Jason Plato to drive the VW Racing TDI Caddy
Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 9:50 pm
Volkswagen say:
TOURING CAR STAR PLATO IS THE BRANDS HATCH VAN MAN
British Touring Car Championship star Jason Plato is no stranger to delivering the goods on the track – and at Brands Hatch this weekend he will get the perfect opportunity to do so when he takes the wheel of the exceptional Caddy TDI Racer.
Jason will be swapping his multiple BTCC race-winning SEAT Toledo Cupra for the potent Volkswagen Caddy van to help celebrate the final rounds of the highly successful Volkswagen Racing Cup, which take place at the Kent circuit on 3 October.
Powered by a 2.0-litre, 230 PS 16-valve turbodiesel engine, the Caddy is a very different machine to that with which Plato is familiar. He is relishing the challenge: ‘I’m really looking forward to it and I’m hoping it will be a lot of fun. It’s certainly the first time I’ve ever been asked to race a van, and it will also be my first experience of racing a diesel, so it will all be totally new. And who knows? It could be a toe in the water for a whole new career!’
Jason’s Brands Hatch adventure will mark a return to the circuit at which he won his sixth BTCC race of the season for the SEAT Sport UK team, but he harbours no illusions that he’s in line for another victory. ‘I’m racing for the fun of it,’ said Plato, 37, ‘and I’ve certainly no intention of getting in the way of drivers going for championship positions.’
The Caddy’s usual pilot, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK director Peter Wyhinny, thinks Plato will do a superb job: ‘I know that the new Caddy has the makings of a really rapid racer, and Jason is just the guy to bring out the best in it.
It’s certainly going to be great fun to watch. We are very grateful to SEAT Sport UK for allowing him to come and help us in this way.’
Sam Roach, Volkswagen Racing UK director, added: ‘It’s going to be a fantastic end to the championship season to have a driver of Jason’s calibre on the grid. The Volkswagen Racing Cup is the fastest growing and most successful club championship in the country and this will help us end the season on a high note.’
The new Caddy Racer was unveiled in June and has since entertained spectators at Snetterton, Oulton Park and Thruxton on the Volkswagen Racing Cup grid, alongside a diversity of Volkswagens including the four-wheel-drive Golf R32, a host of 2.8-litre Beetles, Corrado VR6s and Golfs of every vintage.