The first of three BTCC races at Snetterton took place on a track that had suffered an early morning downpour, but was showing signs of drying out as the cars headed to the grid. The teams faced the hard decision of selecting tyres for the race, with slicks unlikely to offer enough grip in the early stages.

The popular decision towards the front of the grid was a mix of slicks on the front and grooved tyres on the rear. Further back on the grid, Rob Collard and Gareth Howell opted for wets all round, but Howell pitted to put slicks on the front after the green flag lap. He started from the pitlane, along with Jason Hughes and Mark Proctor, who made the same decision.

At the front of the grid, Jason Plato took the lead from pole position, but his SEAT teammate James Thompson was beaten into second spot at the first corner by Vauxhall’s Fabrizio Giovanardi. Thompson attempted to go around the outside of the Astra, but the Italian was able to resist.

Plato, Giovanardi and Thompson, along with Gordon Shedden started to pull away from the rest of the pack during the opening laps. Championship leader Matt Neal struggled after starting fifth and was passed by Mike Jordan and Tom Chilton, dropping him to eighth.

Giovanardi continued to keep Thompson at bay in second position, lapping wide and fast and providing great entertainment for the watching crowd.

The track remained slippery and the halfway point proved eventful, not least for Team Halfords. There was contact between Neal and Team RAC’s Colin Turkington which resulted in a heavy impact with some tyres for Matt Neal, before he was collected by Eoin Murray’s Alfa Romeo. Somehow, Neal was able to continue, although lost a handful of places and had significant damage to the front of his Integra.

Neal’s teammate Gordon Shedden had his race ended early when he and Tom Chilton performed a synchronised dance at Riches. Both drivers ended up deep in the crop field on the outside of the corner. A couple of laps later, they were joined by Mark Smith in his Alfa Romeo 156.

At the front, Plato continued to lead, but Thompson’s persistent pressure on Giovanardi eventually paid off, although it took contact for the SEAT to get past. Thompson went inside at Russell, but the pair collided at the chicane, with Giovanardi ending up sideways. Thompson ended up in front of Giovanardi, but both were passed by Gavin Smith’s Astra Sport Hatch.

Gavin Smith was lapping quickly in second, but Thompson stayed in touch. Smith closed on leader Plato but his strong run was ended when the leaders lapped Fiona Leggate. Plato passed the bio-ethanol powered Astra going into the chicane, and although Leggate tried to leave enough space, she was collected by Smith on his way past. It was enough to damage the Astra Sport Hatch, making it hard for Smith to control.

Smith made it through a couple of corners, before a spin allowed both Thompson and Giovanardi to pass him. Thompson was able to cruise up on to the tail of Plato for a SEAT 1-2 at the chequered flag. Giovanardi finishe third, with Smith fourth.

Further back, the championship pendulum looked to be swinging in the favour of Colin Turkington. The Team RAC driver was running sixth, with Matt Neal outside the points with a handful of laps remaining. However, Turkington spluttered past the pits with just a couple of laps to go, eventually retiring with a sick engine.

Mike Jordan put in a strong performance to finish fifth, while Matt Neal put his damaged Integra into sixth on the final lap, after teammate Gareth Howell ceded the position. Mark Proctor was eighth, with James Kaye and Jason Hughes rounding out the top ten.