Jason Plato was pleased to leave Croft having scored his first British Touring Car Championship podium finish of the year, after the Power Maxed Racing driver finished third in the final race of the day.
For the third year in a row, Croft marked the first podium of Plato’s campaign, with the Vauxhall driver finishing in third in the rain-affected final race of the day.
Plato had earlier qualified in tenth in a five-times interrupted qualifying session on Saturday, going on to make progress in all three races with eighth, sixth and third respectively.
The two-time champion was pleased with the progress, which has now seen him claim nine top ten finishes in a row – his best run of points since 2016 – to move him up to tenth overall in the drivers’ standings.
“I’ve always felt really connected with this car in the wet, as we showed at Brands during qualifying and this afternoon [in race three],” said Plato.
“I had the fastest wet lap, which was only pipped one the last lap as the track really started to dry up.
“The weekend overall was good; we’ve just quietly gone about our business and just chipped away at it. I’m going home happy.”
Power Maxed Racing Team Principal Adam Weaver was satisfied with Plato’s continued improvement but was also frustrated with the run of form affecting Rob Collard, who missed out on the points after a crash in race one left him recovering thereafter.
“It’s great to see JP back on the podium, where he should be,” said Weaver. “He just needs to make the jump to the top step now!
“On the other side of the garage it’s been incredibly frustrating, but that’s racing; you have to take the rough with the smooth sometimes!”