A warm and sunny Snetterton circuit in Norfolk provided the location for the return of the British Touring Car Championship. Teams, drivers and fans alike were raring to go after a lengthy seven week summer break and the action did not disappoint. Jason Plato, Andrew Jordan and Dave Newsham took the three race wins, while Frank Wrathall picked up his first touring car pole position on the Saturday. Gordon Shedden was left facing a race day of damage limitation after a fire in his car during practice and problems in qualifying left him starting race one at the back of the grid. Matt Neal retains the championship lead as the championship move North of the border to Knockhill in two weeks.
Race One
Shedden’s damaged car after the fire
Wrathall lined up on pole position for the first race of the day, although it was Plato who came away with the win after a better start off the line. Mat Jackson debuted Redstone Racing’s NGTC during practice and raced the new car while Aron Smith continued in the S2000 specification. American Robb Holland made his BTCC debut, driving Team HARD’s car while Tony Gilham moved across to Thorney Motorsport. When the lights went out it was not only Plato who had a good start as Shedden made up places from his low grid slot while Newsham moved into second ahead of Wrathall. Adam Morgan, who had qualified well, had a spin and was then involved in an incident with Holland, which put both cars out of the race as they hit the barrier. Holland’s car became propped up on the tyre barrier and the marshals faced a lengthy job of retrieving both cars and repairing the damaged tyre wall. The safety car was brought out on lap three of the race and returned to the pits on lap seven, increasing the race distance to 15 laps. When racing resumed, Neal was involved in a close battle with Daniel Welch in the Proton. Up at the front Newsham tried an opportunistic move to take the lead from Plato, but was forced to back out and left the door open for Wrathall to move into second. Tom Onslow-Cole and Rob Collard were fighting closely for positions with Shedden closing up behind them. On the penultimate lap of the race Collard pulled over at the side of the track and stopped with Ollie Jackson pitting.
While Plato won the race his team-mate Andy Neate made contact with Chris James and spun off the track, with Rob Austin and Gilham also involved. Neate recovered to finish in sixteenth, but was promoted to fifteenth and a point after Newsham was disqualified from the results due to an underweight car. Jordan and Newsham were fighting for positions right until the last corner, but it was Jordan who finished ahead and on the podium.
Race 1 top fifteen
Action at Agostini in race one
1. Jason Plato
2. Frank Wrathall
3. Andrew Jordan
4. Matt Neal
5. Daniel Welch
6. Tom Onslow-Cole
7. Gordon Shedden
8. Mat Jackson
9. Lea Wood
10. Jeff Smith
11. Nick Foster
12. Rob Austin
13. Tony Gilham
14. Aron Smith
15. Andy Neate
Dave Newsham was disqualified after finishing fourth
Race Two
After winning the first race of the day Plato started on pole for race two, but after a battle with his old adversary Matt Neal, he ended up in third place.
Work is carried out on Collard’s car
Collard did not make the race two grid as the eBay Motors Team worked to change his engine. He did, however, get out on track during the race. When the lights went out Welch was slow away from the grid while Plato had another fast start.
Morgan surveys his stricken car
After a disappointing race one which saw him crash out with Holland, Morgan picked up a puncture and spun out of the race after contact with Welch, who then pitted. Neal got into second place and hustled Plato for the lead but a mistake saw him run wide, letting Plato pull away and Jordan close up. The top four drivers, Plato, Neal, Jordan, and Shedden, all had identical top speeds of 122.9mph as they raced bumper to bumper. As the top four fought, Wrathall and Onslow-Cole were involved in their own battle for fifth and sixth, with M.Jackson eventually sneaking through to get sixth.
Race two podium
Up at the front Neal gave Plato a tap at Coram, sending the MG KX Momentum Racing driver into a slide, which he managed to hold onto. He then returned the favour by punting Neal off track at Murrays, leading to the Honda driver losing out on a podium, while Plato held onto third. It was Jordan who picked up his first win of the season ahead of Shedden and Plato.
Race 2 top fifteen
1. Andrew Jordan
2. Gordon Shedden
3. Jason Plato
4. Matt Neal
5. Frank Wrathall
6. Mat Jackson
7. Tom Onslow-Cole
8. Dave Newsham
9. Lea Wood
10. Aron Smith
11. Jeff Smith
12. Andy Neate
13. Nick Foster
14. Robb Holland
15. Ollie Jackson
Race Three
Lea Wood was drawn to start on pole position for the reverse grid and final race of the day. This meant that Newsham started in second with Onslow-Cole in third but when the race started it was Onslow-Cole in second. Holland once again found himself off track but he was able to continue in the race. Neal was nudged off track once again, this time by Wrathall, so he faced a fight from the back of the field, like his team-mate in the first race. Newsham fought back past Onslow-Cole and then took the lead of the race from Wood. While Newsham established a good lead, there was a squabble for third between M.Jackson, Shedden, Onslow-Cole, Plato and Jordan for third, with M.Jackson’s team-mate A.Smith not far behind. Neate, O.Jackson, Welch and Holland found themselves in more trouble and off track while Gilham was touring with damage to the front of his car. A slide by M.Jackson allowed Onslow-Cole, Shedden, and Plato past while Neal and Collard fought with Austin for positions. After starting on pole and leading the race, Wood was forced to pull out of the race due to a gearbox problem, not wanting it to develop into anything terminal for future rounds. Newsham took the race win – his first in the BTCC – with Onslow-Cole second and Shedden third, however the Scot was later disqualified for exceeding the boost limits. This promoted Plato to third and gave him three out of three podiums – a solid result for his championship charge. A.Smith finished a season’s best sixth place with Neate once again benefiting from race exclusions to pick up a point.
Race 3 top fifteen
Race two podium
1. Dave Newsham
2. Tom Onslow-Cole
3. Jason Plato
4. Mat Jackson
5. Andrew Jordan
6. Aron Smith
7. Frank Wrathall
8. Matt Neal
9. Rob Collard
10. Adam Morgan
11. Jeff Smith
12. Daniel Welch
13. Nick Foster
14. Ollie Jackson
15. Andy Neate
The Championship Standings
1. Matt Neal 255 (-)
2. Gordon Shedden 247 (-)
3. Jason Plato 245 (-)
4. Andrew Jordan 218 (↑)
5. Rob Collard 178 (↓)
6. Mat Jackson 170 (-)
7. Tom Onslow-Cole 161 (-)
8. Frank Wrathall 118 (↑)
9. Dave Newsham 114 (↓)
10. Jeff Smith 95 (-)
Independent Standings
1. Andrew Jordan 265 (-)
2. Rob Collard 217 (-)
3. Mat Jackson 213 (-)
4. Tom Onslow-Cole 203 (-)
5. Frank Wrathall 163 (-)
6. Dave Newsham 141 (↑)
7. Jeff Smith 140 (↓)
8. Nick Foster 127 (-)
9. Lea Wood 126 (-)
10. Tony Gilham 108 (-)
Pingback: BTCC: Knockhill Preview | The 'H' Duct