Knockhill Race Three: Newsham leads the field in Knockhill's final race

After taking his maiden BTCC win last time out at Snetterton, Team ES Racing racer Dave Newsham drove to his second reverse race victory having started from pole position in the third and final race of the day on the Scottish Knockhill circuit.

     A showering of rain, plus a scramble to the grid after a hefty start-line incident in the Ginetta GT Supercup, resulting in a lengthy red flag period, delayed proceedings. The rain left the track greasy, so the choice of tyres for the race would be crucial. All but Chris James started on slicks, with the ES Racing team principal going with wet rears and slick fronts.
     After serious damage after a shunt in race two, Dan Welch’s team had done a sterling job to get the Proton Persona out ready for the final race. Dan joined the rear of the pack on the warm up lap. Despite getting out onto the grid and starting the warm-up lap, Jason Plato’s weekend went from bad to worse, when a turbo issue forced him to head for the pit lane, resulting in him retiring from the race on the spot.
     The start of the race saw Dave Newsham fly off the line in his ES Racing Vectra, with the eBay Motors BMW of Nick Foster relieving Aron Smith of his fifth starting slot. Andrew Jordan remained in fourth position, with Pirtek Racing team mate Jeff Smith in second place, having too made an excellent start. The dicing for position behind allowed Dave Newsham to maintain a gap between him and his competitors.
     A slide from Andy Neate saw him re-join the track a couple of places down to where he originally started, as Matt Neal battled his way through to third place behind Jeff Smiths’ Honda Civic. A lap later and Andy Neate was into the pit lane with an issue, and re-joined the group a lap down.
     The top-ten were all now racing very close together on the Scottish circuit, and whilst Paul O’Neill and Aron Smith were battling with each other for track position, a daring move from Nick Foster saw Shedden having to take a trip across the damp grass, with his Honda’s radiator now filled with a mound of earth and mud.
     Meanwhile up front, Dave Newsham had increased his lead to 4.2 seconds after seven racing laps amidst the chaos as Gordon Shedden came straight into the pits and retired his Honda Racing Civic. Jeff Smith was still running in a solid second place, with Matt Neal filling the ICD sponsored Honda’s mirrors with every passing lap.

Jeff Smith defended from Matt Neal to achieved his first podium place
finish for Pirtek Racing.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller.

The two eBay BMWS of Rob Collard and Tom Onslow-Cole, who had both had very successful days in the first two races, were now in tenth and eighth place respectively. Mat Jackson, who retired from the first race after exhaust fumes filled his NGTC Focus, was running in eleventh place, albeit still struggling with understeer.
     With the skies darkening, but no signs of rainfall, the drivers behind race leader Dave Newsham were all quicker over a lap than Newsham himself. Could the ES driver hang on to his lead in front of his home crowd before the end? With the half of the race still remaining, Matt Neal was making his intentions clear – he was looking for a way past Jeff Smith for second, and would fight for the position before the race was through.
     Dan Welch and Lea Wood, who had both had somewhat disappointing weekends, were battling and squeezing each other for track position, whilst the first black and white warning flag of the race was shown to Tom Onslow-Cole for exceeding track limits.
     A pack of Honda’s led the field from second to fourth, with Lea Wood now mixing with the two eBay BMWs of Collard and Onslow-Cole.  Dave Newsham was controlling the race, and wouldn’t be giving up a second victory in as many meetings without a fight. Rob Collard and Adam Morgan were now battling for track position, which handed an advantage to Mat Jackson who managed to squeeze past to take tenth.
     The pressure was now on for Jeff Smith, who was looking set to take the first podium finish in his BTCC career. Matt Neal had his lights on, and made sure Smith knew he was there to make his move should he make a mistake.  With the amount of laps dwindling, Dave Newsham’s lead was starting to sharply decrease, with the gap now down to 1.9 second between himself and Smith.

Dave Newsham celebrates after taking ES Racing's second victory at Knockhill
Picture Credit: Marc Waller.

