With a bumper line up of 26 drivers on the starting grid for the first race of the day at Rockingham Motor Speedway, the scene was set for an action packed weekend of racing.
An engine failure for Lea Wood in Saturday qualifying resulted in the Central Group Racing Honda Integra wouldn’t be racing until Brands Hatch in two weeks time.
A great start to the race for pole sitter Jason Plato saw him pull out an early lead from the squabbles that were occurring behind him. Rob Austin in the Audi was up to second in the opening lap in front of GoMobileUK driver Paul O’Neill, who was now battling with Matt Neal for third place.
The first incident of the race saw Triple 8 driver James Nash pushed wide onto the grass, leading to some concertina braking between drivers, leaving several drivers to tap the back of each other on the opening laps. The main casualty of this incident was Mat Jackson, who had contact with Matt Neal and was left facing the wrong way round on the track. Another disappointing race in succession for the Henley in Arden driver saw him retire from the race due to front end damage.
Slight contact between the leaders saw Rob Austin spin off the track, but luckily managed get back on track with no significant damage, although the Pershore racer was now trailing near the back of the field.
Meanwhile, Martin Byford’s bonnet had lifted up, making it impossible for the AmD Miltek driver to see anything ahead of him, and was eventually passed by Jackson who was heading for the pits. Byford followed the Airwaves Ford into the pits and rejoined the race after mechanics and resolved the issue.
Jeff Smith had landed the front wheels of his Vauxhall in the gravel – but manages to get himself back out and on track without help from the marshals.
Andy Neate had got himself into an incident during the race, which led to the front end of his Global Ford Focus very misshaped. Meanwhile, team-mate Tom Chilton was fighting hard in the middle of the pack. A dramatic manoeuvre saw him miss his braking point at the Deene Hairpin and lose several places. Chilton said later in the day that his power steering had failed mid-way through the race, so the Ford would momentarily not steer at high speeds.
Meanwhile, out in front, Plato was now leading by 1.8 seconds to Paul O’Neill, who had got his second place back from the Audi of Rob Austin. An incident for Pirtek racing’s Andrew Jordan saw him dive for the pits – damage to the steering rack led to him retiring from the race.
Silverline Chevrolet’s Alex MacDowall was dicing with Team Aon driver Andy Neate for 10th position on track. Heading onto the banking, it was clear that the Turbo charged Fords, despite carrying extra weight, still had an advantage over the naturally aspirated engine of the Chevrolet on long straights. Although before too long, both were involved in a huge spin that could have been a serious incident with the concrete wall if both had have made further contact with each other.
The start of a disappointing weekend for Dave Newsham in the Special Tuning SEAT saw him in the gravel and out of the first race of the day. Meanwhile out in front, Plato had now extended his lead from O’Neill to 2.1 seconds. Championship leader Shedden was now lying in third and Frank Wrathall in the NGTC Toyota Avensis was now up to fourth.
Contact with Team Aon’s Tom Onslow-Cole saw Rob Collard spin out into the gravel, resulting in the WSR driver to retire from the race. The safety car was brought out so that the BMW could be recovered safely by marshals. Damage to Onslow-Cole’s Ford saw him pit, however rejoined back onto the circuit under the safety car.
Two laps later, the safety car was in and Race One at Rockingham was back under way, with a battle between James Nash and Wrathall for fourth place. Rob Collard’s team-mate Nick Foster was running well in seventh place, and nearly made a move on James Nash, after the Triple 8 race was passed by Honda Racing’s Matt Neal, who was in a desperate bid for championship points. Team-mate Gordon Shedden was now starting to struggle with the amount of ballast that was on his Honda Civic, whilst Jason Plato was still leading the race to Paul O’Neill by 2.3 seconds.
Dynojet star Frank Wrathall was starting to come under pressure from Neal, who eventually took 4th place on lap 16 of the race, meaning both Honda drivers were now lying third and fourth out on track. Before too long, Wrathall had taken the place back from Neal to split the Hondas, while Nick Foster came up to battle with Neal for fourth. Shedden however, lost both place to team-mate Neal and WSR’s Foster, as he was struggling with understeer and old tyres.
A terrific move for Rob Austin in the latter stages saw him take seventh place from Tom Boardman – who had been given a six-place grid penalty as well as a fine and points on his licence following his race three incident with Plato at Knockhill. The Audi of Rob Austin had done well to recover from his earlier incident.
Plato took the win from pole, closely followed by Paul O’Neill and Frank Wrathall who came home third ahead of Honda Racing’s Matt Neal. Championship leader Shedden limped home in sixth in front of Rob Austin in seventh.
Michael Caine, who made his move this weekend to the BTCC from the Porsche Carrera Cup with Airwaves Racing, did well to take points in his first race, rounding out the top ten.
In terms of the championship, Matt Neal overtakes Shedden for the top spot – the two drivers now separated in the title hunt by two points. Jason Plato had recovered after his disappointing weekend at Knockhill into third place. As the season starts to draw to a close - the championship title hunt is definitely not over yet.
