Two podium finishes for Team RAC

It was all-action as the three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races got underway at Croft. In front of a bumper crowd, brought out by the fantastic weather, Team RAC didn't disappoint its supporters with close racing and two podium places for Northern Irishman Colin Turkington. Whilst Colin remains second in the Championship and secured 30 points over the weekend, Matt Neal increased his overall lead to 39 points at the top of the table.

Rob experienced a difficult weekend with his best result coming in the opening race. An incident in the second of today's races caused extensive damage to the steering rack on his MG ZS hampering his chances.

Race 1

Colin Turkington kept the pressure on Matt Neal during the opening race of the day finishing fourth behind the current Championship leader. Carrying 36kgs of success ballast Colin made up three places during the race to collect eight valuable points. Climbing out of the extreme heat of his car Colin said: "I made a pretty good start and got passed one car by the first corner. There was a lot of action going on out there and I was on the grass a couple of times. The car has improved since yesterday but we've still got some work to do for the next race."

Rob Collard was in the thick of the action with both of the Team Halfords drivers. First it was Gordon Shedden who took objection to Rob's clear pass, causing damage to the front quarter of the Team RAC car. Next up was contact with Matt Neal, resulting in Rob's mechanics forcing the door open upon its return to the pits. Rob said "Things opened up for me nicely on the first lap and I was able to make a couple of passes. I then got to Shedden and I made a really good out-braking manoeuvre on him into Tower corner. I was three-quarters passed him and I was driven out onto the grass. I then had some to-ing and fro-ing with Matt, causing a bit more damage. The car felt in better shape than yesterday, but the boys have quite a bit of work to do now for the next race."

Jason Plato (SEAT Sport UK) took the race win with teammate James Thompson in second and Matt Neal (Team Halfords) completed the top three.

Race 2

It was a race of mixed fortunes as Rob Collard retired early whilst Colin Turkington went on to secure a third place step on the podium.

Rob's retirement came on lap three as he collided with Vauxhall's Fabrizio Giovanardi resulting in steering and gearbox problems. On his early return, Rob said: "I admit I made a mistake and I'm sorry for ruining Fabrizio's race. I saw a gap and carried a bit too much speed. Unfortunately, I had nowhere left to go."

Colin battled hard to keep hold of the leading pack, which finally paid off on the last lap passing James Thompson into Sunny corner. Colin said: "It was a very difficult race. I had good pace at the start but things became pretty tough in this heat. James ran wide on the last lap and I managed to make a pass on the inside. I'm really please to be back on the podium."

Matt Neal and Jason Plato completed the top three finishers.

Race 3

Following the compulsory grid re-shuffle, Colin Turkington and Rob Collard lined up fourth and 19th respectively.

Colin visited the podium again after finishing second in the final BTCC race of the day. Returning the car to Park Ferme he said: "I managed to keep a fairly good pace throughout the entire race. Shedden ran wide with two laps to go and I slipped through. I've got a fourth, third and a second this weekend so I'm pleased, especially for the team."

Rob had a difficult race ahead of him starting from the back of the grid but he battled hard to eventually finish the race in 10th. With the car still suffering some of the effects from the previous race incident Rob said: "That race was all about staying out of trouble really. The steering was predictable but didn't feel one hundred percent. I managed to pick a few people off during the race. The team did a fantastic job in repairing the damage from the previous race so I'm pleased with the end result all things considered."

First pastthe chequered flag was James Thompson with Matt Neal making a last corner manoeuvre on Jason Plato to take the final podium place.

Summarising on Team RAC's performance, team principal Dick Bennetts added: "Once again I'm delighted with Colin's performance with a fourth, third and second and he still keeping some pressure at the top of the leader board. It was an unfortunate weekend for Rob but it is all credit to the Team RAC mechanics for repairing his car for the third race of the day."