Plato denied Snetterton hat-trick

Plato was denied a hat-trick of wins by engine failure

Jason Plato failed to make it a hat-trick of victories in the British Touring Car Championship at Snetterton on Sunday.

The Seat driver looked impressive as he took the chequered flag in the opening two races at the South Norfolk circuit.

But he suffered engine failure in the final round, meaning Italian Fabrizio Giovanardi still leads the competition.

"We are making progress but we have not finished when we should have done," Plato told BBC Radio Norfolk.

The 39-year-old is now third in the standings with four more rounds of the BTCC to go.

Fabrizio's doing very well and it's getting a bit too hard to close the gap now Jason Plato

Giovanardi now holds a 34-point advantage over his VX Racing team-mate Matt Neale at the top of the championship.

Plato admits the Italian is now firm favourite to win the title: "Fabrizio's doing very well and it's getting a bit too hard to close the gap now."

"We are starting to feel the pain of not having any pre-season testing but as a team we are working fantastically well," he added.

The next round of the BTCC is at Oulton Park on the weekend of 26-27 July.