An engine failure for Lea Wood in Saturday qualifying resulted in the Central Group Racing Honda Integra wouldn’t be racing until Brands Hatch in two weeks time.
A great start to the race for pole sitter Jason Plato saw him pull out an early lead from the squabbles that were occurring behind him. Rob Austin in the Audi was up to second in the opening lap in front of GoMobileUK driver Paul O’Neill, who was now battling with Matt Neal for third place.
The first incident of the race saw Triple 8 driver James Nash pushed wide onto the grass, leading to some concertina braking between drivers, leaving several drivers to tap the back of each other on the opening laps. The main casualty of this incident was Mat Jackson, who had contact with Matt Neal and was left facing the wrong way round on the track. Another disappointing race in succession for the Henley in Arden driver saw him retire from the race due to front end damage.
Slight contact between the leaders saw Rob Austin spin off the track, but luckily managed get back on track with no significant damage, although the Pershore racer was now trailing near the back of the field.
Meanwhile, Martin Byford’s bonnet had lifted up, making it impossible for the AmD Miltek driver to see anything ahead of him, and was eventually passed by Jackson who was heading for the pits. Byford followed the Airwaves Ford into the pits and rejoined the race after mechanics and resolved the issue.
Jeff Smith had landed the front wheels of his Vauxhall in the gravel – but manages to get himself back out and on track without help from the marshals.
Andy Neate had got himself into an incident during the race, which led to the front end of his Global Ford Focus very misshaped. Meanwhile, team-mate Tom Chilton was fighting hard in the middle of the pack. A dramatic manoeuvre saw him miss his braking point at the Deene Hairpin and lose several places. Chilton said later in the day that his power steering had failed mid-way through the race, so the Ford would momentarily not steer at high speeds.
Meanwhile, out in front, Plato was now leading by 1.8 seconds to Paul O’Neill, who had got his second place back from the Audi of Rob Austin. An incident for Pirtek racing’s Andrew Jordan saw him dive for the pits – damage to the steering rack led to him retiring from the race.
Silverline Chevrolet’s Alex MacDowall was dicing with Team Aon driver Andy Neate for 10th position on track. Heading onto the banking, it was clear that the Turbo charged Fords, despite carrying extra weight, still had an advantage over the naturally aspirated engine of the Chevrolet on long straights. Although before too long, both were involved in a huge spin that could have been a serious incident with the concrete wall if both had have made further contact with each other.
The start of a disappointing weekend for Dave Newsham in the Special Tuning SEAT saw him in the gravel and out of the first race of the day. Meanwhile out in front, Plato had now extended his lead from O’Neill to 2.1 seconds. Championship leader Shedden was now lying in third and Frank Wrathall in the NGTC Toyota Avensis was now up to fourth.
Contact with Team Aon’s Tom Onslow-Cole saw Rob Collard spin out into the gravel, resulting in the WSR driver to retire from the race. The safety car was brought out so that the BMW could be recovered safely by marshals. Damage to Onslow-Cole’s Ford saw him pit, however rejoined back onto the circuit under the safety car.
Two laps later, the safety car was in and Race One at Rockingham was back under way, with a battle between James Nash and Wrathall for fourth place. Rob Collard’s team-mate Nick Foster was running well in seventh place, and nearly made a move on James Nash, after the Triple 8 race was passed by Honda Racing’s Matt Neal, who was in a desperate bid for championship points. Team-mate Gordon Shedden was now starting to struggle with the amount of ballast that was on his Honda Civic, whilst Jason Plato was still leading the race to Paul O’Neill by 2.3 seconds.
Dynojet star Frank Wrathall was starting to come under pressure from Neal, who eventually took 4th place on lap 16 of the race, meaning both Honda drivers were now lying third and fourth out on track. Before too long, Wrathall had taken the place back from Neal to split the Hondas, while Nick Foster came up to battle with Neal for fourth. Shedden however, lost both place to team-mate Neal and WSR’s Foster, as he was struggling with understeer and old tyres.
A terrific move for Rob Austin in the latter stages saw him take seventh place from Tom Boardman – who had been given a six-place grid penalty as well as a fine and points on his licence following his race three incident with Plato at Knockhill. The Audi of Rob Austin had done well to recover from his earlier incident.
Plato took the win from pole, closely followed by Paul O’Neill and Frank Wrathall who came home third ahead of Honda Racing’s Matt Neal. Championship leader Shedden limped home in sixth in front of Rob Austin in seventh.
Michael Caine, who made his move this weekend to the BTCC from the Porsche Carrera Cup with Airwaves Racing, did well to take points in his first race, rounding out the top ten.
In terms of the championship, Matt Neal overtakes Shedden for the top spot – the two drivers now separated in the title hunt by two points. Jason Plato had recovered after his disappointing weekend at Knockhill into third place. As the season starts to draw to a close - the championship title hunt is definitely not over yet.
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