With the circuit packed to the rafters and the October sunshine beating down over Kent, it was Jason Plato sitting on pole for race one at the penultimate round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.
Pirtek Racing driver Andrew Jordan, who put in a strong performance in Saturday’s qualifying session, was unable to start from his second place grid slot due to an electrical problem with the Vectra.
With 28 drivers taking to the track, Plato led after a great start off line, closely followed by team mate Alex MacDowall who slotted into second place. Matt Neal was close behind in third place having made up some places due to a bad start by Triple 8 Racing’s James Nash.
Further down the field, Rob Collard had got himself up into the tail-end of the top ten after an early jostle with the Seat of Tom Boardman. Dan Welch was running well in the Proton in the early stages of the race - having had his best qualifying session of the year – defending from competitors midfield.
By lap three, Jason Plato was half a second up on team mate MacDowall – showing that the Silverline Chevrolet Cruze was at the top of its game at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit.
In the midst of the action, Frank Wrathall was battling with WSR racer Rob Collard for twelfth place on the grid. However Collard’s rear-wheeled BMW was struggling early on in the race.
More disappointments for Pirtek Racing saw Andrew Jordan’s team mate Jeff Smith retiring from the race on lap 3 with a broken gear lever. Meanwhile up front a battle between Airwaves Racing’s Mat Jackson and Honda racer Gordon Shedden was brewing for fourth place. A move by Shedden going into Graham Hill Bend saw the championship contender slide off the track in dramatic style. Despite returning to the track, the Scot lost several places and was now down in ninth place.
Dan Welch’s positive luck ended mid way through the race, when a broken steering rack saw him limp back to the pits and out of the race. AmD Miltek driver was also in the pits with a problem. The question was being asked whether the soaring temperatures were affecting the performance of the cars out on the circuit.
Going into lap nine, it was still a Chevrolet 1-2 with Matt Neal closely following behind in third place while James Nash, Mat Jackson and Paul O’Neill were all now fighting for fourth place.
After his earlier debacles, Shedden was now in eighth place and catching Team Aon driver Tom Chilton for seventh. A left front puncture for team mate Matt Neal saw the Worcestershire driver’s race in tatters, leaving him to pit for fresh rubber and on the back foot for the remainder of the race.
Simultaneous retirements also saw Lea Wood pull off to the side of the track with a problem along with Special Tuning driver Dave Newsham – a small fire in his Seat saw his race come to a halt.
With Gordon Shedden still putting Chilton in the Global Ford Focus under pressure, the star of the show was undoubtedly Chevrolet – with both drivers still leading the pack. Mat Jackson, who was looking to save his championship dreams, was now running in third place having overtaken Triple 8 Racing’s James Nash during Matt Neal’s calamities.
Tom Onslow-Cole was having his best run of the season since his switch back to Team Aon, taking fifth place from GoMobileUK driver Paul O’Neill.
Having struggled early o in the race, Rob Collard was now battling with Tom Boardman for ninth place – the rear wheeled drive BMW coming to its own in the latter stages of the race.
Further disasters for Honda Racing saw Gordon Shedden also fall at the final hurdle with a left front puncture. With both championship contenders out of the points, the question was asked about Honda’s seemingly aggressive race set-up. Could this mistake by the team prove fateful come the end of the season?
Contact between Rob Collard and the Toyota Avensis of Frank Wrathall saw the Dynojet driver out of the race with the rear suspension broken. Having performed strongly in the last meetings at Knockhill and Rockingham, the beginning of the weekend was disappointing to the family run team.
Struggling for grip on worn tyres, Silverline Chevrolet driver Alex MacDowall fell behind and was now in third place behind Mat Jackson. Desperately wanting a podium finish, MacDowall was defending his position hard from James Nash who was following close behind.
Into the final lap and Boardman too was out of the race with a puncture, whilst Jason Plato took his seventh win of the season ahead of Mat Jackson and team mate MacDowall. Plato took maximum points of the race, gaining a point for fastest lap, leading the race and pole position – putting him and Chevrolet right back into the title hunt. The Honda boys limped home near the back of the field in 18th and 19th position. Debutant drivers Oliver Jackson and Chris Swanick both finished 11th and 17th respectively.
Jason Plato is now six points behind the Honda drivers in the main championship standings, whereas in the Independent standings, James Nash still leads with Mat Jackson closing the gap in second place.
