Jason Plato will return to the British Touring Car Championship as a team owner in 2026, with the two-time champion revealing plans for a two-car team to join the grid.
Plato, 57, retired from racing in the BTCC at the end of the 2022 season, following 23 seasons racing at the front in the championship, becoming the BTCC’s record-holding race winner in the process, with 97 wins.
A name synonymous with the BTCC, Plato has been absent from the BTCC paddock in recent seasons and is now planning a return in the ‘proudest moment’ of his life.
Whilst remaining tight-lipped about the specifics of his new project, Plato confirmed he was working towards getting two cars on the grid.
“I’m now a team owner and will be on the grid next year with two cars,” said Plato. “We’re quite a long way down the road and I can’t tell you who with, what manufacturer, what the car, the drivers or the team personnel. But we’re doing it properly.”
“The only thing I can say is from the floor upwards, we will have the best people. And there will be people out there [in the paddock] who will be really upset.
“We’re doing it properly – they’ll be looked after and paid well, with good medical insurance.”
“This is the biggest show in town and I hope we can help lift it up a little bit.
“Our presence in the paddock will be a bit saucy next year. I believe when we roll up at Donington Park it will be like a mushroom cloud has gone up!
“We want to do that because it needs to be like that commercially for our partners and sponsors.
“Sadly, I can’t say I’ll be driving the car, because I still miss that enormously, but I am over that. I’ve done it and there’s nothing left to achieve.”
Plato was open about how the plans had helped to lift him out of a difficult time in his life when he had struggled with his mental health.
“I remember being asked loads of times over the years, even when I was racing, if I would come back [as a team owner] and my immediate split-second reaction was ‘no way’.
“At a very young age I realised that emotion is the enemy. You shouldn’t have emotion as a driver. And you become pretty adept at blocking it all out.
“When I look back on my time at the races, did I enjoy it in a traditional sense? No. I was working and I needed to do a job. It gets very cognitive and any emotion in the car is the enemy and any emotion in the paddock is the enemy.
“And I misunderstood how retiring would affect me. In the space of six weeks from Brands Hatch, my last race, it hurt a lot, actually. It was my identity for the last 30 years. I’m me as the bloke I project I am, but I’m very guarded and I won’t allow anyone into my personal life. I’m always on show.
“Within the space of six weeks, Fifth Gear was pulled by the broadcaster, so that was a loss of income, and a lot of investments went tits up and my marriage ended.
“It’s been three hard, fucking dreadful years. I wasn’t good, really not good. But what’s happening now is genuinely the proudest moment of my life.
“At one point, I didn’t leave the house for six months and took all the mirrors down and didn’t know who I was any more. I hated myself, and it was really very dark.
“My good friend Ross Brawn heard how bad I was and he reached out and asked what could be done. I started embarking on a career in keynote speaking, and Ross put me in contact with some great people, which really helped me along the way.
“That was almost the catalyst to get things going. In a very short space of time an opportunity came my way, and I said ‘lets have a go at this, let’s have a go at getting a race team together’ and we’re there.
“I’m back – I’ve got my mojo back again. I’m not 100% cured, but mental health is a big issue. Across all walks of life, but particularly in men and amongst men in sport, because we’re very guarded.
“I think it’s an important story. I’m not embarrassed or ashamed about it, I’m really proud that I’ve come out the other end. There is a way out of this dark, deep horrible depression.
“This is my drug. I’m up at 5 O’clock in the morning now, ready to go. That’s me – that’s the old JP. Me not leaving the house in six months, sat there with fuck all to do, that’s not me. But it was, it really truly was. I nearly went off the edge, twice.
“I’m incredibly guarded, and blokes don’t speak about stuff like this. The most important lesson I learnt was to trust people. To work out who your real pals are.
“You’ve got to talk about it, and I find that tremendously difficult. I wouldn’t have been able to have these conversations with you four years ago. I think I’d have gone mental to even think about it, because it’s a chink in the armour, isn’t it?
“I’ve learnt that I need to be less guarded and a bit more open.”
Plato is hoping to be able to make further announcements about Jason Plato Motorsport within a few weeks after the BTCC season finale in October and hasn’t ruled out expanding beyond touring cars further into the future.
“I won’t get involved in the day-to-day running of the team, it’s not my expertise. What I will be doing is running the marketing department and bringing in the money.
“There’ll be Jason Plato Motorsport, and offshoots like Jason Plato Marketing. My job is to do what I’m good at – I’m good at bringing in manufacturers and key partners, and I understand the marketing and how it works.
“Arguably I’m as well known for that element of motorsport than for me in the car, and I really enjoy that bit.
“I was hoping we might be in a position today to announce one of our key title sponsors. We’re not quite there yet – the contract isn’t signed and it’s being done now.
“There’s one particular company which is a relatively new company that’s not been involved in motorsport before. It’s big news – all of our partners and sponsors will be proper brands – big boys.
“I could see us branching out in GTs in the years to come and all sorts of stuff, maybe even NASCAR. We’re not messing around. That element of the way I go motor racing is the way I’m going to go with the new team.
“Within a couple of weeks of Brands Hatch there will be another round of information. I’m hoping there will be key commercial things put in place where we can discuss what we’re up to. It will be massive news.”