partly due to his attitude of wanting to go for the win every time, while rivals such as Fabrizio Giovanardi and Colin Turkington were prepared to settle for lesser positions and bank points. While he could drive dirty at times, Plato was particularly strong in his defence of positions, and so could create brilliantly entertaining races as he held off long lines of cars behind him.

Not only has Plato given us some brilliant driving, he has also been extremely entertaining as a character in the championship, liking to present himself as a villain (and thus gaining a reputation as a 'love him or hate him' driver), and has even come on tentenths in 2016 to invite a critic to come and meet him in the paddock. It was partly an act, but was still entertaining. Plato has also got numerous manufacturers into the sport, involved in the introduction of SEAT, Chevrolet, MG and Subaru.

Plato joined the BTCC with Renault in 1997, alongside Alain Menu, who was probably the best driver in the BTCC at the time. According to his book, 'how not to be a professional racing driver,' Plato got his chance after waiting at Williams Headquarters to cry to Frank Williams and try to persuade him to give him a chance, and thank goodness he was successful. Plato had outperformed Jean-Christophe Boullion and Gianni Morbidelli at a previous test, and qualified on pole position in both rounds at Donington. Plato finished third in the championship in the end, as Menu dominated the season and Frank Biela finished second in the 4WD Audi, but he took a maiden win at Snetterton and a second win in the Silverstone season finale. He claimed that he was contracted as a number two to Menu and wasn't allowed to fight him.

Plato stayed with Renault in 1998 and, while the Laguna was not as competitive as it had been the previous season, Plato cut the deficit to Menu considerably. Perhaps the first example of a Plato we would see on many occasions over the coming years came in Donington, as he punted David Leslie out at Redgate and then blamed the Nissan driver for the incident. Menu won just once, at Oulton Park, but took six other podiums and finished fifth in the championship, just 24 points behind Menu.

Menu left Renault to join Ford in 1999 and Plato was left to lead the team, with Jean-Christophe Boullion as his teammate. His leadership was demonstrated at Snetterton as Plato told his team over the radio, 'tell JCB to hold off Muller,' and Charlie Cox described that instruction as like telling him to hold off the terminator with a water pistol. Charlie Cox also described Plato as a good 'smasher upper of cars' at Knockhill. Plato won one race in 1999 at Silverstone, as well as taking two podiums at Donington, but a poor second half of the season left him fifth in the points once again.

Renault pulled out of the BTCC at the end of the season and Plato joined Vauxhall in 2000, driving an Astra Coupé. But he was the assigned second driver to Yvan Muller, and this was clearly demonstrated at Thruxton, as Plato was instructed to give up a victory for his teammate, and pulled over on the pit straight, indicating as he did so, to make the order clear. Plato had won at Brands Hatch, and did so again at Snetterton, a track that would become a very happy hunting ground for him during his career. Plato was narrowly beaten into fifth in the standings by Muller, but had proved he didn't deserve to be the number two.

The withdrawals of Ford and Honda left Vauxhall with the only front-running car in 2001, and as a result, Plato fought Muller for the championship. Their rivalry was truly the Senna vs Prost of the BTCC. He took eight wins over the course of the season, but the toxic rivalry only truly began in Silverstone, as Plato was controversially penalised for an incident with Muller, and then at the following round at Donington the two banged wheels on multiple occasions, looking as though they wanted to take the other one off, and it cost both drivers a lot of time. In the Brands Hatch finale, Plato spun and looked to be out of it, until Muller's car caught fire and gave Plato the title. Vauxhall fired Plato immediately after he had won the championship, and reportedly had tried to get him banned from the season finale. But nonetheless, Jason Plato was the deserving champion.

After two years out of the BTCC following his sacking from Vauxhall, Plato returned to the championship in 2004, driving a SEAT Toledo. The reversed-grid rule was a little odd in 2004, always reversing the top ten in the second race, and having the third race grid set by results of the second. The wily Plato played this to his advantage brilliantly, often dropping back deliberately in race one so he could win two and three, as the SEAT was no match for the Vauxhalls driven by James Thompson and Yvan Muller. Plato won race two in Thruxton, Mondello Park and Knockhill, and took races two and three at Croft (after Rob Huff was ordered to let him by), while he also won the first race at Donington to finish an impressive third in the championship.