Pirtek Racing driver Andrew Jordan, who put in a strong performance in Saturday’s qualifying session, was unable to start from his second place grid slot due to an electrical problem with the Vectra.
With 28 drivers taking to the track, Plato led after a great start off line, closely followed by team mate Alex MacDowall who slotted into second place. Matt Neal was close behind in third place having made up some places due to a bad start by Triple 8 Racing’s James Nash.
Further down the field, Rob Collard had got himself up into the tail-end of the top ten after an early jostle with the Seat of Tom Boardman. Dan Welch was running well in the Proton in the early stages of the race - having had his best qualifying session of the year – defending from competitors midfield.
By lap three, Jason Plato was half a second up on team mate MacDowall – showing that the Silverline Chevrolet Cruze was at the top of its game at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit.
In the midst of the action, Frank Wrathall was battling with WSR racer Rob Collard for twelfth place on the grid. However Collard’s rear-wheeled BMW was struggling early on in the race.
More disappointments for Pirtek Racing saw Andrew Jordan’s team mate Jeff Smith retiring from the race on lap 3 with a broken gear lever. Meanwhile up front a battle between Airwaves Racing’s Mat Jackson and Honda racer Gordon Shedden was brewing for fourth place. A move by Shedden going into Graham Hill Bend saw the championship contender slide off the track in dramatic style. Despite returning to the track, the Scot lost several places and was now down in ninth place.
Dan Welch’s positive luck ended mid way through the race, when a broken steering rack saw him limp back to the pits and out of the race. AmD Miltek driver was also in the pits with a problem. The question was being asked whether the soaring temperatures were affecting the performance of the cars out on the circuit.
Going into lap nine, it was still a Chevrolet 1-2 with Matt Neal closely following behind in third place while James Nash, Mat Jackson and Paul O’Neill were all now fighting for fourth place.
After his earlier debacles, Shedden was now in eighth place and catching Team Aon driver Tom Chilton for seventh. A left front puncture for team mate Matt Neal saw the Worcestershire driver’s race in tatters, leaving him to pit for fresh rubber and on the back foot for the remainder of the race.
Simultaneous retirements also saw Lea Wood pull off to the side of the track with a problem along with Special Tuning driver Dave Newsham – a small fire in his Seat saw his race come to a halt.
With Gordon Shedden still putting Chilton in the Global Ford Focus under pressure, the star of the show was undoubtedly Chevrolet – with both drivers still leading the pack. Mat Jackson, who was looking to save his championship dreams, was now running in third place having overtaken Triple 8 Racing’s James Nash during Matt Neal’s calamities.
Tom Onslow-Cole was having his best run of the season since his switch back to Team Aon, taking fifth place from GoMobileUK driver Paul O’Neill.
Having struggled early o in the race, Rob Collard was now battling with Tom Boardman for ninth place – the rear wheeled drive BMW coming to its own in the latter stages of the race.
Further disasters for Honda Racing saw Gordon Shedden also fall at the final hurdle with a left front puncture. With both championship contenders out of the points, the question was asked about Honda’s seemingly aggressive race set-up. Could this mistake by the team prove fateful come the end of the season?
Contact between Rob Collard and the Toyota Avensis of Frank Wrathall saw the Dynojet driver out of the race with the rear suspension broken. Having performed strongly in the last meetings at Knockhill and Rockingham, the beginning of the weekend was disappointing to the family run team.
Struggling for grip on worn tyres, Silverline Chevrolet driver Alex MacDowall fell behind and was now in third place behind Mat Jackson. Desperately wanting a podium finish, MacDowall was defending his position hard from James Nash who was following close behind.
Into the final lap and Boardman too was out of the race with a puncture, whilst Jason Plato took his seventh win of the season ahead of Mat Jackson and team mate MacDowall. Plato took maximum points of the race, gaining a point for fastest lap, leading the race and pole position – putting him and Chevrolet right back into the title hunt. The Honda boys limped home near the back of the field in 18th and 19th position. Debutant drivers Oliver Jackson and Chris Swanick both finished 11th and 17th respectively.
Jason Plato is now six points behind the Honda drivers in the main championship standings, whereas in the Independent standings, James Nash still leads with Mat Jackson closing the gap in second place.
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