BTCC: Snetterton qualifying: Plato and Rydell claim top spots
9 July 2000
PLATO AND RYDELL CLAIM TOP SPOTS
Snetterton, Norfolk - Saturday 8 July 2000
Rickard Rydell's domination of qualifying in the Auto Trader British
Touring Car Championship was ended today at Snetterton, Norfolk, by
Vauxhall's Jason Plato. The Vectra ace claimed the number one starting
spot for tonight's round 15 in the second qualifying session of the day
demoting Ford man Rydell to second place.
Earlier, Rydell had put his Mondeo on pole position for round 16 - the
main event at Snetterton's night race meeting tonight - his fifth
successive number one.
Plato, who endured a nightmare weekend in the previous two rounds of the
championship when he failed to finish both races and badly crashed his
Vectra in the process, said: "To get pole position has proved the true
potential the car has been showing all season.
"The guys back at base have pulled out all the stops in the last two weeks
to put me in this position. To start from pole will give me a massive
advantage tonight and I can't wait."
Team Dynamics star Matt Neal was quickest of the Michelin Cup for
Independents runners for both rounds in his Nissan Primera. Mark Lemmer
was the fastest Class B runner in round 15's qualifying in his Barwell
Motorsport Honda Integra Type R while Alan Morrison claimed the Class B
honours for round 16's grid in the Touring Car VIP Club Peugeot 306.
TOP TEN QUALIFYING TIMES, ROUND 15
1 Jason Plato (GB) Vauxhall Motorsport Vauxhall Vectra 1m09.378s
2 Rickard Rydell (Swe) Ford Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo Zetec 1m09.531s
3 Tom Kristensen (Den) Redstone Team Honda Honda Accord 1m09.585s
4 Vincent Radermecker (Bel) Vauxhall Motorsport Vauxhall Vectra 1m09.943s
5 James Thompson (GB) Redstone Team Honda Honda Accord 1m09.944s
6 Anthony Reid (GB) Ford Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo Zetec 1m10.010s
7 Yvan Muller (Fra) Vauxhall Motorsport Vauxhall Vectra 1m10.131s
8 Matt Neal (GB)* Team Dynamics Nissan Primera 1m10.692s
9 Alain Menu (Swi) Ford Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo Zetec 1m11.515s
10 Mark Lemmer (GB)** Barwell Motorsport Honda Integra 1m18.555s
TOP TEN QUALIFYING TIMES, ROUND 16
1 Rickard Rydell (Swe) Ford Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo Zetec 1m17.508s
2 Alain Menu (Swi) Ford Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo Zetec 1m17.795s
3 Jason Plato (GB) Vauxhall Motorsport Vauxhall Vectra 1m17.882s
4 Anthony Reid (GB) Ford Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo Zetec 1m17.980s
5 Yvan Muller (Fra) Vauxhall Motorsport Vauxhall Vectra 1m17.987s
6 James Thompson (GB) Redstone Team Honda Honda Accord 1m18.018s
7 Tom Kristensen (Den) Redstone Team Honda Honda Accord 1m18.114s
8 Gabriele Tarquini (Ita) Redstone Team Honda Honda Accord 1m18.151s
9 Vincent Radermecker (Bel) Vauxhall Motorsport Vauxhall Vectra 1m18.242s
10 Matt Neal (GB)* Team Dynamics Nissan Primera 1m18.765s
*= Michelin Cup for Independents **= Class B