Matt Neal was also shown the black and white warning flag, this time with only a couple of laps left to run. Neal was on his final warning for exceeding track limits, so he had to be wary approaching the chequered flag. Andrew Jordan didn’t want to miss out on an opportunity to grab the final podium position, and was fighting with Neal on the final lap. Ultimately, Jordan had to settle for fourth place.
    But it was Dave Newsham who drove to his second victory in the championship having driven flawlessly throughout. Jeff Smith also had a superb race, and ended the day with his first ever BTCC podium in second, with Matt Neal having to settle for third.
     Paul O’Neill had another good race in Tony Hughes’ Toyota Avensis, making it Speedworks Motorsport’s most successful outing this year. Dan Welch recovered from his back-end start to finish twelfth, with Robb Holland in fourteenth – a third points finish for Team HARD – and Neate a lap down in fifteenth.

Smiles all round: Dave Newsham, Jeff Smith and Matt Neal took to
the podium in the final race of the day.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller.

With four weeks until the next round at Rockingham, Matt Neal leads the championship standings by ten points to team mate Gordon Shedden, with Jason Plato in third and down thirty six points. Having come into Knockhill only trailing with minus ten, Knockhill will be a weekend for the KX Momentum racer to forget. Andrew Jordan lies in fourth, only four points behind Jason Plato, and still leading the Independents standings ahead of Rob Collard.

It was a dramatic day at Knockhill, and the stewards decided that a number of actions should be taken on a number of incidents that happened throughout the day…
     Redstone’s Racing Aron Smith was fined £500 and handed three points on his racing license after an incident with Jason Plato in race one. Also from race one, Gordon Shedden was given an official reprimand and two penalty points due to an incident with Aron Smith, whilst Dan Welch was handed a £500 fine and three penalty points after an incident with Jeff Smith. From race two, Chris James received a £500 fine and had two penalty points added to his race license after an incident with Dan Welch.

Final Results:

1. Dave Newsham
2. Jeff Smith
3. Matt Neal
4. Andrew Jordan
5. Tom Onslow-Cole
6. Paul O'Neill
7. Nick Foster
8. Aron Smith
9. Rob Collard
10. Mat Jackson
11. Adam Morgan
12. Dan Welch
13. Lea Wood
14. Robb Holland
15. Andy Neate

Fastest Lap: Tom Onslow-Cole - Lap 7 - 53.321

Knockhill Race Two: Knockhill double whammy for eBay Motors

Rob Collard has driven to his second win of the day for round twenty of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill. Team mate Tom Onslow-Cole came home in second place, making it four podiums out of six for the West Surrey Racing team.

     Rob Collard, despite being 36k heavier after his race one victory made a superb start off the line, with team mate Onslow-Cole in the clutches of Shedden after a slower start. Both held their original positions, whilst further down the field, more chaos was about to unfold.
     After putting a wheel on the still slightly damp grass, Chris James spun his ES Racing Vauxhall Vectra across the track, into the paths of Dan Welch’s Proton and the Vauxhall of Lea Wood. James ended his race in the gravel of the first corner, with Dan Welch too retiring.
      The safety car came out to clear the track, and was the race was restarted on lap seven.  Collard made another excellent start, with Shedden in third place and already making a gap between himself and Redstone racer Aron Smith.

Chaos: Chris James, Lea Wood and Dan Welch were caught up in the
first lap incident during the second race.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller.

 Paul O’Neill who’d had a good re-start, was being pressured by Mat Jackson for fourth place, and the NGTC Ford snuck up the inside of the Toyota approaching the final hairpin. It was a case of NGTC vs. S2000 Ford Focus, as both Smith and Jackson were now racing each other on the circuit.
     The BMWs of Collard and Onslow-Cole were now a second ahead of the Scotsman Gordon Shedden, who was hoping to get further up the grid to please the home crowds. Further down the field, the MGs of Andy Neate and Jason Plato – who had started from the back of the grid due their race one foibles – were now up to fourteenth and twelfth place respectively. Plato would ideally be looking for a top ten finish, in order to have a chance of a decent result from the reverse grid draw.
     Rob Collard now had a 1.48 second lead over his team mate Tom Onslow-Cole, with eBay Motors’ third driver Nick Foster in a battle for fifth position with Mat Jackson.  Matt Neal and Andrew Jordan, who both had a reasonably quiet race one, were lying in seventh and eighth respectively.
     Adam Morgan retired his Toyota Avensis on lap seventeen of the race, the Toyota suffering from a brake failure. With Mat Jackson’s Ford suffering from horrible understeer issues, he was still under pressure from Nick Foster’s BMW, whilst Jason Plato was in the slipstream of Jeff Smith looking to gain another position to move him the field. Smith took Newsham’s tenth position, which ultimately allowed Jason Plato to sneak through, resulting in a drag race along the start/finish straight, handing Jason eleventh place.
     After a tap from Foster at the hairpin, Jackson lost out to the BMW, Matt Neal and Andrew Jordan, with Mat having to settle for ninth, whilst still struggling with major oversteer on his Focus. For Mat, however, his problems were about to go from bad to worse. An exhaust issue had resulted in the fumes going inside the car, leaving Mat with nothing to do but open the door on the straights to let in some fresh air. Naturally, the team pulled in Jackson on lap twenty-four and sent him to the medical centre to be checked over.
     Jackson’s retirement led to the top ten gaggle of cars moving up the field, allowing Plato to just make it into tenth, with a couple of laps left remaining. Andrew Jordan was looking racy on the final lap and made a move on Matt Neal for seventh. A mistake by Neal saw him slide on the gravel, but fortunately managed to recover to stay eighth.

