Plato not fan friendly

Just a rant about platos ignorance to his fans. 3 times me and my 2 other mates tried getting a Chevy cap and Chevy polo shirt signed by the man himself and all 3 times he brushed us aside

1st time all 3 of us went to the pit walk about was about 5mins into the walk about and my girlfriend asked plato to sign the cap as me and my mate got a card signed by Macdowell and plato refused saying he didn't have the time...Ok

2nd time i went over to the podium on my own after plato had won race 2, me thinking he would be happy to sign it i shouted his name to get his attention and calmly asked him if he could sign my chevy polo shirt and all he could say was
"No! got to go" and walked off to the team garage.

3rd time we went to look at the cars after race 3 and plato was laughing a giggling with 2 members of the team. so my mate went over with my girlfriends Chevy cap and as my mate was walking over he looked over and my mate asked plato if he could sign the cap and he just shuck his head and walked into the team trailer.

I mean we all fork out to by tickets, buy team merch costing us about £125 and spend the time walking over from knickerbrook 3 times and he couldnt spent 5-10 seconds of his time to give us something back. talk about an ignorant a** :mad:

also like to add after i asked plato to sign my shirt i watched neal sign about 15-20 dunlop caps and endless amount of times having his pic taken with fans. now that's what i call spending time with fans and showing how much they mean to him.

It was a bit of a bit of a bad weekend for Jason, despite his win, you only had to see his interview after the first race to see how dejected the guy was.

It was a couple of years ago now, but I saw him at the Autosport show, shouted him across a crowed exhibition hall and he was more than happy to come across and sign stuff and chat.

something wasnt quite right with him on sunday, I could tell from the post race interviews. no idea why he would refuse point blank to sign something 3 time though.

I did see him once lighting up a fag around a load of aston martins a few years back at the snett, i thought i could get an autograph but he clearly wanted some private smoking time...

also I saw on the BTCC forum earlier, someone had spat on Plato's porsche. not the best weekend for him, clearly.

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Originally Posted by UltimateDanGTR

also I saw on the BTCC forum earlier, someone had spat on Plato's porsche. not the best weekend for him, clearly.

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wow that wasnt nice. i take back what i siad. maybe ill get better luck at croft

That suprises me about Jason, he's normally a quite good guy in that respect. Take for instance Last Year at one of the pit walkabouts, I handed him a Dunlop cap that had already been signed by a few other drivers and so he signed it himself and then got Mat Jackson and James Nash to do the same for me.

I think something else has probably happened that we aren't aware of because he didn't quite seem right even after he had won race 2 on sunday...

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Originally Posted by RMLCruzeing82

wow that wasnt nice. i take back what i siad. maybe ill get better luck at croft

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certainly not nice indeed. not what I'd expect from a british motorsport crowd.

but anyway, If you have the same experience at croft, then you can be rather annoyed. Just hope you catch him on a good day! :D

I can only echo that you must have caught him on a rare bad moment. I've met JP many many times, both as a fan and then as a journalist, and he's been nothing but courteous and friendly to me. In fact I'd say that he understands the business of PR better than most, and goes out of his way to give good value to the fans and the brand he races for. Don't let this poor experience taint your opinion of him :up:

You can't blame the bloke for having a bad day. It must be irritating having to sit in a crowd of people and sign stuff all day and then get doorstepped wen you open your car door. When I'm sprinting it's only for a few minutes at a time but as soon as I get in I just want to get my helmet off and have a sit down and ignore people :D

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Originally Posted by Dave Brockman

I can only echo that you must have caught him on a rare bad moment. I've met JP many many times, both as a fan and then as a journalist, and he's been nothing but courteous and friendly to me. In fact I'd say that he understands the business of PR better than most, and goes out of his way to give good value to the fans and the brand he races for. Don't let this poor experience taint your opinion of him :up:

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its not going to stop me from supporting him was just disappointed after trying for so many years to get his autograph.

ive got Reid's, Turkingtons. Clelands, Rydells and ive missed plato everytime

o well better luck next time.

Sorry to hear that RMLCruzeing82.

3 rejections in a row on the same day is a bad score. I hear that some drivers never forget a dejected face. Fingers crossed mate at your next race meeting.

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Originally Posted by UltimateDanGTR

also I saw on the BTCC forum earlier, someone had spat on Plato's porsche. not the best weekend for him, clearly.

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Matt Neal?

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Originally Posted by RMLCruzeing82

its not going to stop me from supporting him was just disappointed after trying for so many years to get his autograph.

ive got Reid's, Turkingtons. Clelands, Rydells and ive missed plato everytime

o well better luck next time.

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Sorry to hear that mate its never a nice feeling when that happens. It might be worth a cheeky email to the team and see what comes of it ;) :)

I went to the BSB practise day at thruxton a couple years ago and waited ages for Tommy Hill to come out for an autograph but he never bothered :(

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Originally Posted by wedge

Matt Neal?