The SEAT wasn't particularly competitive in 2005, and Plato struggled to keep pace with the Honda Integras and the Vauxhall Astras. He won at Oulton Park, Snetterton and Brands Hatch, and was involved in a collision with Matt Neal at Knockhill, after which Neal labelled him 'an absolute pig.'

In 2006, Plato drove a SEAT Leon and fought Matt Neal for the title. At the opening round at Brands Hatch, Tom Chilton described Plato as 'too old for the BTCC,' and yet it would be another 16 years before Plato would retire! He was somewhat outclassed by James Thompson during the season, but Thompson was driving only a part season for SEAT, and so Plato was left to fight for the title. He was involved in a famous collision with Neal at Snetterton, where he took a double victory and made contact with Neal at Corum which left Neal spinning at Jim Russell. Another double at Brands Hatch put Plato in title contention going into the final round, but he had to settle for second.

In 2007, Plato had a new rival for the championship in Fabrizio Giovanardi, and the two fought extremely closely all season. He won six races to Giovanardi's eight over the season, as the cars and drivers were incredibly evenly-matched, and Plato went into the final race at Thruxton just one point ahead of Giovanardi. That race was very much not the BTCC's finest hour, as Matt Neal drove like he was in a Vauxhall, having agreed to join them for 2008, and let both Giovanardi and Chilton through, before blocking Plato. Plato eventually got through and then cut the chicane to try and gain time on his rival, but it was Giovanardi who had prevailed, and Plato once again had to settle for second.

In 2008, the SEAT was diesel-powered, and was quite clearly the fastest car on the grid, particularly in a straight line, once they had got going in the second half of the year, but reliability was the car's great weakness. Plato took double wins at Snetterton and Knockhill, and surely would have done so at Oulton Park too but instead he retired. He was closing the gap to the consistent Giovanardi in the championship, but his rival was happy just to bank points and finish races, describing himself as 'like a monkey, chasing the yellow banana car.' Plato ended up dropping to third in the championship with a poor final round, beaten by the BMW of Mat Jackson.

SEAT pulled out, as a works team, in 2009, so Plato moved to the RML Chevrolet team, in a Lacetti. The car was very uncompetitive at Brands Hatch but Plato took a sensational win in race three from pole, after a brilliant save at Paddock Hill Bend after being hit by Johnny Adam, for which Adam was later penalised. He wouldn't win again until Knockhill as the car appeared too uncompetitive to fight for the championship, but incredible end of season form got him back in the hunt, and with three wins at Brands Hatch, something that only he and Dan Eaves have achieved in BTCC history, got Plato back in contention. Hopefully he will repeat that in 2022 to reach the much-coveted 100 wins. He lost the title by just five points to Colin Turkington, once again finishing second.

In 2010, Plato drove a Chevrolet Cruze, and without Giovanardi and Turkington in the championship, he instead fought the Team Dynamics Hondas of Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden for the championship. It was the only time in his ten consecutive years of challenging for the title that Plato actually won it, with double wins at Snetterton and Brands Hatch sealing it, despite Plato probably having the third-best car behind the Honda and the LPG-powered Ford Focus.

Plato vs Neal vs Shedden continued in 2011 and despite two double victories at Brands Hatch, Plato was unable to retain his title and complained of the lack of boost in his car compared to his rivals in turbo cars, while a roll at Donington, and being taken out of the lead at Knockhill, also didn't help his cause. The Plato vs Neal fight almost got physical at Rockingham with a confrontation in the paddock after qualifying, but Neal had beaten him on this occasion, and Plato finished third in the championship.

Plato moved to the Triple Eight team for 2012, now a works team running MGs. Incredibly, Plato won a race in the opening round at Brands Hatch despite expecting the car to be off the pace at the start of the season. Another edition of Plato vs Neal kicked off at Snetterton as Neal hit Plato at Corum and knocked him wide, and Plato then ran into the back of the Honda at Jim Russell and both went off the track, handing victory to Andrew Jordan. At Silverstone, Plato drove brilliantly to win from the back of the grid in race three and once again challenge for the title, but once again he was beaten into third, as Shedden was crowned champion.