A delighted Rob Collard took his second win of the day in
a second team 1-2 for eBay Motors.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller

But it was Rob Collard who took the chequered flag, making it two out of two for eBay Motors in Scotland with Tom Onslow-Cole also made a double 1-2 finish for the team. Gordon Shedden, cheered on my London 2012 Olympic Gold medallist Chris Hoy who was at the Knockhill Circuit with Honda Yuasa Racing – finished with a second third place in his Honda Civic. Paul O’Neill finished in a superb fourth position for Speedworks Motorsport, with Jason Plato ending the race in eleventh, with Dave Newsham re-taking his position on the final lap. Frank Wrathall was unable to start the race after his engine calamities in race one.

Golden Moments: Honda Yuasa Racing were joined by London 2012
Gold Medallist Sir Chris Hoy for the weekend's racing.

In terms of the championship after race two, Shedden led the standings by five points to team mate Matt Neal, with Jason Plato now minus 26 points in third with Andrew Jordan close behind in fourth.

Final Results:

1. Rob Collard
2. Tom Onslow-Cole
3. Gordon Shedden
4. Paul O'Neill
5. Nick Foster
6. Aron Smith
7. Andrew Jordan
8. Matt Neal
9. Jeff Smith
10. Dave Newsham
11. Jason Plato
12. Andy Neate
13. Lea Wood
14. Robb Holland
15. Mat Jackson

Fastest lap: Rob Collard - Lap 9 - 53.085

Knockhill Race One: Collard wins eBay Motors 1-2 in chaotic Knockhill opener

Rob Collard has won the first Dunlop MSA British Touring Car race of the day, in an eBay Motors 1-2 with Tom Onslow-Cole. The championship’s annual visit to the Knockhill Circuit in Scotland, didn’t disappoint in providing some action-packed racing…

     After a long hold of the lights, Rob Collard had a good start from second on the grid and was soon leading ahead of pole sitter Jason Plato. Aron Smith had also had a good start, and was holding on to his third place position. The Irishman would soon be putting Plato under pressure for second place.
     No one could stop Rob Collard, who was now 1.5 seconds into the lead after just one lap. Frank Wrathall, who achieved two third place finishes at the Scottish circuit in 2011, suddenly came to a crawl on track after an engine failure, resulting in the drivers surrounding him scrambling to find a way around. Andy Neate and Lea Wood collided in the incident, which resulted in Andy retiring from the race after steam poured from the bonnet of his MG6. Wood went on to retire on lap seventeen of the race with suspension damage. Slight contact between Chris James and Jeff Smith left the ES Racer in a spin, and Smith’s Pirtek Honda visiting the infield. However, both went on to complete the race.

Championship blow? Despite putting his KX Momentum MG on pole position
Jason Plato had a disastrous first race at Knockhill.

Neate’s team mate Jason Plato also lost out dramatically on the second lap, making it a race to forget for the KX Momentum Racing squad. After some slight contact between Plato and Aron Smith’s Redstone Racing Ford Focus entering Clark’s corner, Plato’s MG careered into the barriers resulting too in his retirement from the race. What would this incident do to his championship fight come the end of the day? Naturally, there was a lengthy safety car period required to clear the track of the stricken vehicles littering the circuit.
     The re-start saw Rob Collard leading to Tom Onslow-Cole, who’d managed to sneak through to second after the incident between Smith and Plato. Coincidently, Aron was still holding on to his third position, with Paul O’Neill running ahead of Scotsman Gordon Shedden in fourth.
     With the two BMW’s pulling away from the rest of the field, the focus was now on the building fight for third place. O’Neill was running well in fourth place for Speedworks Motorsport, and was building the pressure for Smith in third. Gordon Shedden, after having a disappointing qualifying, was also joining in the battle.
     A tap from O’Neill at the hairpin saw Smith put under huge pressure, not only from the Speedworks Toyota, but also a charging Gordon Shedden. Aron Smith held onto his third place, but O’Neill lost out to Shedden who took away fourth, with Mat Jackson in the NGTC Ford close behind in sixth.

