Plato scores win for SEAT

Ahead of the third and final race at Oulton Park, VX Racing’s Tom Chilton gained his second reverse-grid pole position of the season after Matt Neal drew the number seven card.

Chilton led the pack away from the line, but could not hang on to the lead for long as he ran wide on the exit from Cascades, allowing the SEAT pairing of Plato and Thompson to pass. Initially, Thompson led, but it did not come as a huge surprise when he gave way to Plato at the hairpin on lap four.

It was effectively game over at the front, with Thompson acting as rear gunner for his championship-chasing teammate. The SEATs showed just how quick the new Leon is, with third placed Chilton unable to trouble them, even with the help of a safety car period.

Behind the leaders, there was still a race going on. Team RAC’s Rob Collard had started the race in fifth and occupied the mirrors of Vauxhall’s Fabrizio Giovanardi, fresh from his first visit to the BTCC podium, but heavily ballasted as a result.

Giovanardi was able to fend off Collard until the fifth lap, when the former hotrod racer took the inside line out of the final corner accelerated past the Astra along the straight.

Meanwhile, Collard’s MG teammate Colin Turkington made rapid progress through the pack after starting from the back of the grid. The Northern Irishman was up to eighth by the end of the first lap and found himself promoted to seventh when Gordon Shedden ended up in gravel on the outside of the Lodge corner.

Shedden’s Integra was considered to be in too dangerous a position, and the safety car came out on track while the orange machine was moved. Turkington was on the move again after the restart, passing Matt Neal to go sixth, before closing on Giovanardi. The Italian was also quickly dispatched, albeit after Turkington had given the back of the Astra Sport Hatch a gentle tap. Giovanardi found himself dropping like a stone as both Gavin Smith and Matt Neal also passed him.

The remaining laps saw Turkington chase Collard, who himself was chasing Tom Chilton. Ultimately, positions remained unchanged and Plato took the win from Thompson, Chilton, Collard and Turkington. Gavin Smith finished sixth, with Mike Jordan seventh, Neal eighth Giovanardi ninth and Hughes tenth.

Leaving Oulton, Matt Neal leads the championship from James Thompson, Jason Plato and Colin Turkington. Next up is the fast Thruxton circuit over the weekend of 3-4 June.