Plato: It's a shame to lose Yvan...honest!

Jason Plato has admitted that it is a shame that arch rival Yvan Muller will not be lining up alongside him this year when the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season kicks off at Brands Hatch in April.

While Plato returns with SEAT Sport UK for a third season at the wheel of the new Leon, Muller has moved on from VX Racing to the World Touring Car Championship, meaning the fiery battles that fans have enjoyed since the two fell out after a coming together at Silverstone back in 2001 will not be fought during the coming year.

Ever since that incident while fighting for the title as team-mates at Vauxhall, the pair have been bitter rivals on track - Plato going as far as to say Muller was 'obsessed' with beating him part way through last season. That was a season that again saw the duo make the headlines - most notably at Thruxton and Oulton Park - with incidents at Mondello, Brands Hatch and Donington Park having kept fans amused during 2004.

However for the new season, the BTCC looks in good shape - with the introduction of a number of new teams and drivers - and Plato said it made 2006 look promising, even taking into account the fact that his biggest rival won't be there.

"It's looking great," he told Crash.net Radio. "I think it is shaping up to be a season where we have more cars on the grid and we have a slightly stronger grid and I think it will be a fantastic year.

"We've lost Yvan which is a great shame - although I'm sure people will see that and go 'Did Jason Plato just say that?!' Amusingly enough, you know the score, a lot of the Yvan stuff was revved up by the press - and quite rightly so - because it made for a good read and there was a lot of needle out there between us as he really wanted to beat me and vice versa.

"Yvan is class act but it's great that we've almost traded him with Fabrizio Giovanardi who is a classy driver, he's been around for a long time and he has a lot of experience. He's a hard driver and very aggressive."

Plato added that changes to the SEAT set-up, alongside the introduction of the new Leon, meant he was confident for the start of the 2006 season - although there was one man that everyone would be focused on beating.

"We've made some changes internally and there is a great atmosphere in the team," he said. "Everyone is really up for the challenge and the rest of the field had better watch out for the silver and yellow cars, thats for sure. But the man we all have to beat is Matt Neal. He is the champion and the guy who is coming into the season full of confidence with a great team and a great car - and I'm sure they will have made some changes over the winter to improve that car even more.

"He is the man to beat."