Albeit getting into a couple of incidents on track, Redstone Racing's
Aron Smith had his most successful BTCC finish of fourth.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller.

BTCC newbie Robb Holland was running in fourteenth place in the Team HARD Honda Civic, with Snetterton race two winner Andrew Jordan dicing for position with eBay driver Nick Foster. Foster’s team mates Rob Collard and Tom Onslow-Cole were still out in front, with Tom Onslow-Cole closing in on Collard. With Onslow-Cole not having had a win in the championship for two years, a mistake from Collard would see him jump at the chance of taking the lead.
     Despite the difference in speed on the straights, Gordon Shedden was closing up to the Ford of Aron Smith through the Knockhill corners, but couldn’t quite get past for the last podium position. With the number of laps dwindling, would the opportunity to make a move come along before the end of the race?
     Tom Onslow-Cole was handed the lead on lap twenty three of the race in order to gain an extra point for leading the race, with Collard re-taking his much deserved lead after a handful of corners.

Stepping up to the mark: Paul O'Neill achieved Speedworks Motorsport best
ever finish of sixth.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller.

There were scuffles for position until the end of the race, with Mat Jackson peeping up the inside of Paul O’Neill for fifth place, but had to settle for sixth. Andrew Jordan lost his eighth place position to Nick Foster who made a move on the Pirtek Racing Honda Civic with a handful of laps left to race. The leading pair of Collard and Onslow-Cole were now had a huge lead of eleven seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Jackson squeezed through to take fifth place away from Paul O’Neill in the Toyota, with the battle for third place really beginning to heat up going into the final few turns.
     Rob Collard flew across the line to take the chequered flag in his first win since the season opener at Brands Hatch in April, closely followed by team mate Tom Onslow-Cole. A drag race across the line saw third place go to Gordon Shedden by one hundredths of a second, with Smith achieving his best ever BTCC finish of fourth. Paul O’Neill clung on to sixth place, giving Speedworks Motorsport their career-best finish in the Toyota Avensis.

Rob Collard celebrates his second victory of 2012 with
Tom Onslow-Cole making it an eBay Motors 1-2.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller.

After having to start from the back of the field after leaving the pit lane late, Dan Welch drove well in his Proton to finish in twelfth. After earlier track incidents, Chris James recovered to finish in thirteenth, with Jeff Smith three laps down in fourteenth after a pit stop. Robb Holland, although classified as finishing in a point scoring fifteenth place, had to retire his HARD Honda with a brake failure.

Final Results:

1. Rob Collard
2. Tom Onslow-Cole
3. Gordon Shedden
4. Aron Smith
5. Mat Jackson
6. Paul O'Neill
7. Matt Neal
8. Nick Foster
9. Andrew Jordan
10. Adam Morgan
11. Dave Newsham
12. Dan Welch
13. Chris James
14. Jeff Smith
15. Robb Holland

Fastest lap: Tom Onslow-Cole - Lap 15 - 53.230

Join the revolution - sponsor a BTCC team today!

Rob Austin is quickly becoming one of the most popular drivers in the British Touring Car Championship paddock. It's been no secret that budget has been one of the biggest issues in the RAR team's push for that first win this season.
     Having  had to sit out Knockhill due to funding, Rob Austin and the team have put together a fan-based package to raise some more vital funds to get the NGTC Audi A4 back on the grid for rounds twenty two, twenty three and twenty four of the series.
     The package is as follows... For £35, each person will be allocated a 10x5cm space on the roof of Rob's Audi A4 for their own picture, which will be printed and placed on the roof for the Rockingham round of the championship on the 22nd/23rd September. Not only this, but fans involved will be given the opportunity to have a group picture with Rob himself on race day.

