Thinking About Plato

Here's Plato, in a candid shot, posing in front of a column with a statue on it.

Plato said, "One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."

This is what America is suffering from right now.

And the rest of the World.

He also allegedly said, "Tyranny naturally arises out of democracy."

Yep.

And then there was, "They certainly give very strange names to diseases."

OK, might have gone off at a tangent there.

"My right arm is generally quite strong."

That last one is actually Jason Plato - ex-racing driver and ex-TV presenter.

And current racing team boss.

He has started up Team Plato in less than 12 months and intends to start winning races in the BTCC straight away.

Very impressive.  His former Fifth Gear colleague Jonny Smith spends an hour of his YouTube Late Brake Show discussing it with him here: 

There's no sign of Jason's flat cap but he does appear to be sucking on a mint through the video which is a bit off-putting.

But, mint aside, it is fascinating stuff - for example, the Mercedes cars they are using were all originally water damaged write-offs.  And they've sourced spare bonnets from scrapyards.

Which makes it sound like they are working on a shoestring.

But they aren't.

He's got a crack team of engineers, a state-of-the-art driving simulator and some bloody expensive components.

I always look forward to the BTCC Season.  This year it kicks off tomorrow at Donington Park.  I normally support the BMWs and West Surrey Racing. Have done from before and after owning a BMW myself but, this year, the livery is a bit bland - I wonder of they are no longer a manufacturer team? And I was hoping that Colin Turkington, my favourite driver, might be rejoining their line-up but it looks like they have other plans for him.

So I think I'll be cheering on the Mercs.

"And guess what? I've never run a team before."

Jordan Had A Good Day at the Office

No, not you, you dozy bint. You're enough of a reason to avoid ITV2 on your own. Go away!








No, not Eddie either. The Chinese Grand Prix was good, with a particularly impressive drive by Mark Webber to get on the podium from 18th on the grid and a nice win for Lewis too.No, not the country of Jordan. Apparently Sebastien Ogier won but I had to go onto the WRC Website to find out.
No, I'm talking about this innocuous looking chap here - Andrew Jordan. He won one race and came second in another of the three at the Donington Round of the BTCC. The meeting will be mostly remembered for the carnage though. In race two, Jason Plato had a very spectacular crash...and race three saw considerably more carnage albeit not as spectacular as that one. Those interested (in the UK at least) can watch the races here.

I can thoroughly recommend them.

Just When I Said There Are No Manufacturer Teams Left in the BTCC...

...this happens! This is good news. Plato against Neal always leads to interesting arguments. Chevrolet will be guaranteed to win the manufacturer's title (because they are the only entrant!) but maybe it will encourage others back.

Neal's new car in its new livery looks suspiciously like a manufacturer entry as well:

It's actually being run by his father's Team Dynamics but obviously with a lot of support from Honda Racing.