Round 12 Feature Race

The rolling start to the feature race at Donington saw James Thompson and Jason Plato enter the first corner side by side, but having the inside line, it was Thompson who took the lead of the race. Behind them followed Muller and Bennett, ahead of the three Peugeot Coupes. In the Production class, Gavin Pyper successfully held position to lead the class.

As the leaders entered Coppice on lap 2, Plato slid past Thompson to take the race lead. The same lap saw Paul O'Neill enter the pits and retire early for the second time during the day. Behind Pyper in the Production class were the HTML pair of Moen and Harrison.

As the opening laps continued, Phil Bennett closed the gap between himself and Yvan Muller in third, before Muller pitted at the end of lap 6 for his mandatory stop. After which time, a battle developed within the Peugeot team, with Dan Eaves and Aaron Slight racing very closely. Plato continued to lead the race as Thompson made his pitstop on lap 8, holding his position ahead of Muller once he had done so. The following lap, Plato and Bennett both came in to make their stops, leaving Eaves, who passed team mate Slight, to lead the race.

In the midst of the Touring pitstops, there was still plenty going on within the Production class. Tom Boardman pulled off of the track at the Old Hairpin with mechanical problems, and third placed Harrison struggled with the brakes on his Peugeot 306, as he had in the sprint race, allowing Simon Graves and Mat Jackson to pass him. Class leader at this point was still Gavin Pyper, but his Alfa slowed shortly afterwards, handing the lead to Moen.

On lap 12, Dan Eaves pitted, handing the race lead, at his first meeting, to Aaron Slight. At the same time, Phil Bennett retired from the race - a broken alternator causing his Astra Coupe to slow. He pulled off the track just before the Melbourne Hairpin, and unable to coax the car far enough off the track, the safety car came in to play for the second time during the day.

The drivers followed the safety car for four laps, extending the race distance to 31. By this point, Nick Beaumont and James Kaye had also joined the list of retirements from the Production class Beaumont's engine having caught fire, and Pyper being left with only first gear.

With Bennett's car safely out of the way, the safety car pulled off on lap 17. The Astras were now bunched together once again, and Plato, Thompson and Muller set about tussling as earlier in the race. Thompson tried a move on Plato, but it backfired, allowing Yvan Muller to take his position away from him. Dan Eaves also got in on the act, for the first time this season, showing that the Peugeot can put up a fight against the Astra Coupes. Eaves swapped position with Thompson, before being re-passed, but continued to apply pressure. The four drivers passed Aaron Slight, who, not having made his pitstop, dropped down through the field due to a problem with his 406.

Simon Graves continued to lead the Production class, and after the safety car period, GR Motorsport's Mat Jackson started to pressurise Moen in second position. The retirements continued, with Harrison, B&Q, and Blair all ending their races early. Moen and Jackson both passed Simon Graves' Accord, which was suffering from a misfire, and Jackson finally managed to take the race lead at Mcleans, with only a couple of laps left to go.

The fun and games continued between the three remaining Astras, with positions changing frequently. It was Plato however who came out on top, taking victory ahead of Thompson in second, and Muller third. Mat Jackson held on to the Production lead, to win from Moen and Graves.

Driver comments:

Jason Plato: "We made some changes after the Sprint Race and the cars great. The balance is good. After a few laps had gone I got into a good rhythm. After the safety car had come out I left a gap because I didn't want us all bunched up together. I knew I could catch Yvan as long as I didn't get into a battle with James but there was a little bit of a gap there. I knew that James knew we could catch Yvan because Yvan was having brake problems. Then I got past Yvan and that was it, I was off and I knew I was gonna win".

Yvan Muller: "At the beginning I was slower than them [the other Astra drivers], but I had a different strategy which I thought would work, so it didn't matter that I was slower away. But then I got a problem with my alternator, and I was losing speed.

I was saving my brakes, which was fine when I was on my own, but when I had to brake later because they were with me, it burnt the brakes. But brakes were a problem for everybody.

I'm disappointed because it's not a win, but happy because it's still a podium."

Mat Jackson: "It's good to get the first win, and to take the first one for the team and the Focus. I knew we were there when I was with Roger, but I just couldn't get him, but it was just a matter of time. When Graves went out I knew that was it!"

On his championship chances: "The car's reliable, and so is the engine. Others are on their fifth already, so if they have to change again they're going to lose points. The win's brought the gap down, and I think we're in with a chance."