This is what Rob had to say on the plans;
"This idea has had success in the past with many formulas. Most recently Red Bull F1 did it for charity, but it was supporters on Twitter who persuaded met to give it a go. So I had a word with RTech who support our website, and the next thing I know it's live on the site.

"I don't want to make a habit of it, as the support I get is amazing and that should be enough without it costing them £35 as well. But I'm desperate, so just this once we are going to give it a go.

"I have some great potential sponsors lines up and great prospects for next  year, but that doesn't help us here and now - and we need some results to show what we could do if we were properly funded - so this could be the answer.

"I don't know if it will work or not. Ideally, I'm hoping to sell two-hundred of the spots so it will cover our tyre bull and a few other bits, but time will tell. I'm also going to offer hospitality packages for Rockingham as well - so stand by for that as well!

"If all our supporters help us out here and I can go out there and win a race for them, then I think that would be a really special thing. And I believe with the modifications we are making to the car, this will be our best shot a race win!"

Be quick, spaces are limited, so once they're gone - that's it!

If you're interested in having your picture on the roof of Rob's Audi at Rockingham, visit http://www.robaustin.com/get-your-picture-on-robs-car/ and follow the instructions for your chance to be a part of something special. I mean, it's not everyday you get to say your sponsoring a driver in the British Touring Car Championship is it?

Snetterton Race Three: Dave Newsham takes his maiden BTCC career win!

Celebrations were at an all-time high after the final Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race of the day at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk, after Dave Newsham took the first win for both him and Team ES Racing. Dave drove a stunning race from start to finish and took the win with just under a second separating him from eBay’s Tom Onlsow-Cole.

     It was Lea Wood who led early on in his BINZ Racing Vectra, having been promoted to pole position by the reverse grid draw. Tom Onslow-Cole who started from third, had got into second place off the line ahead of Dave Newsham. Frank Wrathall was fighting hard for track position with Matt Neal and contact between the two saw Neal off the track – and at the back of the field. How would this affect the joint championship’s leaders reign of the lead?
     Mat Jackson was up to fourth with Gordon Shedden in fifth, whilst Newsham had regained his second place position by the second lap of the race. Rob Collard had made a welcome return to the field, and was battling now with Andy Neate for positions midfield. Jackson was flying in the Redstone Racing Focus, and sneaked into third position through the Bomb Hole ahead of Tom Onslow-Cole’s eBay Motors BMW.
     Lea Wood was still leading in his Vectra, with a sister Vectra of Dave Newsham following close behind. The pair were now starting to pull away from the rest of the field. Later on, on the same lap, Newsham took the lead from Wood going through Montreal. Meanwhile Shedden and Jackson – who took a wider than normal line – were fighting for third, with Tom Onslow-Cole also closing in on the action.
     Andy Neate had an unfortunate spin at Coram, resulting in a loss of track position, whilst his Triple Eight team mate Jason Plato made a move on race two winner Andrew Jordan for sixth through Hamilton.
     After an unsightly coming together with Tony Gilham, Dan Welch was left driving over the grass, whilst Tony Gilham’s car had major damage to the front of his Thorney Motorsport Insignia, which resulted in his retirement from the race.Up at the top, the top ten gaggle of cars were now closing in on the leaders – could anyone challenge the front-runners in the latter stages of the race?

Damage to the Thorney Motorsport's NGTC Insignia, forced
Tony Gilham to retire from the race.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller.

Mat Jackson had been suffering from oversteer in his NGTC Focus all weekend, and he fell from his podium place to seventh behind Jason Plato. Matt Neal was lining up in twelfth behind Rob Collard and Rob Austin, with Neal making his move soon after. Austin was cautious of Collard, who retired shortly after with steering damage after some contact with the BMW. 

     Dave Newsham had a 2.3 second lead with three laps to go of the race, whilst behind him there was heartache for the BINZ Racing team. A gearbox issue with the Vectra diminished any possible chances of a podium finishing position for Lea Wood, which would have been his career best result had the Vectra held on. Onslow-Cole inherited the second place position, with Gordon Shedden close behind in third.
     Whilst Matt Neal and Rob Collard were battling over extra championship points with one lap to go, upfront, Newsham was starting  his final lap – three miles away from his first ever victory. The nerves could be felt from outside the car, as the team – including team principal Chris James who had retired early on in the race- anxiously looked on from the pit wall.
     Their nervous turned to emotion and celebration, as Newsham crossed the line in first place, followed behind by Tom Onslow-Cole, who equalled his season best result of second and Gordon Shedden in third. In doing this, Newsham became the seventh different winner of the BTCC in 2012. It was announced later on in the day, that Gordon Shedden had been excluded from the race results due to an over boost issue on his Honda Racing Civic, thus promoting Jason Plato to a third podium finishing position of the day and Mat Jackson finishing a heroic fourth in his Ford. Team mate Aron Smith also achieved his career best finish of sixth – a valiant effort for the Irishman in his first full season in the championship. Matt Neal recovered well after his earlier incident to finish eighth overall after his team mate’s exclusion.

