Race 3 report: Mat Jackson wins on Chevrolet debut

Sun 26th April 2009 Mat Jackson claimed a win in round six of the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton this afternoon, guiding his Chevrolet Lacetti to victory on his debut with the RML team.

Paul O’Neill started the race from pole position in the Sunshine.co.uk with Techspeed Honda Integra, but it was Jackson who made the better start from the front row of the grid. Jackson led through Allard for the first time, ahead of Adam Jones and O’Neill. Jackson’s lead was four tenths of a second at the end of the first lap.

The three leaders edged away from Rob Collard in fourth over the first few laps of the race, but then Collard gradually closed back up on O’Neill in third. The Airwaves BMW driver made a passing attempt on lap four as they headed towards the Complex, but it was a move that ultimately delayed Collard and gave James Thompson a chance to draw alongside in his Team Dynamics Honda Civic. After running together for a couple of corners, made the position his own.

Cartridge World driver Dan Eaves brought an early end to a weekend that he will be hoping to forget when he clashed with Tom Chilton out at Goodwood. The SEAT rode up on the side of the Focus, before banging back down to earth and out of the race.

On lap seven of 16, there was under a second separating the top three - Mat Jackson just ahead of Jones and O’Neill. The Sunshine.co.uk driver was looking quick though, and tried to pass Jones at the chicane on lap eight. He didn’t quite manage it, and Jones cut across the chicane, but held on to the position. The same move reaped rewards for O’Neill on the following lap though, and moved up to second.

Just as O’Neill looked like he would go on to threaten race leader Mat Jackson, the safety car was deployed at the end of lap ten after John George’s Honda Integra ran off the track and hit the barrier.

It took five laps to recover the Integra, so when racing resumed, there were just four racing laps remaining. When the race did restart, Mat Jackson timed his getaway to perfection and led by over a second from second placed Paul O’Neill by the time they crossed the start-finish line. O’Neill fell back into the clutches of Adam Jones, but the Cartridge World driver in turn found himself under pressure from James Thompson. Rob Collard, Matt Neal and Jason Plato also joined the chain of drivers from second to seventh.

Collard made an attempt to pass Thompson, but it was the Airwaves BMW driver that ended up losing a position, when Matt Neal passed him heading towards the Complex. Jason Plato then challenged Collard, but was unable to find a way past. Paul O’Neill’s race ended early when he suffered a front left puncture on his Honda Integra, much to the disappointment of the Thruxton crowd that had been cheering him on all weekend.

Going in to the last lap, Jackson’s lead over Jones was 2.6 seconds, with Thompson in third ahead of Neal, Collard, Plato and Jelley. There was still plenty of action to come though. Collard passed Matt Neal at the Complex, taking Plato through with him. Plato then managed to squeeze past Collard to move up to fourth.

At the start of the final lap, Matt Neal looked like he was in sight of continuing his run of podiums in every race, but by the end of the lap, he was down to seventh, also losing out to Stephen Jelley. It was almost even worse, as his teammate Fabrizio Giovanardi got through, but Neal fought back. The double BTCC champion tops the points standings heading away from Thruxton.

Victory in round six of the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship went to Mat Jackson. It was an all-independent podium with Adam Jones and James Thompson in second and third positions respectively. Jason Plato was fourth, ahead of Rob Collard and Stephen Jelley. Vauxhall paring Matt Neal and Fabrizio Giovanardi finished seventh and eighth, while Colin Turkington and Dave Pinkney rounded out the top ten.