Race one report

Sun 16th August 2009 Jason Plato scored his second win of the year in round 19 of the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill this afternoon, putting in a dominant performance to finish ahead of local hero Gordon Shedden.

The Racing Silverline driver started the race from pole position and held onto the lead into the first corner at Knockhill. Shedden followed him into the SEAT Curves as Jonny Adam in the first of the BMWs struggled to get away from the line. Adam was passed by Colin Turkington and Rob Collard as he eventually managed to get his Airwaves BMW moving.

Plato and Shedden were quick at the front but Colin Turkington was running third and keeping them firmly in his sights. A momentary lapse from Turkington dropped him back into the clutches of Collard and the two BMW drivers then worked together to get back onto the tail of Shedden in second.

Lap 12 saw Collard pass Turkington as they exited the John R. Weir chicane. While Collard was able to stay in front, Turkington quickly made an attempt to repass as they came onto the main straight. The RAC driver was on the right-hand side of the track as they headed up the hill but Collard squeezed him to retain the spot. Turkington then ran wide as he went down through the SEAT Curves and dropped to seventh position, just ahead of championship rival Fabrizio Giovanardi.

After defending from Turkington, Collard came under pressure from Mat Jackson who was able to succeed where Turkington had failed. The Chevrolet driver passed Collard as they reached the end of the start-finish straight.

Jackson moved up to third, ahead of Airwaves BMW drivers Collard and Adam. On lap 15, Collard caught a wheel on the grass out of the John R. Weir chicane, but held his position. Behind him, VX Racing driver Matt Neal made a passing attempt on Adam, but ended up putting two wheels onto the grass. That was enough to make his Vectra uncontrollable and he speared back across the track, narrowly avoiding Adam but colliding heavily with the rear of Collard’s BMW.

Collard and Neal both ended up in the gravel, which in turn brought the safety car out. That was the last thing that race leader Plato wanted to see as it immediately destroyed the healthy lead he had built up.

The race resumed with six laps of the short Knockhill circuit remaining and Plato once again got away in the lead, not without a tap to the rear from Gordon Shedden who was caught out by Plato’s slow entry into the Real Radio hairpin.

Over the remaining laps, Plato was untroubled at the front, but Shedden was under pressure from Mat Jackson and Colin Turkington who had both passed Jonny Adam shortly after the restart. In the end, Shedden held on to follow Plato home in second position.

Jason Plato took the chequered flag to win for the first time since the opening meeting of the season at Brands Hatch. Gordon Shedden finished second to take his best result so far for Cartridge World Carbon Zero Racing. Mat Jackson finished third to join his Racing Silverline teammate on the podium.

Colin Turkington finished fourth, ahead of Jonny Adam in fifth, who just edged out Fabrizio Giovanardi on the run up towards the line. Andrew Jordan finished seventh, Stephen Jelley was eighth and Paul O’Neill ninth. Harry Vaulkhard rounded out the top ten for bamboo engineering.