Celebrations; Newsham was all smiles on the podium after his race three victory.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller.

With Shedden’s disqualification, Matt Neal retains his lead of the championship standings with 255 points, closely followed behind by the Scotsman with 247. Jason Plato has closed the gap, and is now two points behind Gordon in third. Andrew Jordan has extended his lead of the Independent’s Championship from Rob Collard, both on 265 and 217 points respectively.

Final Results:

1) Dave Newsham

2) Tom Onslow-Cole

3) Jason Plato

4) Mat Jackson

5) Andrew Jordan

6) Aron Smith

7) Frank Wrathall

8) Matt Neal

9) Rob Collard

10) Adam Morgan

11) Jeff Smith

12) Dan Welch

13) Nick Foster

14) Ollie Jackson

15) Andy Neate

Fastest Lap: Dave Newsham - Lap 2 - 1.59.283

Snetterton Race Two: Jordan takes the first win of the season for Pirtek Racing

Andrew Jordan has won the second Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race of the day at Snetterton circuit – making it the first of the season for Pirtek Racing. Another action-fuelled race saw some exciting racing throughout the field.

     An engine failure at the end of the first race saw Rob Collard sitting out of race two – albeit three test laps - whilst Chris James was also having problems on the warm-up lap – and soon pulled into the pits with a driveshaft problem. Rob Austin was another victim of the formation lap, he too limping into the pits and retiring from the race.
     Jason Plato had an almighty start off the line with Andrew Jordan flying into second and Matt Neal into third after a strong launch off the line. Daniel Welch had a terrible start off the line and was caught up with Ollie Jackson and Adam Morgan, the latter spinning  off track, resulting in a puncture and eventual retirement. With Tom Onslow-Cole continuing his on track battles, this time with Dynojet’s Wrathall, Andy Neate was dicing for position with Dave Newsham, who was making his way through the field in his ES Racing Vectra having started from the back due to disqualification in race one.
     After the issues during the first lap, the Proton of Dan Welch came into the pits with a problem, but was able to re-join the race. Andrew Jordan was still in second place, and was closing the gap to the Triple Eight run MG of Jason Plato.
     Robb Holland, who suffered heavy damage after the race one incident with Adam Morgan, was out in track and running well, the Team HARD mechanics doing a great job between the two races. Scotsman Gordon Shedden was running strongly in fifth position, and closing in on Frank Wrathall in fourth place.
     With all the leaders running closely together, Neal saw an opportunity and went through to second place with Shedden too moving up the field. It was a case of old rivals meet again as Plato and Neal were now running together for the first time on track since the championship’s return.
     Mat Jackson was again having a strong race for Redstone Racing, and was sitting in seventh in the NGTC Ford, with Dave Newsham, who alike Shedden in race one, had had a storming race through the field to be in ninth place with a number of laps remaining.
     Despite making a move on Matt Neal for second, the Honda Civic having run wide at Williams, the sister Honda of Andrew Jordan couldn’t quite make the attack. Having had a somewhat quiet race one, Aron Smith was running in tenth position in the S2000 spec Ford ST, the Irishman finally getting some decent results after a shaky start to the season.

Aron Smith had a much better weekend at Snetterton.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller.

With two laps to go, it was looking tight at the top, with Matt Neal running quicker than Jason Plato. The Honda Racing driver was setting up for a move on his arch rival once more, whilst team mate Shedden was also trying to make a move on Andrew Jordan at Montreal, but had to settle for fourth.
     Coming out of Agostini, Jason Plato went slightly wide but held on to his leading place, but with dirty tyres going through Oggies, Plato was going to have to be weary of Neal making a move on the straight. A tap from Matt Neal at Coram saw Plato slide and the Honda take the lead, regaining second place a tap back from Jason Plato resulted in Matt Neal flying across the grass – Andrew Jordan grabbing the opportunity with both hands to take the lead of the race going onto the final lap. Gordon Shedden, with damage to the front wing of his Honda Civic, also made his move for Shedden whilst the scuffle between Plato and Neal broke out. Jason managed to hold onto third place with Matt Neal making his way back to fourth.

