Jason Plato has won today’s second Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race at Oulton Park after Honda team-mates Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden controversially took each other off the track at the very last corner while disputing the lead.

Shedden, his Civic carrying maximum success ballast, had led the race all the way. But a late safety car period bunched up the field and allowed Neal, up to second from eighth, to make a bid for first place.

Entering the race’s final corner, Lodge, Neal moved to the inside of Shedden but their cars made contact and, on a damp track, both slithered straight on into a gravel trap. Shedden was able to keep going to finish sixth while Neal was left stuck in the gravel.

The incident allowed the disbelieving Plato to drive past the pair of them to win after one of the most extraordinary and outrageous finishes to a BTCC race.

There was further drama at the last corner behind, as Robert Collard’s WSR BMW bullied its way past James Nash’s 888 Racing with Collins Contractors Vauxhall Vectra to grab second place on the sprint to the line – the pair separated by just 0.091s at the flag.

Neal, who now leads Nash by just a single point at the top of the standings entering this afternoon’s third race, said: “At the time going for it seemed the right thing to do but in hindsight it was a dumb move on my part.

“I am mortified for the team and have actually told Gordon if he wants to take me round the back of the truck and take a swipe at me he’s welcome – I deserve it.”

Shedden added: "It is what it is. There's no point jumping up and down and doing cartwheels about it. At least I got over the line in sixth which puts me fourth on the grid for race three with no ballast in my car. If anyting it's put even more fire in my belly to win."

Top Ten Race 2

1 Jason Plato2 Robert Collard3 James Nash4 Andrew Jordan5 Alex MacDowall6 ordon Shedden7 Paul O'Neill8 Nick Foster9 Mat Jackson10 Tom Chilton

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