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BTCC 2012 Index

Plato wins race three to extend points lead

BTCC News | Sun 5th September 2010

Jason Plato bided his time before snatching victory in round 24 of the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill this afternoon.

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Tom Onslow-Cole started from pole position after the top seven finishers from race two were reversed to form the grid for race three. The Team Aon driver converted pole position into the race lead, but was quickly under pressure from Mat Jackson. The pair touched and Jackson dropped down the order.

Tom Chilton also found himself off the track after early contact with Gordon Shedden. The first lap action handed Jason Plato second position, having started fifth on the grid – helped also by Steven Kane pitting after the green flag lap and failing to start the race.

At the end of the first lap, Onslow-Cole led from Plato, Shedden, Andrew Jordan and James Nash.

Shedden's hopes of another strong result on his home track were dashed when he spun out from third coming through the John R Weir chicane on lap two.

Jason Plato started to put race leader Onslow-Cole under significant pressure, staying close on his tail and making an attempt to pass each time they reached the Real Radio hairpin.

Lap nine saw a clash between the Vectras of Jeff Smith and David Pinkney. BTCC debutant Smith hit the side of Pinkney's car as they approached the Scotsman right hander. That put Pinkney in the gravel and required the deployment of the safety car for the fourth time in three races.

The safety car period was prolonged when the recovery vehicle became stuck in the mud, but it was the same story at the front when racing resumed on lap 16, with Plato continuing to push Onslow-Cole.

Alex MacDowall ran wide at Clark, allowing Rob Collard though into eighth position – from the back of the grid. Another driver enjoying a strong run was Triple Eight's James Nash, who was running fourth until he drifted wide out of Hislop's and dropped to seventh on lap 20.

At the front, it was increasingly becoming a case of when, rather than if, Jason Plato would pass Tom Onslow-Cole. The hairpin was always likely to be the scene of the pass, and it was lap 22 when Plato finally managed to pull alongside the Ford out of the final corner, before holding the inside line all the way to Seat Curve.

Once he was past, Plato clearly had the pace to win and the final few laps were just a formality.

After the race, Plato said: "I'm pleased. Pleased for the guys - we've extended our lead. It's so difficult to get past [the Fords]. In a straight line, they're gone. If you can get alongside, you can get some speed off them. I was a lot quicker, but I just couldn't find a way past until that point."

After losing the lead, Onslow-Cole came under pressure from Matt Neal in the closing stages, but the Honda Racing Team driver could not find a way past and had to settle for third.

Paul O'Neill finished fourth after passing Mat Jackson on the penultimate lap when the Airwaves BMW driver ran wide at the Real Radio hairpin. Rob Collard finished an impressive sixth after a difficult weekend. Alex MacDowall was seventh for Silverline Chevrolet, ahead of Andrew Jordan and Shedden. Tom Chilton claimed the final championship point in tenth.

With six races of the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship remaining, Jason Plato leads the standings by 20 points, from Matt Neal. Tom Onslow-Cole is third, a further four points behind.

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