Plato v Muller: BTCC tempers fray

After a string of weekends where works Vauxhall drivers Jason Plato and Yvan Muller left the circuit inseparable in the standings, it looked like we were in for the same again after a lacklustre afternoon Feature race.

As Muller's Astra Coupe crested the rise from Bridge to Priory for the final time, though, it was clear that something was wrong. Plato was close behind and the title fight was about to reach crunch point. Literally.

As Muller turned in on a comparatively slow, lazy line, Plato charged, on the attack. The Englishman had seen a chance to extend his narrow title lead over the Frenchman into the last two double-headers of the year and was not going to let it go without a fight.

Contact was inevitable, Plato smashing into the left rear quarter of Muller's car. The Frenchman kept his car on the road, but Plato's momentum carries him through with the pair scraping panels. Unseen, part of Plato's bodywork tagged Muller's front left wheel, ripping it off the suspension and leaving the Frenchman's car mortally wounded.

Muller limped across the line in third place, but Plato's win opened up the gap between the pair in a vital stage of the title battle. It was a blink and you'll miss it moment, but what had just happened was the turning point of the championship and was an incident that will be talked about for years to come.

At this same corner in '93 Toyota team-mates Julian Bailey and Will Hoy had their coming together, while, only a few yards away, John Cleland and Steve Soper had their hotly debated collision that ultimately cost the Scot his second BTCC crown.

Muller, like the similarly assaulted Hoy and Cleland, was incensed. "It's no way to win," he said. "I backed off at the end, like always, but you only needed one second to win. I had a small engine problem in Bridge, but it came back. Jason's excuse will be the same as ever - that I made a mistake - but it's always the fault of the other driver."

Plato was quick to defend himself, however. "I was starting to catch Yvan because he was struggling under braking," he said. "With one lap to go I knew I could pressure him into a mistake. At Bridge he lost the back of the car, and I had my chance. He tried to defend and he went right and then inside, onto the kerbs. He didn't want me to win and it's one of those situations were he shouldn't have closed the door, but he did."

Plato was handed with a 30 second penalty for his move, effectively reversing the result, but the verbal battle between the pair rattled on for weeks. Plato pledged to post an appeal with the MSA, as he felt evidence that Muller's car was in serious trouble had not been available at the time; Muller retaliated, saying that he would be glad to help Plato's appeal as he thought the Englishman should have been banned outright.

Like many storms, the verbal thunder subsided but, right until the end of the season, it continued to reverberate around the paddock. This year's BTCC may not have been the most exciting title fight in the series' history, but, thanks to Silverstone, it certainly had its moment of moments.