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Shedden wins Donington opener as Plato crashes out

BTCC News | Sun 19th September 2010

Gordon Shedden claimed victory in round 25 of the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park, while championship leader Jason Plato crashed out after contact with Matt Neal.

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Plato's points lead has been slashed after a dramatic first race at Donington that saw him involved in a multi-car incident at the new Goddards chicane.

Tom Chilton started from pole position, but made a poor start and was beaten into Redgate by Tom Onslow-Cole and Gordon Shedden.

The lead pair traded positions a couple of times early on in the race, before Onslow-Cole joined in their battle.

Behind the top three, Rob Collard was running 'best of the rest', but lost fourth to Matt Neal at Coppice on lap five. Jason Plato also passed the BMW later on the same lap.

Lap six brought contact between Paul O'Neill, Tom Boardman and Steven Kane, leaving O'Neill out of the race and his Honda Integra in a vulnerable position on the Dunlop Straight. That led to the deployment of the safety car, which closed up the pack.

The race restarted four laps later and Onslow-Cole initially held on to the lead as Shedden challenged. Then came the big talking point of the race.

Gordon Shedden took the lead coming out of McLeans, getting the better of Tom Onslow-Cole. The Ford dropped several places and the group of cars behind, led by Matt Neal, bunched together as they headed into the final corner chicane.

Jason Plato, who was fifth at the start of the lap, closed on the back of rival Neal as they approached the right-hander. Plato tapped the rear of Neal's Honda, which triggered something of a chain reaction. Neal and Onslow-Cole, who was outside of the Honda heading through the corner, were unable to slow down in time and ran wide onto the grass collecting two of the large safety bales in the process.

As the Honda and Ford came back across the track, the bales came with them and they collected Plato's Chevrolet as they crossed the racing line. Plato was pushed into the gravel and made heavy contact with the barrier on the outside of the straight.

Despite picking up the cover of one of the bales, Neal was able to continue, albeit down the order. Onslow-Cole also suffered damage to the front of his Focus and although he continued, struggled for pace once racing resumed.

The other unfortunate casualties of the incident were Andrew Jordan and Rob Collard who were both collected by a mixture of flying bales and out-of-control cars.

Inevitably, the safety car was deployed for a second time while the marshals went to work on tidying up the mess at the last corner. Jordan's car was recovered, as was Collard's, while Plato's Chevrolet was surrounded with the errant bales for the remainder of the race.

Two laps were left when the safety car pulled off the track. Chilton closed on Shedden at the restart, but the Honda held on out front for the final two laps to win for the fifth time this year – bringing himself right back into contention for the championship, just three points behind teammate Matt Neal.

Tom Chilton finished the race in second, with Mat Jackson third for Airwaves BMW. Alex MacDowall finished fourth to bring the Silverline Chevrolet team some consolation after Plato's retirement. Matt Neal managed to bring his Honda home in fifth to close the gap on Plato.

Sixth place was a remarkable achievement for Steven Kane, who started from the back of the grid after failing to set a time in qualifying. Tom Boardman finished seventh, ahead of the slowing Onslow-Cole and the returning James Kaye. David Pinkney finished 10th to take the final championship point.

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