■Stunning drives at Donington after first race drama■Four in contention as season nears climax

In a dramatic meeting at the newly-reopened Donington Circuit, Silverline Chevrolet driver Jason Plato recovered from a drama-packed first race to extend his points lead in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

The championship favourite’s Chevrolet Cruze was involved in a massive crash in the first of the day’s three races after tangling with Honda’s Matt Neal going into Donington’s new chicane. Neal collided with a foam barrier, and smashed into the side of Plato’s car, which took a further shunt from Pirtek Racing’s Andrew Jordan – who had nowhere to go but into the rear door.

In the same race, youngster Alex MacDowall capitalised on Jason’s misfortune, bringing his car home fourth from 10th on the grid to salvage some points for the Silverline Chevrolet team.

But in a day that could have ended in disaster, fan’s favourite Plato drove a heroic race in the second of the day’s encounters. Starting from 18th on the grid, fortune favoured the Chevrolet driver from the start, when championship rival Matt Neal jumped the start and was given a drive-through penalty.

By the end of Lap Two, Plato was already up to ninth, and by Lap Four had passed Lea Wood’s Honda to take eight position. But it was on lap seven that the Oxford-based racer pulled off the move of the race, claiming three positions as he passed Andrew Jordan, Rob Collard and Stephen Kane through the new Chicane.

Plato then cleanly passed Tom Chilton’s Ford through the Craner Curves on Lap 10 and had a clear run on Mat Jackson’s BMW, which he outbraked on Lap 11 to take third overall.

“I had some damage limitation to do,” said Plato after the race. “And in order to do it I knew I had to give it my absolute best shot – I think we could have pushed harder and challenged for a top two position, but after talking to the team on the radio we decided not to, as that would have increased our ballast going into the third race – and with Shedden and Onslow-Cole ahead it meant they would be behind me on the grid for race three.”

Plato’s strategy paid off. Starting from seventh in Race 3 thanks to the BTCC’s reverse grid system, the Chevrolet driver was again on maximum attack, passing Tom Chilton’s Ford on the first straight. On the fourth lap, Plato squeezed past Stephen Kane’s BMW to take fifth before setting a fastest lap – and scoring a crucial extra point – on the sixth lap.

A mistake from Mat Jackson allowed Plato to claim fourth on the 10th lap of the race – and with Shedden and Onslow-Cole struggling in the middle ranking the position would have been enough for Plato to maintain a strong championship lead going into the final meeting of the season. But with more points on the board potentially being the difference between winning the championship or coming runner-up, Plato entered a thrilling battle with Andrew Jordan to bid for third. After lunging down the inside of Jordan, Plato found himself off-line through the Craner Curves, allowing Stephen Kane’s BMW to mount an assault on third place – but Plato’s determination paid off to take his second podium of the day.

“It was hard work out there today,” he said after the final race. “And it was only thanks to the dedication of the team that we were able to return to the track after the first race – the car was pretty mangled. We came away with a far better set of results than we could have hoped for after the start of the day, which goes to show that when the chips are down, then if you really dig deep you can get a result. It’s all to play for as we head to Brands Hatch!”

Plato goes into the final meeting of the 2010 BTCC season with a 17-point lead over nearest championship rival Matt Neal. But mathematically, there are still four drivers who can win the championship – although Plato is favourite, it’s going to be a thrilling climax to the season when it goes to Brands Hatch, Kent, on Sunday October 10th.

BTCC Drivers Championship points standings after Round 27

Jason Plato, Silverline Chevrolet, 224Matt Neal, Honda, 207Gordon Shedden, Honda, 203Tom Onslow-Cole, Ford, 200Tom Chilton, Ford, 171Stephen Kane, BMW, 152

Click here for the Official Alex Macdowall web site - designed and built by Racecar