Chasing Cars; The leaders chase each other into Riches before chaos unfolded.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller.

But it was Andrew Jordan, who took his long awaited win across the line, followed closely behind by Gordon Shedden and Jason Plato. Mat Jackson scored another solid result for Redstone Racing in sixth, with Dave Newsham driving well from the back of the grid to finish in eighth. Robb Holland got into the points on his debut weekend, ending the race ahead of Ollie Jackson in fourteenth.

Relief: Jordan finally celebrates a win this season.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller.

Going into the final race, Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden were tied in the championship standings, with both on 247 points overall. Who would be leading come the end of the day?

Final Results:

1) Andrew Jordan

2) Gordon Shedden

3) Jason Plato

4) Matt Neal

5) Frank Wrathall

6) Mat Jackson

7) Tom Onslow-Cole

8) Dave Newsham

9) Lea Wood

10) Aron Smith

11) Jeff Smith

12) Andy Neate

13) Nick Foster

14) Robb Holland

15) Ollie Jackson

Fastest Lap: Gordon Shedden - Lap 3 - 1.58.460

Snetterton Race One: Plato wins an action packed first race

Jason Plato has won the first race of the day at Snetterton on the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship’s return. Having secured the lead from lights out, Jason held on throughout the race to take the victory in his KX Momentum Racing, Triple Eight run MG.

Lights to flag victory; They don't say Snetterton's Jason's most successful
circuit for nothing...
Picture Credit: Marc Waller

Dave Newsham, who came back to form this weekend, had a very good start in his Team ES Racing Vauxhall, and managed to get ahead of Frank Wrathall’s Dynojet Toyota off the line. Adam Morgan, who had his best ever qualifying on Saturday afternoon, had a spin from fifth position after putting a wheel on the grass - which put him on the back-foot for the remainder of the race.

     Matt Neal, who was disappointed after qualifying, was dicing for position with Dan Welch, whilst Ollie Jackson was closing in on Chris James in his AmD Tuning VW Golf. Two team mates also battling for track position, were Rob Collard and Tom Onslow-Cole in their eBay Motors BMWs.
     Gordon Shedden had a disastrous start to his weekend, after a fire at the end of Saturday’s first free practice session left Gordon starting from the back of the field for the first race. A storming start through the field saw the Scot lying in fourteenth place after just one lap – and was in a good position to make a move on Jeff Smith’s sister Pirtek.
     A big excursion for Adam Morgan and BTCC newbie Robb Holland brought their race to a shuddering halt. With Holland’s Team HARD Civic sitting on the tyre walls, the safety car was brought out for a number of laps, whilst marshals did a brilliant job of clearing the track, and re-building the tyre wall ready for the re-start.

This incident between Robb Holland and Adam Morgan resulted
in a lengthy safety car period.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller.

Jason Plato had a good re-start, with the Proton of Dan Welch was also looking quick, and closing in on the Honda Civic of Matt Neal.  Tom Onslow-Cole lost out to Rob Collard on the re-start, whilst up with the leaders, the rubbing is racing attitude of the BTCC was certainly making its appearance. A close shave with Plato allowed Frank Wrathall to sneak through and take second from Newsham.

     eBay Motors team mates Rob Collard and Tom Onslow-Cole were dicing over eighth position, with Shedden looking on – and now sitting in tenth position.
     Mat Jackson in the newly introduced NGTC Redstone Racing Ford Focus was having a brilliant race and had got up to eleventh position having passed Jeff Smith’s Pirtek Honda.  Meanwhile down in the midfield, Andy Neate had been pushed off the track and slid, resulting in the MG Momentum racer having to settle for fourteenth.
     With only two laps remaining, Andrew Jordan was hot on the tail of Dave Newsham’s Vauxhall, the Pirtek racer looking for a last minute podium in the closing stages. AmD Tuning’s Ollie Jackson had to pull into the pits with a problem, resulting in retirement. Despite catching the MG of Jason Plato, Frank Wrathall wasn’t going to be able to retain his starting position before the fall of the chequered flag.
     A feisty move from Jordan saw him push through to take third position, with Newsham chasing him down and re-took his rightful place, before contact between the two resulted in Andrew taking the final podium place.
     Nobody was going to stop Jason Plato on this, his most successful circuit, and took the win from Frank Wrathall and Andrew Jordan. Just before the final few corners, Rob Collard, who had been running strongly throughout the race, grounded to a halt at Brundle with an engine failure. Mat Jackson brought the NGTC Focus home in a worthy ninth place (later turning into an eighth), despite the car only being finished at 7am on Saturday morning. Gordon Shedden finished up in a remarkable seventh position, having started the race from the back of the grid. 