In 2013, Plato once again drove for MG and won two races at Brands Hatch despite being knocked into the gravel at the final corner by Jordan. Further doubles at Oulton Park, Silverstone, and the Brands finale gave Plato another third place in the championship despite winning the most races, as Jordan was crowned champion.

Plato drove for MG for a third season in 2014, and vowed to drive differently and go for points rather than wins. But the BMW of Colin Turkington was just too strong and despite six wins, Plato ended up second in the championship again. He had a controversial collision with his rival at the final round in Brands Hatch, after Turkington had won the title.

Warren Scott pulled a blinder in 2015, getting both Jason Plato and Colin Turkington to drive for Team BMR in Volkswagen CCs. Both challenged for the title, but Plato was a little stronger than Turkington, who was in his unfavoured front-wheel-drive. Plato was denied victory at Brands Hatch by a puncture but became the first driver ever to win with 75kg of ballast when he took a double at Oulton Park. He was angry with teammate Aron Smith, who he had accused of not being good enough for the BTCC in 2012, for not allowing him through at the finale, and Plato ultimately lost the title by just four points to Gordon Shedden, despite winning the final race as Shedden drove through from the back. Arguably, this was the final season of Plato at his best, as his move to rear-wheel-drive in 2016 brought with it a major downturn in fortunes.

Plato and Turkington drove the RWD Subaru in 2016, but Plato struggled and, for the first time in over ten years, wasn't a title contender. However, the car was very strong at the end of the season and Plato had a mathematical chance at the final round, ending up seventh. His best weekend came at Knockhill, where he won race one and defending brilliantly in race two but ended up third. He also took good podiums at Oulton Park and Croft, where he clashed with his teammate.

2017 was considerably worse for Plato. A heavy crash at Brands Hatch started a terrible run of form as teammate Ash Sutton was winning, and although this was partly down to Plato's unfamiliarity with rear-wheel-drive, it was clear that his Subaru was not up-to-scratch. Sutton won the championship as Plato finished 12th, not even breaking into the top ten in a race until Croft, but he did win at Knockhill and afterwards gave a funny interview where he said that the BTCC was his entire life, the only thing that gets him up in the morning. Despite having two daughters . He then said, 'to all those who said I was too old,' and raised two fingers to the camera.

But if 2017 was bad for Plato, 2018 was an unprecedented disaster. He finished second at Croft, but failed to win a race all season for the first time in his career, and that result was one of just four points finishes. Plato slipped to 27th in the championship, a shadow of his former self.

Unsurprisingly, Plato left Team BMR at the end of the year to join Power Maxed, driving a Vauxhall Astra. His first season with the team was a good one, and Plato found himself back in contention for good results. He was twice caught out for moving over his grid slot, but took three podiums including a win at the season finale in Brands Hatch, while he also led for much of an incredibly entertaining race at Snetterton, defending hard from Ash Sutton, sometimes going a little over the top as he hit the Subaru, and eventually the two collided at Brundle and Nelson. He also said this at Oulton Park

Plato had to miss the 2020 season as Power Maxed dropped out due to lack of budget, but returned in 2021 with Dan Lloyd as his teammate. Plato had a strong weekend in Thruxton, but thereafter he struggled, and was ultimately beaten fairly comfortably by Lloyd in the standings. There were rumours that he was punched by Adam Weaver, boss of PMR, for criticising the team after the second Thruxton meeting.

Plato left PMR at the end of 2021 and, after for a long while looking to be out of a drive, was confirmed at BTC Racing for 2022, for a farewell tour as he searched for three wins to make it to 100 for his career, and it was fitting that he would be ending his career driving a Honda, having considered them his enemy for so long. Unsurprisingly, he was rarely able to compete with Josh Cook but due to the BTC Honda dropping in pace due to a lack of straightline speed, he was rarely in contention for wins, fluffing the start from pole at Thruxton and finished second at Snetterton, by far his best drive of the season. Going into his final weekend at Brands Hatch, the 100 wins appears to be gone, and it has been an underwhelming final season in the championship.

Jason Plato has certainly made the BTCC a better series during his time in the championship, has always been among the most entertaining drivers to watch on the grid, and deserves a great send-off in Brands Hatch next weekend. A true legend of the BTCC.