A stalwart of the Championship, Plato will line his Vauxhall Astra up at Thruxton for the season opener to notch up 600 starts, a total only beaten by his long-term rival Matt Neal, who is also yet to confirm his place on the grid for 2021.
The 2021 season will mark Plato’s 22nd season in the premier British motorsport series, having made his debut with the Williams-run Renault squad in 1997. Since then Plato only missed two seasons (up until 2020) having stepped away from the series as outgoing champion in 2001 in a bid to make it to NASCAR before returning with SEAT in 2004.
While he may have been on the sidelines in BTCC terms last year, Plato was in action at Goodwood SpeedWeek presented by Mastercard last October, sharing a Ford Mustang Boss 302 in the Gerry Marshall Trophy and a Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray in the RAC TT Celebration with regular teammate Craig Davies, finishing fourth and 12th respectively.
Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.