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Croft Crowds In For "A Cracker", Says Plato |
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Tuesday, 29 May 2007 |
Jason Plato believes the North East’s Dunlop British Touring Car crowds are in for “a cracker” when the championship visits the region on Sunday 3 June.
The BTCC is just days away from making its annual appearance at the Croft circuit near Darlington. Tens of thousands of fans flock to the event as it is their only opportunity of the year to see Britain’s premier race series in action.
And Newcastle-raised Plato, the current championship leader, says the evidence suggests that 2007’s event could be the most exciting since Croft started staging BTCC meetings ten years ago.
“The crowds are in for a cracker,” said SEAT star Plato. “The form book
suggests any one of up to 15 drivers could end up winning one of the
three rounds on race day.
“SEAT has a great car in the Leon, Vauxhall’s new Vectra is coming on
in leaps and bounds and, although its car arrived late in the day, Team
Halfords’ new Honda Civic has started to show genuinely strong form.
We’ve also seen BMWs and Alfa Romeos lead races at some point and, at
Thruxton a few weeks ago, there was one moment when we had five cars
abreast.
“The Croft track also has a few very tempting overtaking spots and the
public can get some great views from the banking around the track.
They’ve made it free for children as well and it’s going to be a great
day out for families.”
Although he lives in Oxford these days, Plato is eager to win in front
of what he perceives to be a home crowd. Arriving at Croft, he leads
Vauxhall’s Italian ace Fabrizio Giovanardi by just nine points – each
has so far won four times in 2007. Next up is Giovanardi’s team-mate
Tom Chilton followed by Halfords’ reigning champion Matt Neal.
Plato added: “I actually think my championship lead could be a little
bit bigger had it not been for a bit of bad luck at Thruxton a few
weeks ago when my car had a small electrical problem when I was second
on the starting grid. I’m confident I’d have beaten Giovanardi in that
race but ended up sixth. I lost points when I shouldn’t have.
“But Croft has always been a very happy hunting ground for me and for
SEAT – we’ve won three times in the last three years and I believe the
Leon will be at its most potent around a track like Croft which has a
good mixture of corners.
“As the championship leader my car will carry an extra 45kgs in success
ballast in qualifying and race one. My team-mate-mate Darren Turner has
no ballast so should be a good bet for pole position. Realistically the
best I can hope for is second but, as I’ve already said, anything can
happen in the races.
“I go into every race trying to win but who knows… it could be someone new this time.”
Tickets to see the BTCC in action at Croft on 3 June cost £25 on the
gate or they can be booked on Croft’s website www.croftcircuit.co.uk or
by telephone: 01325 721815. Admission for children aged 15 and under is
FREE.
Prices include free access to the BTCC paddock and the hugely popular
Pit Lane Walkabout when the public, including children, is invited into
the Croft pit lane to meet the drivers for autographs and give-aways.
The timetable includes ten races in total: the latest three BTCC rounds
plus another seven races from the supporting BMW, Porsche, Renault and
SEAT championships.
For more information about the BTCC, including latest news and photos, visit the championship’s official website www.btcc.net.
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