Jason Plato facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jason Plato |
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Plato at the Knockhill round of the 2017 British Touring Car Championship
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| Nationality |  British |
| Born | 14 October 1967 Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK |
| British Touring Car Championship career | |
| Debut season | 1997 |
| Current team | Rich Energy BTC Racing |
| Racing licence |  FIA Silver |
| Car no. | 11 |
| Former teams | Williams Renault Vauxhall SEAT Sport UK Silverline Chevrolet MG KX Clubcard Fuel Save Adrian Flux Subaru Racing Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing |
| Starts | 659 |
| Championships | 2 (2001, 2010) |
| Wins | 97 |
| Podiums | 233 |
| Poles | 51 |
| Fastest laps | 86 |
| Previous series | |
| 2005 2002 1996 1990–91, 1995 1992 1991 |
WTCC ASCAR Renault Spider Cup Formula Renault GB British F3 Formula Renault Eurocup |
| Championship titles | |
| 2001, 2010 1996 1991 |
BTCC Renault Spider Cup Formula Renault Eurocup |
Jason Plato, born on October 14, 1967, is a famous British racing driver. He last raced in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) for BTC Racing. Jason has won the BTCC championship twice. He was champion in 2001 with Vauxhall and again in 2010 with Silverline Chevrolet.
He has finished in the top 3 of the championship 12 times. Jason also holds the record for the most race wins in the BTCC. Since 2004, he has been a presenter on the TV show Fifth Gear, which is all about cars.
Contents
Racing Career Highlights
Jason Plato started his racing journey in karting. In 1989, he won the British Championship in the Junior TKM Class. After that, he moved on to race in Formula Three and Formula Renault. In 1996, he won the Renault Spider championship easily.
Early BTCC Years (1997–2001)
Joining Williams Renault (1997–1999)
In 1997, Jason joined the Williams-Renault BTCC team. He got the spot after a special test arranged by Frank Williams. Jason was the fastest driver in the test.
He started strong, getting pole position in his first three races. As a rookie, he won two races and finished 3rd in the championship. His teammate, Alain Menu, won the championship that year. Jason finished 5th in the series for the next two years.
Success with Vauxhall (2000–2001)
Jason joined Vauxhall in 2000 and again finished 5th in the championship. In 2001, the BTCC had new rules to make racing more affordable. Vauxhall had the best car that year. Jason won the championship after a tough season. His teammate, Yvan Muller, had a car fire in the final race.
Break from BTCC (2002–2003)
Jason wanted to try NASCAR racing. So, in 2002, he moved to the British ASCAR series. He finished third in the championship driving a Ford Taurus for XCEL Motorsport.
In 2003, he worked as a driver coach for SEAT. He returned to the BTCC with the SEAT team in 2004.
BTCC Return (2004–Present)
Driving for SEAT (2004–2008)
SEAT hired Jason in 2003 to help develop their drivers. When SEAT entered the BTCC in 2004, he was the perfect choice to lead their team. The new SEAT Toledo car needed a lot of work to become a winner. Even with the development needed, Jason won seven races that year. He finished third overall in the championship.
Rules changed in 2004, affecting how pole positions were decided. This made it harder for Jason to challenge for the title in 2005. He finished 4th in 2005 with three wins. The team was then run by Northern South.
In 2006, Jason continued as the main driver for SEAT. He drove their new León touring car. He was the only driver in his team to race in all 10 events. He finished 2nd in the championship, showing his skill.
Jason won the first two races of 2007. This set up a big fight for the title with Fabrizio Giovanardi from Vauxhall. Giovanardi won the championship by just 3 points. Jason said, "Fabrizio beat us the right way. He is a very worthy champion."
In 2008, the team switched to a diesel-powered León. This was the first diesel car to win in the BTCC. Jason won several races, but mechanical problems hurt his chances. He finished 3rd overall in the championship.
Racing with RML Chevrolet (2009–2011)
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SEAT left the BTCC at the end of 2008. Many thought Jason might take a break from racing. But he decided to return in 2009 with a RML Group Chevrolet Lacetti. The team later got sponsorship from Silverline and Auto Windscreens.