Olympic Spirit: Jason "Does a Mo" after winning the first race of the day.
Picture Credit: Marc Waller.

Dave Newsham finished the race in fourth position, however was later disqualified for his ES Racing Vectra being underweight, resulting in him having to start from the back of the field for the second race of the day.

Final Results: 
1) Jason Plato
2) Frank Wrathall
3) Andrew Jordan
4) Matt Neal
5) Dan Welch
6) Tom Onslow-Cole
7) Gordon Shedden
8) Mat Jackson
9) Lea Wood
10) Jeff Smith
11) Nick Foster
12) Rob Austin
13) Tony Gilham
14) Aron Smith
15) Andy Neate

Fastest Lap: Jason Plato - Lap Two: 1.58.682

It's the final countdown...

Well, this is it. After seven long weeks, the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship makes it's welcome return this weekend, with rounds sixteen, seventeen and eighteen taking place at Snetterton on the new 300 circuit layout.
     With the weather looking dry for the moment, this weekend will see the second half of the season get under way - with the battle for this year's notorious title heating up. The big question leading up to this weekend is; can the Honda duo continue their dominance in the second half? Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden respectively, have been the big stars of the BTCC over the last five weekends, with the pair taking an astounding ten race wins so far this year.
     The summer break has brought a number of changes and developments to the field. MG Momentum hope to continue their good run with Jason Plato - who currently holds third place in the championship standings - and Andy Neate, who had his best outing of the year last time out at Croft.
     Redstone Racing will be looking to continue their points haul in the second half of the season, after strong start to the year was overshadowed by a string of bad luck in the last few rounds. After a test at Brands at the beginning of the summer break, the team made improvements in the S2000 Ford Focus' tyre management - something that they seem to have struggled with since the start of the season. It was announced this week that the team would only be running two Fords at Snetterton, with Liam Griffin sitting out due to work and family commitments.
     Dave Newsham, who started the 2012 season a high, will too be looking to return to his early form after the break. The Team ES Racer has been the victim of a few mechanical niggles over the past few rounds, so will be hoping for a clean set of results at Snetterton.
     Tony Hughes, who stepped aside at Croft to allow Paul O'Neill to drive the Toyota Avensis, will re-join the team at Snetterton, alongside team mate Adam Morgan, who will be looking to challenge for some good results after an encouraging couple of days testing at Pembrey Circuit at the beginning of the month.
     Team HARD have also altered their drive line up over the summer break. It was announced early on in the gap, that American racer Robb Holland would be joining the HARD squad for Snetterton and Knockhill. Holland's appearance in the championship makes him the first American to race in the series since the 1970s. With Robb taking the reigns of the S2000 Honda Civic, questions were asked to whether Tony Gilham would be racing at Snetterton. With rumours pondering a NGTC move, the announcement was made today (Tuesday) that Gilham would be joining forces with Thorney Motorsport, to drive the NGTC Vauxhall Insignia. With Gilham on board, the Thorney Motorsport team will be hoping to improve the running of the Insignia with Gilham's knowledge and experience over the weekend. Gilham won't see or drive the car until the first free practice session on Saturday morning, but will be looking to achieve some positive results.
     So, with five rounds of the championship left before things wrap up for the year at Brands Hatch in October, it's all to play for Championship wise. The Honda pair of Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden head up the championship standings - with just one point separating them. Jason Plato is close behind in his MG Momentum MG, with Pirtek's Andrew Jordan and eBay Motors' Rob Collard battling it out for the Independents title.
     Catch the coverage of this weekend's racing actions from Snetterton live on ITV4 from 11:30 through until 18:00, with qualifying being shown online on Saturday afternoon. Trust me, you won't want to miss it.