Why a BTCC legend remains defiant at '97 not out'

After a year of enforced absence from the British Touring Car Championship grid, Jason Plato is back and hungrier than ever. Despite stellar opposition and some familiar challenges, the two-time champion still has his eyes focused on the biggest prizes

Updated May 6, 2021, 6:22 AM

A 53-year-old veteran was a notable omission from the British Touring Car Championship grid last year. But as lockdown begins to lift, the shackles are also about to be released from a recharged and rejuvenated Jason Plato, who is showing no signs of calling time on his career.

The two-time BTCC champion isn't everyone's cup of tea but his talent in touring cars, backed up by 97 BTCC race wins, cannot be questioned. It has to be said, he’s the character that perhaps was the missing piece of the puzzle from the paddock in 2020.

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Author Tom Howard

Tom Howard is a News Editor working across both Autosport.com and Motorsport.com websites. Starting out as a sports reporter in local newspapers, Tom focussed on motorsport covering several national championships in the UK, including the BTCC.

After a period working as a freelance journalist, Tom moved to Australia in 2013 landing a job at leading Australian motorsport news outlet speedcafe.com, covering international motorsport events including F1, WRC and Supercars. Progressing to Editor in 2017, Tom was named Motorsport Australia Journalist of the Year for his work. He is also a two-time winner of Supercars Journalist of The Year (2017,2019) and a Supercars Championship Media Award winner in 2019.

Tom moved back to his native UK in 2020, firstly working in BTCC, before joining Autosport and motorsport.com in 2021.