Results Snetterton
SNETTERTON WINS FOR CHILTON & PLATO AS NEAL INCREASES
POINTS LEAD
Tom Chilton won twice and Jason Plato once in today’s
(Sunday) three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship
races at Snetterton, Norfolk. In the title race, a pair of
third place finishes helped Matt Neal increase his championship
lead over closest challenger Yvan Muller. Likewise, Vauxhall
has moved further clear of SEAT in the chase for the manufacturers’
crown as the BTCC now heads to the spectacular Scottish circuit
of Knockhill in Fife on Sunday 28 August.
Chilton, driving the Arena Motorsports team’s Honda
Civic, was in sensational form all weekend. He qualified on
pole position for race one and led it all the way. The 20-year-old
repeated the process in race two to ensure himself of a spectacular
double.
Races one and two also ended with same top five finishing
order. Team Halfords Honda Integra team-mates Dan Eaves and
Neal were second and third, with Muller fourth in his Vauxhall
Astra Sport Hatch and Rob Collard, in the WSR team’s
MG ZS, fifth. Neal set the fastest lap time in both races
and the first he achieved was a new record.
Behind, Plato, who had retired his SEAT Toledo Cupra in race
one, finished tenth in race two to take pole position for
race three, thanks to the top ten reversed grid rule. The
2001 BTCC champion needed no second invitation and, just like
Chilton in races one and two, took full advantage of his starting
position to romp to his second win of the season.
And it was a dream result for SEAT, for Plato’s team-mate
James Pickford achieved his first BTCC podium position in
second to give the Spanish manufacturer a 1-2 finish. Pickford
had to fight hard for his position, though. In the closing
stages he came under increasing pressure from Muller, Neal
and Eaves but calmly held his nerve to the chequered flag.
Muller, who set the race’s fastest lap time, took third,
Neal fourth and Eaves fifth. Double race winner Chilton was
seventh having started tenth.
As a result, Neal has slightly increased his championship
lead over Muller from 13 to 16 points. There are now nine
races to go – three at Knockhill followed by three more
at Silverstone, Northamptonshire and then the season finale
at Brands Hatch, Kent – with 15 points awarded for a
win. Eaves remains third and Plato fourth. Vauxhall’s
Colin Turkington, experiencing a difficult time at Snetterton
after winning races in the most recent two rounds at Croft
and Mondello Park, is fifth but coming under increasing pressure
from Chilton who has now moved up to equal sixth with Collard.
Neal, who remains on course to win the BTCC title for the
first time, said: “It was very important that I kept
Yvan at bay this weekend. He’s closed a lot on me in
the last few race meetings so I’m fairly happy to have
outscored him at Snetterton. But Knockhill is next and it’s
a track where I expect Vauxhall to be a bit stronger. It will
be crucial to the outcome of the championship.”
Muller, the 2003 champion, added: “I am quite pleased
with this weekend. Snetterton is a really fast circuit and
I thought it would be more suited to the Honda. But Neal has
only increased his lead by three more points and at Knockhill
I think the Astra can be at least a match for the Halfords
cars. There are still nine races to go – that’s
almost a third of the season still – so there’s
plenty of time to close up. I will push all the way.”
In the BTCC’s Manufacturers’ title race, Vauxhall
has moved 14 points further ahead of SEAT, despite the latter’s
1-2 in race three, and the gap between them is now exactly
100 points.
Leading BTCC Points (provisional) after Snetterton:
1. Matt Neal, Team Halfords Honda Integra, 234
2. Yvan Muller, Vauxhall VX Racing Astra Sport Hatch, 218
3. Dan Eaves, Team Halfords Honda Integra, 207
4. Jason Plato, SEAT Sport UK Toledo Cupra, 152
5. Colin Turkington, Vauxhall VX Racing Astra Sport Hatch,
136
=6. Tom Chilton, Arena Motorsports Honda Civic, 119
=6. Rob Collard, WSR MG ZS, 119
8. James Pickford, SEAT Sport UK Toledo Cupra, 76
9. Luke Hines, SEAT Sport UK Toledo Cupra, 52
10. Gavin Smith, Vauxhall VX Racing Astra Sport Hatch, 48
Leading BTCC Manufacturers’ Points (provisional):
1. Vauxhall, 584
2. SEAT, 48
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