Plato takes Knockhill BTCC poleposted in BTCC25 | 08 | 2012
WHILE FIFER GORDON SHEDDEN was left contemplating what might have been, double champ Jason Plato again displayed his mastery of Knockhill. The MG driver slithered to pole position for the opening race of tomorrow's British Touring Car Championship triple-header at the Fife circuit (see all the latest action photos from the BTCC at Knockhill today).
Plato, who closed the gap to championship leader Matt Neal from 29 points to 10 at Snetteron a fortnight ago, is determined to leave Knockhill with the outright lead.
"Why shouldn't I?", the Oxford-based driver, who has won at Knockhill a record eight times, said as he sheltered from the torrential rain which had plagued qualifying.
"I love racing here: it's my kind of track. You really do need to hustle your car, and the MG was just brilliant today.
"Starting from pole at Knockhill is hugely important, and if I can stay out in front and win race one, then I'll be confident of winning the second race as well.
“To be honest, I had a bit more in reserve if I needed it," Plato, the master of mind games, smiled, "but the main thing is I’m starting from the front and the two Hondas have some work to do. I’m feeling good about tomorrow.”
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While Plato, who clocked a fastest time of 57.128secs, lines up alongside the fast-starting BMW of Rob Collard, championship leader Neal is back in eighth.
Neal, eyeing a fourth title, struggled all day with his Honda Racing Civic as it suffered from a boost control problem.
"Of course I'd rather be further up the grid, but lot's of things tend to happen at Knockhill, and I need to make sure I'm in the position to take full advantage of them," he said.
Like Neal's car, that of his team-mate Shedden (pictured) is carrying maximum 'success' ballast of 45kilos: a factor which made the Scot's performance all the more impressive.
Fastest through the morning's opening free practice session in the dry, the 33-year-old from Dalgety Bay had looked on course for at least a top-four start in the opener after clocking a 57.482s early in qualifying.
The race stewards though, thought otherwise, and he paid a hefty penalty for running wide on the exit of the fast right-hander at Clarks.
"The stewards decided I'd 'exceeded the track limits,'" a disappointed Shedden, who instead lines up sixth after subsequently posting a 57.605s, explained, "and they removed my time for that lap from the timesheets.
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"Annoyingly, that would have put me fourth, which would have made tomorrow a heck of a lot easier.
"Anyway, I have what I have, and now I have to concentrate and make sure I can at least bag a couple of good podium finishes, and ideally a win.
"Carrying the 45kgs is like having someone else in the car, but I still believe we're going to be very fiery and competitive tomorrow"
Inverness-based Dave Newsham, a winner last time out at Snetterton, starts 10th in his Vauxhall after managing a fastest time of 57.804s.
Such is the competitiveness of the BTCC at Knockhill, which traditionally delivers some of the spiciest racing of the season, that the top 14 of the 19 cars were covered by less than a second.
In the Porsche Carrera Cup, Fifer Rory Butcher lines up fifth and sixth for the today's two races in his Celtic Speed GT3 Cup car.
"I'm a little disappointed," Butcher, already a double winner this year, admitted. "Ideally I would have liked to have been starting further up the grid."
Behind him, Aberdeen's Glynn Geddie starts seventh and eighth, while Glasgow's Derek Pierce lines up eighth and 11th on the 17-car grid.
And 15-year-old Charlie Robertson from Aberfoyle starts both races in the Ginetta Junior Championship from pole position after dominating qualifying.
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Jim McGill