It was a depleted grid that lined up for the third race at Brands Hatch. Those that had survived the first two races were in varying states of readiness for the final outing of the day. Worthy of a mention are the efforts of the Motorbase Performance team to get Matt Allison’s SEAT Toledo out on the track after its heavy rear-end impact in race two.

The reverse grid had put Adam Jones on pole, but going into the first corner it was Mike Jordan leading from Fabrizio Giovanardi. After winning the first two races, the Italian made a lightning getaway to give himself the chance of becoming only the second driver to win three BTCC races on the same day. The way the day had gone, it was no real surprise that the safety car was out on track at the end of the first lap. A little more surprising was that it pitlane starter Fiona Leggate that caused the stoppage, losing her MG ZS to the gravel trap at the bottom of Paddock Hill on cold tyres.

The race was five laps in when it was able to restart again and Giovanardi was soon sniffing out that third victory and the championship lead that would almost certainly go with it. Meanwhile, current points leader Jason Plato was scrapping towards the bottom end of the top ten.

Giovanardi closed in on Jordan at the front for a couple of laps, but was constantly checking his mirrors for the orange BMW of Colin Turkington, which threatened the Vectra on numerous occasions around the short track. It was a challenge from Turkington on lap 12 that triggered a remarkable chain of events.

Giovanardi seemed to be focusing so hard on defending from the Team RAC driver that he forgot to brake for Paddock. Unfortunately for Jordan, this meant that the Integra was in the right place to guide the Vectra around the right-hand drop. Both Giovanardi and Jordan seemed destined for the gravel trap, but the experienced Italian kept his foot flat to the floor as his Vauxhall swung one way then the other, before somehow carrying on up the hill to Druids. If only Jens Lehman could make a save like that.

Giovanardi dropped to fourth, but Jordan now found himself outside the top ten after looking so comfortable at the front early on.

"I was incandescent with rage," said Jordan. "Our car was easily good enough to win and I was absolutely livid. It was a stupid thing for him to do."

It meant that Colin Turkington found himself leading the race, ahead of Mat Jackson and Gordon Shedden. With Giovanardi fourth and Plato eighth it would still be enough to give the Italian the lead in the championship. Only, the action was not over yet.

Behind Giovanardi were Adam Jones, Tom Onslow-Cole and Gavin Smith, all squabbling over fifth position. Plato and SEAT teammate Darren Turner were trailing the trio. Jones and Onslow-Cole swapped positions a couple of times, but it all seemed harmless enough. Until a couple of laps before the end of the race. Contact between Jones and Onslow-Cole threw the Toledo’s rear end up in the air and slowed the BMW. They managed to hit Gavin Smith and Darren Turner in the process, but Plato’s demon luck once again saw him escape untouched.

For the third race is succession, Plato found himself finishing one place behind rival Giovanardi, this time in fifth. Turkington took the win, with Shedden and Jackson joining him on the podium. Behind Plato, Onslow-Cole finished sixth, in front of Gavin Smith and Mike Jordan. Tom Chilton and John George were ninth and tenth respectively. Both Turner and Jones were forced to retire after their scuffle with Onslow-Cole.