It was a case of the calm after the storm in the third race at Snetterton. The first two races had been packed full of action and controversy, but race three, which was live on ITV1, was a much more leisurely affair, with a straightforward victory for reigning champion Matt Neal.

It was Neal’s teammate Gareth Howell who started from pole position after the top nine from race two were reversed to form the grid for race three. With 45kg of ballast on board his Integra, Howell failed to make the best of starts. It was VX Racing’s Tom Chilton, from the second row, who led the pack through the first corner. Neal was second, with Rob Collard third and Howell just fourth.

Howell and Gordon Shedden both put Collard under pressure early on, but Howell himself came under pressure from his former teammate Colin Turkington. Turkington passed Howell, who also dropped behind Shedden. Collard suffered at the hands of a Team Halfords driver, not for the first time, as contact with Gordon Shedden damaged the Team RAC MG, sending him into retirement.

Meanwhile, at the front, Tom Chilton’s quick start was not enough to keep him ahead of a charging Matt Neal. Neal took the lead and Chilton’s focus quickly switched to the pack closing on his tail.

James Thompson led the chargers and was on the back of Chilton’s Astra very quickly. It took the SEAT driver a few laps to find a way past however, but he eventually took second position when Chilton ran wide at the exit from the bombhole on lap nine. That was the top three settled, despite Thompson chasing down Neal in the closing stages.

Behind third placed Tom Chilton, Colin Turkington led Gordon Shedden. Shedden exchanged places with Jason Plato and Mike Jordan over the course of the last few laps, but Shedden was able to hold on to fifth place at the chequered flag. Jason Plato took sixth to go with his two earlier victories, while Gavin Smith finished seventh. James Kaye, Mark Proctor and Eoin Murray completed the top ten.