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I'd severly doubt that. not even he would stoop that low despite some of his questionable on track antics on occasion. plus, I would think he was more concerned with communicating with his own team.

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Originally Posted by UltimateDanGTR

I'd severly doubt that. not even he would stoop that low despite some of his questionable on track antics on occasion. plus, I would think he was more concerned with communicating with his own team.

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yeah, Matt Neal would have probably done something like switch his Porsche Badges to Honda ones or something..... :p

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Originally Posted by Eurotech

yeah, Matt Neal would have probably done something like switch his Porsche Badges to Honda ones or something..... :p

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:p :p :

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Originally Posted by Eurotech

yeah, Matt Neal would have probably done something like switch his Porsche Badges to Honda ones or something..... :p

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:D that sounds more like matt neal :D

going back to the original post - he is one person I have given up taking friends to see. I just cannot believe sometimes how rude he is to fans who have paid good money to get in and buy merchandise. At Snetterton last year my mate was so upset after waiting 15 mins for an autograph that he never got that he chucked the cap he had bought and got himself an Aon shirt and now supports TC & TOC.

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Originally Posted by Les

going back to the original post - he is one person I have given up taking friends to see. I just cannot believe sometimes how rude he is to fans who have paid good money to get in and buy merchandise. At Snetterton last year my mate was so upset after waiting 15 mins for an autograph that he never got that he chucked the cap he had bought and got himself an Aon shirt and now supports TC & TOC.

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that's exactly how i felt after plato said " no got to go" at oulton park and just to make matter worse plato refused at croft last weekend as well.

I got McDowell to sign both my cap and shirt together and i asked plato who was behind him and he just shuck his head ... :mad:

so i said to plato, ive come all the way from Bolton to support you and the team and you cant spent 10 seconds to make fan happy. he just shrugged and walked into the garage. Hes an A**hole

£54 for the tickets plus £100 for the B&B plus fuel to get there...i wasnt happy

so think im going to be doing 1 of two things just support McDowell and the team or even switching to Honda :dozey:

support guys like owy, martin johnson, john george. they are total gents, add to that belly, shedden, collard and neal

owy is one heck of a nice guy, we had a right laugh at our drivers forum when my mate chicane dave was sitting drinking blue wkd, owy proceeded to rip the utter mickey out of him and then he said give this guy a round of applause.

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Originally Posted by reidy_fan

support guys like owy, martin johnson, john george. they are total gents, add to that belly, shedden, collard and neal

owy is one heck of a nice guy, we had a right laugh at our drivers forum when my mate chicane dave was sitting drinking blue wkd, owy proceeded to rip the utter mickey out of him and then he said give this guy a round of applause.

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i heard Owy is a really down to earth guy. ive meet Johnson at oulton park and hes really cool even though it was the first race after his dad passed he was still cool.

I do know neal is a cool guy loads of times him spend time with fans and at oulton greeted his family near the podium after race 2 which i though was really cool of him.

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Originally Posted by RMLCruzeing82

that's exactly how i felt after plato said " no got to go" at oulton park and just to make matter worse plato refused at croft last weekend as well.

I got McDowell to sign both my cap and shirt together and i asked plato who was behind him and he just shuck his head ... :mad:

so i said to plato, ive come all the way from Bolton to support you and the team and you cant spent 10 seconds to make fan happy. he just shrugged and walked into the garage. Hes an A**hole

£54 for the tickets plus £100 for the B&B plus fuel to get there...i wasnt happy

so think im going to be doing 1 of two things just support McDowell and the team or even switching to Honda :dozey:

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Why do you feel that you own Plato to the point where he has to sign something for you? Does the fact that you spent £100 on a b&b make you more worthy than someone who lives nearby and didn't have to arrange accomodation?

I remember back in 2005 I went to Rally Australia and came upon Colin and Nicky. Whilst other people were having their pictures taken with Colin I struck up a conversation with Nicky about a rather contraversial incident back in 2001. He seemed to enjoy the fact that I wasn't simply there for a photo op or an autograph but that I was treating him like a person and we talked for a few minutes. It also helps if you have something interesting to sign as well, at Rally Australia in 2005 again I had a photo I'd taken in Finland earlier that year of Marcus Gronholm and Timo Rautiainen in the 307 WRC and as soon as Timo saw it he asked where I'd got it as it wasn't the typical crappy promotional poster they must have been signing thousands of so I said I took it myself when in Finland a few months ago, so he interupted Marcus while he was signing something for someone else to sign it and Marcus said "oh I know exactly where this is, it's x km into special stage x" and of course he was right.


Nobody else has one of these......

