As far as Turner is concerned, he was asking for it after his actions at the end of race 1. Gio gave him one tap at Maggots, and ran him into the gravel at Woodcote to stop him getting traction. Even Ben and Tim could see it coming judging by their comments after race 1.
With Jackson, Gio says he fucked up on the brakes and slid into him. Whether that's true or not, I don't know. What I do know is that he passed Plato completely cleanly 2 laps later.
And of course Gio wasn't going to get punished. Jackson didn't file a complaint, and the stewards are so sick of SEAT moaning to them about everything they can that they don't listen. About bloody time.
And Cleland should stop being a hypocrite. Although I did like his line regarding the designer of that retarded T1 at Oschersleben.
I agree to certain extent, but I feel blocking is far more acceptable than pushing someone off. Stewards should act without a formal complaint from another competitor. They are there to set an example. As for Cleland well, his comment I quoted was from 1992 so I don't see how he is a hypocrite.
Yes, John got well and truly screwed in 1992, but he's given as good as he's gotten on several occasions before and since. This is touring cars. Beating and banging is a given. Gio's move today was not as bad as half the stuff that Reid and Collard Mk. 1 got up to 4 or 5 years ago. He was angry, and he made sure that he got the first strike in. Excessive? Probably. But he lost a place in race 1 because of what Turner did, and he would be damned if the same thing happened again with a title on the line.
On the other hand, I thought Plato was quietly impressive both on and off the track today. Didn't tag anyone as they were all coming past him in race 2, and didn't rant at anyone afterwards.
Yeah I agree with all of that but I still find Gio's actions slightly disappointing. That's the kind of driving you normally associate with Matt Neal or Jason Plato. Oh well, it's in the past now and we still had some great racing today. Bring on Brands Hach.
Scott Dennis, boss of SEAT Sport UK, said: "There's no doubting that SEAT and SEAT Sport UK have made a huge impact on the BTCC during our five seasons.
"Our roll call of drivers, Rob Huff, James Thompson, Luke Hines, James Pickford and Tom Coronel, as well as current duo Darren Turner and Jason Plato, have helped secure the 2006 Manufacturers' Trophy, the 2007 Teams' Trophy, as well as the first ever win for a diesel car in the 50-year history of the Championship with this year's Leon TDI.
"Of course, the SEAT Sport UK team has been essential in securing these successes, and I'd like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who has contributed. In particular I'd like to thank Grant Clearwater and Ian Fisher (of Northern South Limited - who run the Leon TDIs) for their unwavering professionalism throughout our relationship with them.
"I'd also like to thank Jason and Darren for their commitment to SEAT Sport UK. Jason in particular has been a consistent strength of the team from our first season in 2004, as well as a front runner in both this and last year's season. Like all of the other SEAT BTCC drivers, he and Darren have also been great brand ambassadors."
Shame, I was a supporter of them since 2004. Now I will just be watching for fun. I was hoping that Thompson would join them in 2009 and then they would go for the championship. They've come close but never been able to get the final straw. I remember how they took some wins in 2004, playing the reverse grid rule and nobody was happy with their strategy. And when Thompson ran various races but if they would have gone for a three car squad that year maybe Jason could have won the championship. It will be a major blow for the championship but if they continue in WTCC I can certainly see some private cars coming back.
Oh and I liked how the Vauxhalls kept the independence trophy exciting at Silverstone, they spun both Turk and Jackson out. Good driving. But I'll forgive Gio, he's been clean ever since he entered the championship so a couple of mistakes won't make him any less of a driver.
Looks like I'm in the minority with my opinion on SEAT's decision...so I'll keep quiet on that front.
What I will say is that I think the BTCC can survive and thrive with one manufacturer, simply because the quality of the independant teams is very high nowadays. Matt Neal first proved that they could win races, and then proved that they can win the title.
Oooh, now that was unexpected. Wonder where Plato will go to now, it's not as if he's made friends with any of the other teams over the last few years.
Alan Gow hinted recently that there could be a new manufacturer entering in 2009. Plato will find a drive. I think it would be good to see in driving a BMW for WSR.
There´s no BMW works team in BTCC. The rest are all privateers, Vauxhall probably does the most for their team but Honda and BMW also helped get the teams up to speed last year when the new cars arrived.
Also SEAT will quit the Cupra Cup, shame for all the competitors that bought the new car last year.
Actually, there maybe 2 new manufacturers in 09. Volvo and BMW have both expressed extreme interest in running works backed entires in the series from 09.
also a rumour of Ford returning with a diesel is doing the rounds, BMW are pissed at the WTCC fixing/messing around the rules for another manufacturer (care to guess who?) so might pull the WTCC and go BTC/STC etc.
good riddance to SEAT, in their time in the WTCC & BTC they've never managed to build a decent car and had to rely on rule breaks from the organisers to be competitive, when they've been reigned back in, they've done nothing but bitch about it.
I am very sorry if you find my posts long and boring, I like to type and often go off on a tangent.
If this is the case, you may click here to solve the problem, or alternatively here too.