Plato: We have closed gap to leaders

Plato and team-mate Darren Turner were the quickest cars on track over the two days, seven and three tenths respectvely clear of the Team RAC BMW of nearest challenger Colin Turkington.

"It's great news, as a team of people we really needed that," Plato told "We're now pretty confident with the set-ups we have on the car both for qualifying and racing."

Plato lies fourth in the championship, 46 points behind Vauxhall's Fabrizio Giovanardi, but he believes that his best lap of 1:11.730 - half a second inside the official lap record - is proof that the team will be tough to beat in the races at the track next month.

"This circuit is going to really suit the diesel," he added after going quickest on both days.

"The corners that lead into the long straights here like Sear and Russell are slow corners, where a chassis is just a chassis, rather than the corners where you really need lots of momentum. And that plays into our hands a bit.

"We've also improved the handling so the quicker corners like Bombhole and Riches should be better for us too."