[[[[ PICTURE TOO BIG :: REMOVED - MARK ]]]]

Anyway, treat the drivers as you'd want to be treated and try not to be just another person who wants their bloody cap signed and all will be fine.

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Originally Posted by Daniel

Why do you feel that you own Plato to the point where he has to sign something for you? Does the fact that you spent £100 on a b&b make you more worthy than someone who lives nearby and didn't have to arrange accomodation?

I remember back in 2005 I went to Rally Australia and came upon Colin and Nicky. Whilst other people were having their pictures taken with Colin I struck up a conversation with Nicky about a rather contraversial incident back in 2001. He seemed to enjoy the fact that I wasn't simply there for a photo op or an autograph but that I was treating him like a person and we talked for a few minutes. It also helps if you have something interesting to sign as well, at Rally Australia in 2005 again I had a photo I'd taken in Finland earlier that year of Marcus Gronholm and Timo Rautiainen in the 307 WRC and as soon as Timo saw it he asked where I'd got it as it wasn't the typical crappy promotional poster they must have been signing thousands of so I said I took it myself when in Finland a few months ago, so he interupted Marcus while he was signing something for someone else to sign it and Marcus said "oh I know exactly where this is, it's x km into special stage x" and of course he was right.


Anyway, treat the drivers as you'd want to be treated and try not to be just another person who wants their bloody cap signed and all will be fine.

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FFS, here we go. First it was the Fiat 500 now its rally memorabilia :D

Different people will act differently to different things. I've had Murray Walker sign a F1 history book, not the usual MW tat and neither was he particularly in conversational mood infront of his fans.

When you do a sport in the public eye you should expect fans asking for an autograph and be willing to sign their stuff. I would be pretty annoyed if I got snubbed like that as well.

I have to say I've never wanted Plato's autograph as he's just too hard to get near when your in a wheelchair. If they didn't have fans then they wouldn't have a team to race for and they tend to forget that sometimes. I would e-mail the team.

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Originally Posted by Daniel

Why do you feel that you own Plato to the point where he has to sign something for you? Does the fact that you spent £100 on a b&b make you more worthy than someone who lives nearby and didn't have to arrange accomodation?

I remember back in 2005 I went to Rally Australia and came upon Colin and Nicky. Whilst other people were having their pictures taken with Colin I struck up a conversation with Nicky about a rather contraversial incident back in 2001. He seemed to enjoy the fact that I wasn't simply there for a photo op or an autograph but that I was treating him like a person and we talked for a few minutes. It also helps if you have something interesting to sign as well, at Rally Australia in 2005 again I had a photo I'd taken in Finland earlier that year of Marcus Gronholm and Timo Rautiainen in the 307 WRC and as soon as Timo saw it he asked where I'd got it as it wasn't the typical crappy promotional poster they must have been signing thousands of so I said I took it myself when in Finland a few months ago, so he interupted Marcus while he was signing something for someone else to sign it and Marcus said "oh I know exactly where this is, it's x km into special stage x" and of course he was right.


Nobody else has one of these......


Anyway, treat the drivers as you'd want to be treated and try not to be just another person who wants their bloody cap signed and all will be fine.

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wow gess thanks...and btw no i dont think im better then ANYONE at all..in fact i think people are better then me.

i asked Plato polity both times unlike some people that were there that just shuv the thing in his face and are like sign or else and BTW when you travel to support someone like Plato or neal. they know fans travel miles to watch them, you would think he would show there appreciation and give something back in return as a thank you.

I treat people with the highest respect the way ive been brought up so its second nature to do so with the racing drivers i cant do what they do weekend after weekend which is why i look up to people like Plato, Neal, Harvey. so yeah i was pi**ed becuase he was ignorant and after a couple of days it went away life goes on im not the only one that thinks the same

BTW nice pic

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Originally Posted by RMLCruzeing82

BTW nice pic

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smooth. :)

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Originally Posted by Eurotech

smooth. :)

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:)

Maybe we should all arrange to meet up at a race meeting sometime and just follow Plato around all day until he gives us an autograph.... Even if it means clamping his chevy ;)

Walked past Plato at the FoS on Friday and someone had stopped him to take a photo, he seemed quite happy to pose. Also he then had a little joke with the woman driving the golf buggy thing, seemed nice enough to me.

Just noticed this thread, I went on the Saturday to Oulton Park and was in the area of the garages after practice at around 1.00pm. A little lad and his dad stood at the back of platos garage for a good 20 minutes and indeed one of the team told Plato that the little lad would like an autograph.20 minutes later Plato walked out blanked the little lad and went straight off to his hospitality area, the little lad was crestfallen but fortunately the AON guys were walking down and made a real effort to cheer him up and sign items/ photos etc.
Always been a Plato fan but thought his attitude absolutely stank over the OP weekend and can entirely understand the thread starters anger. I sincerely hope when my little lad starts to join me at meetings people aren't so utterly ignorant as Plato was....