At the final race of 2009, Jason won all three races. He was only the second driver to do this. He won one race by a tiny 0.015 seconds, the closest BTCC win ever at that time. He finished 2nd in the 2009 championship.
In 2010, RML became an official Chevrolet factory team. Jason was the main driver for the Chevrolet Cruze. He quickly became a top contender. He won the 2010 BTCC championship. This win was also his 60th, matching Andy Rouse's BTCC record.
Jason stayed with the team in 2011. He won the first race of the season, setting a new BTCC record of 61 victories. He finished 3rd in the championship that year.
MG KX Momentum Racing (2012–2014)
From 2012 to 2014, Jason raced for the Triple Eight Race Engineering (United Kingdom) team. He drove their MG KX Momentum Racing MG6. He finished 3rd in the championship in both 2012 and 2013. In 2014, with a similar car, he finished 2nd in the championship.
Team BMR (2015–2018)
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In 2015, Jason joined Team BMR. He won 6 races but missed the title by just four points. In 2016, Team BMR started using Subaru Levorgs. After some early struggles, Jason took 9 podium finishes. He also won a race at Knockhill, which was his 500th race.
He continued with the team in 2017. An early crash affected his season, causing car problems. Despite this, he still got four podiums and another win at Knockhill. He finished 12th in the standings.
In 2018, the team changed engines to fix reliability issues. However, this change hurt the car's performance. Jason struggled, scoring very few points. His only podium was a second-place finish at Croft. He finished 27th in the championship.
Power Maxed Racing (2019–2021)
In 2019, Jason switched to Power Maxed Racing. He drove the factory-backed Vauxhall Astra. He finished 7th in the championship, winning the final race of the season.
The team did not compete full-time in 2020. Jason returned with them in 2021. The Vauxhall car had throttle problems that year. Jason got one podium finish at Thruxton. He ended the year in 14th place.
BTC Racing (2022)
On April 6, 2022, it was announced that Jason would join BTC Racing. This was his 23rd and final season in the BTCC. He finished the year in 17th place, with one podium at Snetterton.
Other Racing Adventures
Jason Plato also competed in the Bathurst 1000 twice and the Sandown 500 once. In his second attempt at Bathurst, he raced with the famous driver Peter Brock. Their race ended in a big crash involving Jason.
In 1998, he took part in the Silverstone Rally Sprint. He drove a Renault Megane F2 and finished 9th. His co-driver was Andy Wilman, who used to present and produce Top Gear.
During his 2005 BTCC season, Jason raced in four rounds of the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC). He achieved a second-place finish in a race at his home track, Silverstone. He also won a race and finished second overall in the 2005 European Touring Car Cup.
Jason often races in historic car events. He is a regular at the Goodwood Revival and Members meeting. He has teamed up with celebrity chef James Martin and other drivers in these events.
Television Career
Jason Plato is a co-presenter for the Channel 5 TV show Fifth Gear. He works alongside Tiff Needell, Vicki Butler-Henderson, and Jonny Smith. Before that, he co-presented Channel 4's car show 'Driven'.
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In October 2007, Jason had an accident while filming for Fifth Gear. He was driving a Caparo T1 supercar when it caught fire. He was injured but was able to race in the next BTCC event. This incident was also mentioned on Top Gear.
Jason also presented the Sky One TV show Mission Implausible. In this show, he and Tania Zaetta competed to perform exciting stunts.
Book
On September 19, 2019, Jason Plato released his first autobiography. It is titled How Not to Be a Professional Racing Driver. Penguin Books Ltd published the book.
Personal Life and Other Work
Jason Plato was born in Oxford, England. He went to Chillingham Road Primary School.
Outside of racing, Jason is a brand ambassador for several companies. He also runs his own marketing agency called Brand Pilot Ltd. He co-hosts a podcast called Fuelling Around with Dave Vitty. The podcast returned for its second series in March 2021. They also held their first live show in September 2021.
Images for kids
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Plato driving the diesel-powered SEAT León at Oulton Park during the 2008 BTCC season.
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See also
In Spanish: Jason Plato para niños
