In the first of a new series of columns, AUTOSPORT's Marcus Simmons reports on life inside the TOCA paddock, which features the British Touring Car Championship and its regular package of support series

Plato laughs about life with Manor

The revelation that John Booth's Manor organisation had been granted a Formula 1 entry for 2010 knocked everyone for six – and it was a major talking point in the paddock at Croft.

Booth and his down-to-earth brand of Yorkshire realism are still very fondly regarded among the TOCA set, even though he sold the Formula Renault arm of Manor Motorsport to engineer Tony Shaw (and Tony's wife Sarah) in October 2006. The Shaws moved the operation down the road to Nottinghamshire and renamed it Manor Competition, but still retain the Yorkshire-rose emblem, and a keen interest from Booth.

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