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btf9701.htm
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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type"
content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 2.0">
<title>1997 BTCC Kick-Off</title>
<meta name="FORMATTER" content="Microsoft FrontPage 2.0">
</head>
<body stylesrc="headlnes.htm" background="lightbk.gif"
bgcolor="#FFFFFF" link="#000000" vlink="#000000" alink="#000000">
<div align="center"><center>
<table border="0" width="600">
<tr>
<td> </td>
<td><font face="Arial"><strong>BTCC Launches a New Star
for 1997</strong></font></td>
<td> </td>
<td><a href="aboutus.htm"><img src="smnls297.gif"
align="right" border="0" hspace="0" width="200"
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<tr>
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<td> </td>
<td><p align="left"> </p>
<blockquote>
<p><font size="4" face="Arial"><b>BTCC Stardom Awaits
Plato</b></font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">There was one real
star at the recent BTCC event - Jason Plato. No
matter that he didn't manage to win - he shined by
taking two pole positions and then racing well enough
to take a second place in his first race. Alain
Menu's touring car experience ultimately won over the
exuberance of Plato, but the quality of that first
showing suggests a BTCC star in the making. If you're
into Formula One then you'll remember how last year
Jaques Villeneuve started his first F1 race in
similar style. Ultimately he didn't win the
championship, but he came damned close.</font></p>
</blockquote>
<p align="center"><img src="btplato1.jpg" width="350"
height="218"><br>
<font size="1" face="Arial">All pictures by Neil Barker -
Copyright Neil Barker/Speed Publishing Ltd 1997</font></p>
<blockquote>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Of course, having the
best equipment helps. It helps a lot. It helps in
Formula One, it helps in the IRL, and it helps in the
BTCC. But getting there is a case of dealing with all
those other hopefuls, the up and coming stars all of
whom are probably within a tenth of a second of each
other in a racing car. The world of motorsport is
full of eager young men with something to prove. To
reach the top you can't just be the best - you've got
to be clever too. Clever enough to understand how the
media works, clever enough to convince people that
sponsorship is a good idea, clever enough to convince
team owners that they've got something a little
extra. Anyone who has followed Plato over the years
will understand that - he's always excelled as a
driver both in single seaters where his passion truly
lies, and in cars like last year's Renault Spiders.
But added to that he's always been an approachable
and charming driver. Too often you find that racing
drivers are far too busy to deal with riff-raff like
the press… and especially e-zines such as Speed.
Jason Plato is different in that respect - every
photographer and writer that you'll ever find at a
racing circuit will only have nice things to say
about the guy. Because of that he always gets some
extra column inches. And because of that, people
notice him more. In private he may be a complete
bastard for all we know, but his public face is as
impeccable as Damon Hill's.</font></p>
</blockquote>
<p align="center"><font size="2" face="Arial"><img
src="aufodo97.jpg" width="350" height="184"></font></p>
<blockquote>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">While the front of the
BTCC grid looks spookily similar to the F1 grid,
things further behind are thankfully a bit more
normal. Audi have slipped a little, and no surprise.
Even if 4wd cars weren't to be outlawed from Super
Touring, Audi were going to give up. Why? Because 4wd
is too good for the rest of the field to deal with,
so a huge weight handicap is imposed. The same
applies to rear wheel drive cars like the BMWs,
though their handicap is smaller. Basically you have
to remember that this series is about entertainment
and close racing… if someone uses a given
technology to give themselves an advantage then that
technology will promptly be banned. This happens in
most forms of motorsport - it's a long time since it
was purely a measure of how fast a car could be made
to travel. They'd be a <i>lot </i>faster now if that
was the case!</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Honda looked good -
with Gabrielle Tarquini throwing in the best
performances by far. If Honda can motivate themselves
into believing that a win is possible then they have
the potential. They've often seemed like another
Peugeot… like they should be fighting at the
front, yet never quite achieving. Peugeot, as usual,
were languishing in mid-field - the car might look
great, but although there's plenty of potential they
suffered from all sorts of mechanical and electrical
problems over the weekend. One day we might see
Peugeot win a race, but I doubt if it'll be this
season. It just doesn't seem possible. Sad, really.</font></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">Ford seem to be slowly
getting there with their Mondeos - but there's
nothing to suggest a front runner just yet. But
consistency looked good and there's a definite
platform to build from. Consistency, on the other
hand, was something sadly lacking from the Volvo pit.
While they look like possible contenders this season,
they managed a best position of second in the first
race, and a ninth in the second for Kelvin Burt.</font></p>
</blockquote>
<p align="center"><font size="2" face="Arial"><img
src="voldo97.jpg" width="350" height="187"></font></p>
<blockquote>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial">So who looks good for
1997? Volvo, Renault, and Audi. The favourites have
to be Renault, but which of their two drivers could
take it I don’t know. Menu's a damned fine racer
- never one to make mistakes or jeopardise a good
position, but his Renault partner, Jason Plato,
showed incredible speed and ability on his first
outing. Would anyone bet against these two battling
it out over the course of the season? I doubt it.</font></p>
<p align="center"><font size="2" face="Arial"><img
src="do97wins.jpg" width="280" height="200"></font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Arial"><i>Dave Coveney</i></font></p>
</blockquote>
<p align="right"><a href="headlnes.htm"><font size="2"
face="Arial">Headlines and features <img src="lictop.gif"
align="absmiddle" border="0" width="20" height="20"></font></a></p>
</td>
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</center></div>
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