In highly dramatic circumstances, Mat Jackson has won the third of yesterday’s three HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship races at the Knockhill circuit in Scotland.
Warwickshire driver Jackson took his chance when early leaders James Thompson (Dynamics Honda Civic) and Matt Neal (VX Racing Vauxhall Vectra) tangled ahead of him. Once in front he drew clear for his second win of the season.
Jackson said: “I came here hating Knockhill – I’ve never done well here. But today I love it. Third, second and then first in the three races doesn’t get much better.”
His Racing Silverline team-mate Jason Plato finished the race in second after starting from last on the grid with what will stand as one of the most exciting drives in the BTCC’s 50-year history. Plato had climbed from 17th to eighth by lap eleven but it wasn’t until lap16 that he made another place when he overtook Vauxhall’s Andrew Jordan for seventh. That left him just 11 laps in which to do the rest.
It was a lap later, though, that it all changed around for the lead. Neal appeared to have grabbed it from Thompson into Clarke Curve, but on the exit their cars rubbed against one another and both lost momentum. Jackson, following in his Racing Silverline Chevrolet, was through in a flash into a lead he would never surrender.
Thompson forced his way back past Neal for second while, behind both, Giovanardi lunged past a boxed-in Turkington into the hairpin for fourth. Another shuffle-round then occurred as Plato, rapidly closing in on the leaders as they tripped over one another, suddenly emerged ahead of Turkington in fifth. Together, Giovanardi and Neal, in a near-repeat of his earlier move, also passed Thompson. And Thompson then almost immediately fell victim to the unstoppable Plato over the start-finish line.
It took Plato just another lap to pass Giovanardi, on the inside into Duffus Dip and now came his foe of old, Neal in second. This took a little longer but eventually the Chevrolet driver found a gap exiting the hairpin and was through into the second place he held to the finish.
Plato, nearing the 300th race of his BTCC career, said: “I just had absolutely nothing to lose from back there and, apart from going absolutely suicidal, I just went for every gap possible. It’s the sort of circuit where strange things happen. Yeah, I’m very happy – it’s one of my drives.”
Behind, Turkington had also cleared Thompson exiting the hairpin and then, briefly, nosed ahead of Giovanardi before the man from Modena re-passed him in what could prove to be a decisive moment in the title outcome… Indeed, it enabled him to go on and pinch third at the death as, exiting the hairpin for the final time, he also overtook team-mate Neal for the final podium spot to gain two extra points over Turkington.
Thompson clung on ahead of the fast-closing Jordan for sixth in his final race in the BTCC this season before he hands over to ex-F1 star Johnny Herbert for the final three rounds. Tom Chilton caused enormous cheers from the Team Aon crew with eighth place – the best yet for its still-developing Ford Focus. But it was frantic stuff as Paul O’Neill (sunshine.co.uk Honda Integra) and Stephen Jelley (Team RAC BMW) chased him all the way to the line in ninth and tenth. Harry Vaulkard (bamboo Chevrolet), David Pinkney (Dynamics Honda), Martin Johnson (Boulevard Vauxhall Astra) and John George (JAG/TH Motorsport Honda Integra) completed the runners.
The race was a disaster for the home Scottish drivers. Gordon Shedden crashed out early at Duffus Dip in his Cartridge World SEAT Leon before Jonathan Adam stopped in the pit lane after his Airwaves BMW’s fire extinguisher had gone off in his face during a safety car period. Compounding the Airwaves crew’s misery, he was joined in retirement just two laps later by Robert Collard whose car suffered a gearbox problem.
