by Andy Goodwin

TV star Jason Plato has spoken for the first time after a car he was testing ‘spontaneously erupted into a ball of flames’, burning the Fifth Gear presenter.

The SEAT Sport UK’s Touring Car driver was testing a Caparo T1 supercar at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground, in Leicestershire yesterday when it burst into flames at 150mph.

Plato said: “There was a slight loss of power, I looked in the mirror and saw some smoke, there was a slight smell of oil and then suddenly there was this intense heat.

“The car spontaneously erupted into a ball of flames and I was sat in the middle of a fireball. I hit the brakes, brought the car to a stop as quickly as I could and jumped out.

 “The back of my neck is burnt and so are my face and hands. I obviously couldn’t take my hands off the steering wheel whilst braking and my right hand is more badly burnt than my left.”

Despite burns to his face, hands and the back of his neck the Seat driver has already vowed to race in the BTCC title decider, being held at Thruxton this Sunday.

Plato currently has a nine-point lead over Vauxhall’s title rival Fabrizio Giovanardi, from Italy.

Plato added: “I’ll have to dig deep, but I’m still looking forward to the BTCC finale this weekend. It’s been a hard-fought season and I’ve led the Drivers’ Championship almost unbroken since winning the opening round, so this isn’t going to stop me winning the title on Sunday.”

Plato was taken to a specialist burns unit and released later the same evening. He spent the night resting at his Oxfordshire home, before seeing a burns specialist again this morning.

The Caparo T1 is not yet on sale, but Caparo has been wowing the motoring world with its Formula One car for the road. Accelerating from 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds, the £210,000 T1 has a top speed of 210mph.

Plato is the latest motoring journalist to be injured while filming. Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond was involved in a 288mph crash, while Fifth Gear’s Tom Ford broke three toes last month when he rolled a van.