Jason Plato will drive an MG in the 2012 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, it has been revealed.
Birmingham-based manufacturer MG Motors UK is making a return to the competition, and the 44-year-old Oxford racer has left previous team Silverline Chevrolet to sign up with MG. Plato will drive a MG6 GT prepared by Triple Eight Race Engineering, built to the BTCC's new turbocharged Next Generation Touring Car regulations.
The 2010 champion was an outspoken critic of the regulations last season, which saw him lose ground in his naturally aspirated Chevrolet Cruze to Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden, who finished ahead of Plato in the standings in their turbocharged Hondas. MG last competed in the BTCC as a works entry between 2001 and 2003. The five-door MG6 GT fastback is the first all-new MG in 16 years.
Plato, who has an unrivalled 68 race wins in the BTCC to his name and is looking to land a third title, said: “It’s really exciting to be involved in a brand new all-British team and it’s just brilliant that the iconic name of MG will be back on the track.”
Guy Jones, MG Motor’s sales and marketing director, said: “We are delighted that the new MG6 will be seen by millions of fans in Britain and beyond and this continues the famous sporting lineage of the brand.”
