MOTORSPORT: Plato ready to fly high (From Oxford Mail)

MOTORSPORT: Plato ready to fly high

10:00am Saturday 28th April 2012 in Other sport

OXFORD’S Jason Plato believes Thruxton will be ready-made for his MG car as he bids to increase his lead in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship tomorrow.

He feels that the Hampshire circuit will be ideally suited to his MG KX Momentum Racing MG 6 after he shot through the field to cross the line in second in a controversial final race in the last round at Donington Park.

The championship leader incurred a two-second time penalty for unfairly bumping Gordon Shedden at the final bend as they took the minor places.

The punishment saw Plato demoted to third behind his rival.

However, race winner Mat Jackson was then excluded after it was discovered his Redstone Racing Ford Focus ST had exceeded the permitted turbo-boost limits, with victory awarded to Shedden and Plato back up to second.

It came after he had started down the grid following a crash in the second race.

Plato said: “My crash was just a racing incident, but then to drive through from 17th to finish on the podium in race three again underlined just how special the MG is, and I believe it will fly at Thruxton.”

The first six races of the season have been won by five different drivers – Plato, Robert Collard, Matt Neal, Jackson and Shedden.

Standings (top ten): 1 J Plato 84pts, 2 M Neal 80, 3 A Jordan 76, 4 R Collard 72, 5 G Shedden 70, 6 M Jackson 60, 7 J Smith 52, 8 D Newsham 47, 9 T Onslow-Cole 47, 10 T Gilham 35.