Plato wins season opener

Jason Plato has taken an early advantage in the 2007 Dunlop MSA BTCC, with victory in the first race of the season at Brands Hatch.

Plato got the jump on polesitter Colin Turkington away from the grid and the SEAT Sport UK driver was never bettered during the 27-lap race. Turkington didn’t quite get the best from his rear-wheel drive BMW off the line, and trailed Plato into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time. In contrast, Mat Jackson made a superb getaway from sixth on the grid in his family-run BMW, climbing to third at the first corner.

There was little chance for the race to get going before the safety car was called into action. Fiona Leggate’s MG ZS was the casualty, spinning into the barrier on the entry to Paddock after contact with Erkut Kizilirmak’s Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch. Leggate’s teammate Jason Hughes was also out of the race before the safety car was called upon, and both were safely retrieved.

Leggate said, “I got a pretty good start, but someone stalled on the grid and then Erkut just seemed to drive into the side of me. It just spun me around into the barrier. It’s a shame because I was hoping to prove myself this weekend, but maybe I’m not going to get the chance now, because I’m not sure how badly the car is damaged.”

Another driver to suffer at the first corner was Vauxhall’s Fabrizio Giovanardi. Despite starting quickly, he was tapped from behind by Darren Turner in the SEAT Leon. It sent Giovanardi sideways, and although he held the slide in spectacular style, he quickly dropped down through the order.

Racing resumed on lap six with Plato fending off Turkington’s advances as they ran up the hill to the Druids hairpin. Tom Chilton put fourth-placed BTCC debutant Tom Onslow-Cole under pressure, but he was the one to lose a position after running wide at Graham Hill Bend. Reigning champion Matt Neal was in the right place to capitalise, moving up to fifth position. Chilton lost another place next time around, with Mike Jordan showing strongly in the Team Eurotech Honda Integra.

At the front, Plato opened up a gap ahead of the three BMWs behind him, but Neal was trying hard to put his Honda in the mix. He eventually managed to find a way past Tom Onslow-Cole at Graham Hill Bend on lap 15, just before the safety car came out on track once again. This time it was to allow the recovery of Richard Marsh’s Alfa Romeo 156, which had become beached in the gravel at Druids.

Four laps later and the pace picked up again. Plato had the restart perfectly under control, as he continued to lead from Colin Turkington, Mat Jackson, Matt Neal and Tom Onslow-Cole. Slightly further back, the battle for eighth position was between works SEAT driver Darren Turner, Motorbase Performance’s Matt Allison and Team Air Cool’s Adam Jones, both in older Toledo models. Turner held on initially but lost out to Allison at Paddock on lap 24. His Leon then stuttered to a halt on the outside of Druids, allowing the rest of the pack to file past.

Plato was relatively untroubled at the front, with Colin Turkington in second. However, Mat Jackson’s BMW started to smoke with a handful of laps remaining. It was enough to bring out a black and orange flag for Jackson, however he decided against pitting and the smoke did eventually subside.

The win went to Plato, with Turkington taking second and Mat Jackson third in his maiden race in the top class of the BTCC. Matt Neal brought his Honda Civic home in fourth position on its BTCC debut. Mike Jordan was fifth, with Tom Onslow-Cole sixth. Tom Chilton scored the first points with new Vectra, while Adam Jones, Gordon Shedden and Gareth Howell completed the top ten.