WINS FOR PLATO & NEAL IN BTCC SEASON-OPENER
SEAT’s Jason Plato (Oxford) took a pair of wins and
Team Halfords’ Matt Neal (Droitwich) a single victory
in today’s (Sunday) opening three rounds of the Dunlop
MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch contested
by a record 26 drivers. Plato’s double gives him an
early championship lead, but reigning champion Neal’s
triumph, in a new Honda Civic still short on development,
is a warning shot to his rivals as the BTCC now prepares for
its next three rounds at the Rockingham circuit in Northamptonshire
on 22 April.
Meanwhile, Team RAC’s Colin Turkington (Portadown)
took a pair of second places in his new BMW 320si to leave
Brands Hatch third in the standings. And the championship
looks to have found a number of new emerging talents, chiefly
Mat Jackson (Henley-in-Arden), Tom Onslow-Cole (New Malden)
and Adam Jones (Solihull) – each looked at ease as they
mixed it with the established star names. Jones, aged 26,
comes away leading the coveted Independents’ championship
from Turkington…
Plato, aged 39 and chasing a second BTCC crown, said: “We
said all along that getting off to a winning start would be
crucial; we’ve managed that and it’s a great start.
But those who said this was going to be a SEAT walk-over can
think again – the opposition is hot on our heels and
at Rockingham they’ll be even closer. This is going
to be a classic BTCC season.”
Neal, aged 40, added: “Our win today with a car that
has barely done a day’s testing is a bigger shot in
the arm than winning the title. The relief when I crossed
the line inside the car was something else and to come away
second in the championship is something nobody in the team
expected. It’s testament to all the early mornings and
late hours everyone has worked to get this car ready in time
and it’s still only in its early stages of development…”
In the Manufacturers’ title race, Vauxhall, armed with
its new Vectra, holds a 15-point advantage over reigning champion
SEAT, although it is the latter’s SEAT Sport UK squad
that leads the Teams’ championship outright. Team RAC
is the Independents Teams’ leader.
BTCC points after Brands Hatch, rds1, 2 & 3 (provisional):
Drivers:
1. Jason PLATO, 41 points
2. Matt NEAL, 32
3. Colin TURKINGTON, 25
4. Tom CHILTON, 19
5. Fabrizio GIOVANARDI, 17
6. Adam JONES, 15
7. Mat JACKSON, 14
8. Mike JORDAN & Tom ONSLOW-COLE, 11
10. Darren TURNER, 9
Manufacturers:
1. Vauxhall, 67 points
2. SEAT, 52
Teams:
1. SEAT Sport UK, 52 points
2. VX Racing, 35
3. Team RAC & Team Halfords, 34
5. Team Air Cool, 14
6. Jacksons MSport, 13
For full championship points, visit the official BTCC website
www.btcc.net.
Race reports…
Round 1, 27 laps (32.94 miles)
Weather/Track: Sunny/Dry
PLATO LEADS FROM START TO FINISH
Plato, lining up second on the grid, made a better start than
Turkington, in pole position, and took the lead into the first
corner. From there he was never headed and also went on to
set the race’s fastest lap.
Turkington took second, followed by Jackson, a sensational
third on his BTCC debut in his family’s Jacksons MSport
BMW 320si. But his podium celebrations were short-lived –
the 25-year-old was later excluded for failing to obey a black
and orange flag instructing him to make a pit stop to have
his smoking car investigated.
Thus, Neal, who had risen from ninth to fourth, was elevated
to third. Fourth was Mike Jordan, in his Eurotech/John Guest-Speedfit
Honda Integra, and fifth on his BTCC debut Team RAC’s
impressive 19-year-old rookie Onslow-Cole.
After several skirmishes, Tom Chilton was Vauxhall’s
highest-finisher in sixth. His Italian team-mate Fabrizio
Giovanardi was out of the points in 11th – he started
fourth, but a clash with SEAT’s Darren Turner at the
opening bend cost him dear. Turner, who’d started third,
later retired with suspension damage to his Leon after more
contact.