I don't know why he feels the need to ignore fans because Turkington, Giovanardi, Neal, Thompson, Collard, Shedden, Chilton etc. are/were all happy to talk to the fans. I'm not sure why he feels he doesn't have to.

Dear All,

During the course of a race weekend I give as much time as I can to sign autographs and chat with fans, however, please try and understand that I have a job to do. I have a comitment to Chevrolet, RML, Silverline and all our sponsors. When I appear from the pit garage it doesn't mean I am available to sign autographs, I have meetings and debriefs to attend. We have 3 races during the day and a tremendous amount of time needs to be given to my team. That is why there is a specific autograph session scheduled in the timetable, where I can give my undivided attention to the fans.

I am sorry I cannot sign autographs for everyone. But please try and understand that if I stop for one, then I have to stop for all and nearly every time I refuse I am heading for a meeting or in the middle of something.

Hope the above clears matters up.

Regards
Jason Plato

:up:

I think some people don't grasp that you are actually working and just because you're in a public area doesn't mean you're not busy.

But then I'll always be in a minority as on the rare occasion I do get an autograph it's always before or after an event for the reasons you've mentioned.

a driver answering his criticism and explaining the situation to the fans.

if that isnt fan friendly I don't know what is.

Everyone has a bad day. Remember that Plato is one of the drivers who has posted on this forum!

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Originally Posted by Jason Plato

Dear All,

During the course of a race weekend I give as much time as I can to sign autographs and chat with fans, however, please try and understand that I have a job to do. I have a comitment to Chevrolet, RML, Silverline and all our sponsors. When I appear from the pit garage it doesn't mean I am available to sign autographs, I have meetings and debriefs to attend. We have 3 races during the day and a tremendous amount of time needs to be given to my team. That is why there is a specific autograph session scheduled in the timetable, where I can give my undivided attention to the fans.

I am sorry I cannot sign autographs for everyone. But please try and understand that if I stop for one, then I have to stop for all and nearly every time I refuse I am heading for a meeting or in the middle of something.

Hope the above clears matters up.

Regards
Jason Plato

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so do they all and some are running teams as well or repairing their own car and yet still have time to be curteous

Well tbh, I suprised enough that we have managed to get an explanation for something on this forum :)

I think we all understand that the drivers have a job to do on race day, but to be frank, most of them do give up extra time from their schedule for us, the fans, its just something thats comes with the job as a driver in the BTCC....

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Originally Posted by Les

so do they all and some are running teams as well or repairing their own car and yet still have time to be curteous

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I'm sorry Les but I feel the need to step in now.

If a driver decides to chat with the fans and mingle around the paddock, perhaps that explains why they are often towards the back (and I am assuming a certain type of driver you are referring to).

It may mean he is not spending as much time looking at technical data, talking to sponsors or guests and being professional about the racing.

You are essentially comparing a professional racing driver to what are glorified club racers.

Your comparison is, in my opinion, flawed.

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Originally Posted by AndySpeed

I'm sorry Les but I feel the need to step in now.

If a driver decides to chat with the fans and mingle around the paddock, perhaps that explains why they are often towards the back (and I am assuming a certain type of driver you are referring to).

It may mean he is not spending as much time looking at technical data, talking to sponsors or guests and being professional about the racing.

You are essentially comparing a professional racing driver to what are glorified club racers.

Your comparison is, in my opinion, flawed.

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Agreed.

At the end of the day drivers don't HAVE to sign anything for anyone. Go along to the designated signing sessions if you really want a scribble.

It's not as if he's occupied at all these 3 times, thus excuses don't stand and the poster of the topic was correct in saying he's not fan friendly. Not ill-intended though, at least he was not rude. It's not wrong to be self-centered, but you are certainly not going to make ppl like you.

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Originally Posted by speeddurango

It's not as if he's occupied at all these 3 times, thus excuses don't stand and the poster of the topic was correct in saying he's not fan friendly. Not ill-intended though, at least he was not rude. It's not wrong to be self-centered, but you are certainly not going to make ppl like you.

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:rolleyes: I somehow doubt Jason is going to come along and justify his actions again just to get involved in a pissy little argument with a few fans. At the end of the day he's got a job to do and if he feels that stopping to sign autographs will get in the way then poo to you.

supporting to what AndySpeed said, may we also remember that Jason drives for one of if not the most proffesional team in the BTCC: RML. this is a team who runs international operations as well remember, including the chevrolet WTCC effort. It may therefore be the case that drivers for such a team may have less time for fans than other teams, especially independents, because of more work to do for and with the team, things like more data analysation and more thorough operations in other areas. no disrepect to independent teams or anyone else in the BTCC, but RML are an evidently high class act.

my two cense.