Plato unsure about Oulton chances

Plato lies third in the championship, 39 points behind leader Fabrizio Giovanardi, but is unlikely to have the same kind of advantage from his Leon TDI that he had last time out at Snetterton - where he won twice.

"It would be nice to have two days of testing before Oulton Park, like we had before Snetterton, but c'est la vie," said Plato. "So it's a bit of a step into the unknown.

"It might just come down to getting a few key corners right - like it did at Snetterton, and if we make the car go well at Druids and Cascades, which are crucial, then the rest of the lap should look after itself and we'll be very strong."

Plato said that he had to put thoughts of adding to his 2001 title out of his mind until after the weekend.

"I'm not looking at points," he added. "We've got ground to make up, so I've just got to crack on, win races, and if we do that, the championship will come to us. There's still a long way to go."

Fellow SEAT driver Darren Turner lies 79 points off Giovanardi in the championship after a puncture robbed him of an easy second place in race two at Snetterton - and caused him to start the final race from well back on the grid.

With no success ballast on his car this weekend, compared to 27 kilos of Plato and 45 of Giovanardi, he is aiming to use his lighter car to take points off the Italian in a bid to help his teammate close up in the standings.

"With me down in eighth place and a long way off the lead in the championship, we have to try and help Jason, who is right up there in third, close the gap on Fabrizio, so there is another exciting battle for the title again at the end of the season."