Race one report

Sun 30th August 2009 Mat Jackson led home a first BTCC 1-2-3 for Chevrolet in the first race of the day at Silverstone. The Racing Silverline driver was trailed by Jason Plato and James Nash to hand the RML-run team their first podium lockout.

The championship pendulum swung slightly in the direction of Colin Turkington as the Team RAC driver finished in fourth position, just ahead of rival Fabrizio Giovanardi in fifth.

Mat Jackson started the race from pole position but it wasn’t all straightforward after Rob Collard’s rear-wheel drive BMW led into Copse on the opening lap. Jackson held onto second position and never lost touch with Collard. The Chevrolet was quick and it was more a question of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ he would gain control of the race.

The move came on lap four after Jackson made the quicker exit from Becketts and carried more pace into Brooklands. A slight slide from Collard was just enough to allow Jackson to make light work of the BMW. On the same lap, BTCC returnees Anthony Reid and Tom Onslow-Cole both ended up in the gravel at Brooklands, triggering the deployment of the safety car.

The race resumed on lap ten and Jackson looked assured at the front. Having led early on, Collard was under pressure in second, with Jason Plato right on his tail. Collard drove a wide BMW for a few laps, but Plato gained the inside line out of Luffield and edged ahead along the straight. James Nash spotted an opportunity and followed Plato through into third. Collard soon lost out again, this time with Colin Turkington taking fourth.

A second safety car period followed in the closing stages of the race after Martin Johnson’s Astra Coupe deposited oil on the track. A quick five-lap sprint race was all that was left once the track was cleared and the three Chevrolets were untroubled at the front.

Fabrizio Giovanardi made progress through the pack during the race after starting from eighth. The Vauxhall driver passed both Airwaves BMWs towards the end of the race and his efforts to chase down championship rival Turkington may well have proved fruitful if there had been just a couple more laps in the race.

At the chequered flag, Jackson took his second consecutive win, ahead of Plato and James Nash. Turkington and Giovanardi were fourth and fifth, with Collard sixth. Stephen Jelley finished seventh, while Jonny Adam was eighth. Matt Neal and Paul O’Neill crossed the line tenth and 11th respectively.

In his first BTCC race, former F1 driver Johnny Herbert finished in 13th position.

Mat Jackson said, “The car’s been mega. It’s really working for us here. That’s a great result for Racing Silverline and RML. We’ve got the dreaded 45kg of ballast for race two, so we’ll have to see how we go.”