Plato at the double

After winning the first race of the day, SEAT Sport UK’s Jason Plato started race two from pole position and emerged in the lead at the first corner, ahead of Colin Turkington in the Team RAC BMW. Matt Neal started third and quickly put Turkington under pressure.

Neal’s quick start gave Plato the chance to open up an early lead as Turkington focused on holding on to second position. But within a couple of laps, Neal was also looking in his mirrors as Tom Chilton made sure the reigning champion had plenty to keep him occupied during the opening laps.

As Plato continued to lead, his SEAT teammate Darren Turner was making rapid progress through the pack, climbing from 21st on the grid up to 10th by the end of lap three.

It was close between second and eighth as the leaders got into a rhythm. Lap five saw Gordon Shedden miss out the Clearways and Clark Curve section of the circuit after a skirmish with Vauxhall’s Fabrizio Giovanardi. Shedden was forced to retire on the following lap.

It may be his first race weekend in the BTCC, but that didn’t stop Tom Onslow-Cole from challenging Matt Neal at Paddock on lap nine. The pair then made contact at Graham Hill Bend, which allowed both Onslow-Cole and Darren Turner to pass the Civic. But it didn’t last long for Onslow-Cole, when he was tapped into the gravel by Turner at Paddock Hill Bend just a couple of laps later. The reigning Clio Cup champion was able to keep the rear-wheel drive BMW moving through the gravel and rejoin the race, albeit at the back of the grid.

Chris Stockton was running in an impressive eighth position in the BTC Racing Lexus IS200 until he was passed by the SEAT Toledo of Matt Allison on lap 14. Another strong performance cam from Adam Jones, who ran side-by-side with Matt Neal through Paddock Hill Bend as the pair fought for fifth.

Jason Plato was relatively untroubled as he continued on to take the chequered flag for the second time in two races. It was another second position for Colin Turkington, with Tom Chilton taking a first podium of the year for Vauxhall. Turner finished fourth, just ahead of Neal, Jones and Giovanardi. Mat Jackson fought hard to move up from the back of the grid to take eighth at the end of the race. Matt Allison was ninth for Motorbase Performance, while Chris Stockton took a point for BTC Racing in tenth.

Racewinner Jason Plato said, “We changed the balance of the car a little bit. 45kg of weight in the car does affect it, so we needed to think about that. I actually had a car that was better to drive than in the first race. Slightly slower, but better to drive. Matt [Neal] put Colin under a lot of pressure at the start of the race, which allowed me to make a break. I lost my power steering on lap two for about half a lap two, so I thought I was in real trouble, but fortunately it came back.”

SEAT Sport UK’s Motorsport Manager, Scott Dennis spun ITV’s new ‘wheel of fortune’ to choose the number seven, which ironically puts Vauxhall’s Fabrizio Giovanardi on pole for the final race of the day.