Plato wary of Ford threat

Chevrolet driver Plato leads the standings by 17 points from Honda's Matt Neal with Gordon Shedden a further four points adrift.

But it is Arena Ford driver Onslow-Cole, who is the fourth of the drivers still capable of winning the title, that is giving Plato most cause for concern, thanks to the strength of the Focus's turbocharged LPG engine.

"Matt is the closest to me in terms of points, but I don't think that necessarily makes him the biggest threat," Plato told AUTOSPORT.

"Shedden's his team-mate so they're bound to take points off each other, and they can't afford to push too hard because they won't want to take each other off.

"The real threat will come from the Fords, especially if they put in the kind of performance we know they're capable of.

"Tom Onslow-Cole is a cracking little driver and has done really well this year. My fear is that they'll be slow through the corners and bunch everyone up, like at Donington, but that they'll disappear down the straights."

Despite believing that the LPG-powered Focuses of Onslow-Cole and Tom Chilton will show strong pace, he is also optimistic of taking at least one race win in his Chevrolet Cruze.

"I know how strong the Cruze is and I think it will probably be the car to beat this weekend," he added. "We got the three wins with the Lacetti last year so I know I can win a race if I can just get to the front.

"We were quickest in the test at media day in March and the guys at RML [the team that runs Chevrolet's works operation] have done a fantastic job in improving the car since then, particularly on how it uses the tyres.

"The difficulty is carrying the weight. 45kg of success ballast is a lot to lug around, so if we can get ahead, we can stay ahead. It's just the getting ahead - especially in qualifying - that might be tricky."