SEAT duo bullish about Rockingham

The pair scored five top five finishes between them at Brands Hatch's season opener last month and Plato believes they'll be able to fight for victory this time.

"Because of the layout of the circuit and the extra time we've now had with the Leon TDi I believe we'll be more competitive than at Brands," said Plato, who will make his 250th BTCC start on Sunday.

"In fact, I'm quite bullish about Rockingham, even through we go there with a lot still to learn about our new car."

Plato was encouraged by the progress the team made with the new car during the weekend at Brands and thinks they're closer to extracting its optimum performance.

"We've just about discovered the style to driving the Leon TDi and now we'll be able to change the set-up to make that style work," he added. "The engineers have been working with the data we gained to improve the car, particularly its mid-corner grip.

"We had a lot of understeer at Brands and were very hard on the front tyres, so we have a lot of performance to gain in that area, especially over a race distance. But if we can qualifying well I think we'll have a good race day at Rockingham."

Turner qualified on pole at Rockingham last year in the petrol-powered car and agrees that he and Plato should be able to fight the Vauxhalls and BMWs for victory this weekend.

"We've improved the top speed of the car so the long, fast section between the final corner and turn two should be good for us, but the twisty infield section isn't too dissimilar to Brands, "said Turner, who will celebrate his 34th birthday on Sunday.

"Over the course of a lap we should be competitive, but I don't think we'll have an advantage or be at a disadvantage - which is the way it should be for the fans who want to see close racing."