The BTCC’s first diesel car, Rick Kerry’s unique
Team AFM BMW 120D, finished 18th on its debut, but there were
problems for the bio-ethanol-fuelled MG ZSs of Kartworld team-mates
Jason Hughes and Fiona Leggate who both crashed out on lap
one. Leggate’s incident caused the first of the two
safety car periods.
Result:
1. Jason Plato (GBR), SEAT Sport UK/SEAT Leon, 24m57.801s
2. Colin Turkington (GBR), Team RAC/BMW 320si, +1.237s
3. Matt Neal (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Civic, +3.956s
FASTEST LAP: Plato, 49.706s (86.77mph)
Round 2, 24 laps (29.28 miles)
Weather/Track: Sunny/Dry
PLATO DOUBLES UP IN ROUND 2
From pole position, Plato led all the way, crossing the line
almost three seconds clear of Turkington who lost time early
on defending his second position from a queue of cars. Chilton
came through to take third while Turner, having started 23rd
after his earlier retirement, took fourth thanks to an excellent
comeback drive that netted him the fastest race lap.
Neal was fifth and, sixth, to follow-up a fine seventh in
round 1, another of the BTCC’s rising young stars, 26-year-old
Adam Jones in his Team Air Cool SEAT Toledo. Giovanardi took
seventh – and with the top seven to be reversed for
round 3’s starting grid, this became pole position for
the day’s third race.
Like Turner, Jackson also put in a stunning drive to finish
eighth after starting from last in the pit lane following
his earlier exclusion. BTCC debutant Matt Allison, in Motorbase
Performance’s SEAT Toledo, and Chris Stockton, in the
BTC Racing team’s Lexus IS200, completed the top ten
to score valuable points.
In trouble were Neal’s team-mate Gordon Shedden and
Jordan – both their cars becoming damaged as the queue
of cars behind Turkington tripped over itself – and
Onslow-Cole, finishing 15th after a clash with Turner sent
him into a wild spin.
Result:
1. Jason Plato (GBR), SEAT Sport UK/SEAT Leon, 20m27.095s
2. Colin Turkington (GBR), Team RAC/BMW 320si, +2.659s
3. Tom Chilton (GBR), VX Racing/Vauxhall Vectra, + 4.141s
FASTEST LAP: Turner, 50.224s (85.90mph)
Round 3, 27 laps (32.94 miles)
Weather/Track: Sunny/Dry
‘SHOCK’ WIN FOR NEAL & CIVIC
Neal took victory thanks to a terrific start that saw him
shoot through from third on the grid to lead into the first
corner. From there he held on to take what many will deem
a shock win in a car so short on track time prior to the weekend.
Second, having started from pole, and giving Vauxhall’s
new Vectra its best result in its debut meeting, was Giovanardi,
but he came under intense pressure from Jackson, making up
for his round 1 exclusion with a great charge from eighth
to finish right behind in third. Jackson also set the race’s
fastest lap.
Turner and Plato, the latter’s car – just as
in round 2 – carrying maximum success ballast, crossed
the line in fourth and fifth. But Turner would be later excluded
by officials for his part in an incident that led to Turkington
spinning out of the race. Thus, Plato was elevated to fourth
and Jones to an even better fifth. Jones had actually run
as high as second early on before he drifted wide and lost
places.
Onslow-Cole and Jordan put in strong drives to finish sixth
and eighth after starting 15th and 23rd respectively. Also
of note, Team Allaboutproperty.com’s Martyn Bell took
12th to cap a promising weekend in his BMW 318i and Hughes
and Leggate, neither having finished rounds 1 or 2, at least
took some cheer with 13th and 15th places.
Result:
1. Matt Neal (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Civic, 23m48.564s
2. Fabrizio Giovanardi (ITA), VX Racing/Vauxhall Vectra, +1.148s
3. Mat Jackson (GBR), Jackson MSport/BMW 320si, +1.236s
FASTEST LAP: Jackson, 49.789s (86.73mph)
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