Andrew Jordan took a lights-to-flag victory in the third Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race at Knockhill, producing a flawless drive ahead of Honda Yuasa Racing's Matt Neal and eBay Motors’ Rob Collard. His team-mate Colin Turkington finished fourth on the road but was later excluded for a technical infringement.
It was Collard who tucked in behind Jordan off the line after he got by Neal, but the three-time champion fought back in his Honda Civic to make a stellar repass late on after the pair had run side-by-side from Clark's all the way down to the final hairpin.
Behind that battle was local hero Gordon Shedden for much of the race after he made his way by the Audi A4 of Rob Austin in the early stages. With a solid points haul looking certain the Scotsman faced late heartache when his car caught fire with what looked to be an engine failure on lap 17.
Austin couldn’t keep the charging Turkington behind as the eBay Motors BMW nipped by before chasing down the sister car of Collard. The Hampshire driver hung on, however, to score his first podium of the 2013 season and when news of Turkington's exclusion filtered through, it was Austin who had claimed fourth in the final classification.
Jason Plato took fifth for MG KX Momentum Racing whilst Daniel Welch claimed sixth - his best result of the 2013 BTCC season so far. It was another impressive performance for Welch who had shown solid top ten pace throughout the weekend.
Mat Jackson and Nick Foster finished seventh and eighth respectively ahead of the charging Toyota Avensis of Adam Morgan. The Ciceley Racing driver stormed from the back of the grid to make a number of eye catching passes before claiming ninth at the finish. The Audi A4 of Will Bratt rounded out the top ten.
While the racing nearer the top order was relatively routine there was drama behind, with two incidents in particular involving Airwaves Racing’s Aron Smith. The Irishman first had contact with the VW Passat of Warren Scott, which brought out a mid-race safety car period when Scott's car left stranded on the side of the circuit, and he was later embroiled in a clash with Mike Bushell following the restart. The Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze touched twice, which sent Smith into the barrier and out of the race while Bushell limped back to the pits and into retirement.
The Toyota Avensis of Frank Wrathall was another who retired in the gravel trap, whilst Addison Lee Motorbase driver Liam Griffin faced late heartbreak in the Jack Sears Trophy. With Griffin seemingly heading towards a class hat-trick at Knockhill, a bump from behind from debutant Kieran Gallagher in the NGTC Vauxhall Insignia put him out of the race – handing the JST win to trophy leader Lea Wood who has now scored ten class wins this season.
After a great day’s racing at Knockhill and with just three events remaining it is Matt Neal who holds a slender standings advantage over race three winner Jordan. Although the lead duo are separated by just six points, both Gordon Shedden and Colin Turkington also remain in close contention.
2013 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Knockhill – Race Three
1 Andrew Jordan (Pirtek Racing) 26 Laps2 Matt Neal (Honda Yuasa Racing) +3.9623 Robert Collard (eBay Motors) +4.4404 Rob Austin (WIX Racing) +9.2065 Jason Plato (MG KX Momentum Racing) +12.7826 Daniel Welch (Welch Motorsport with Sopp + Sopp) +15.8997 Mat Jackson (Airwaves Racing) +16.4508 Nick Foster (eBay Motors) +16.6469 Adam Morgan (Ciceley Racing) +16.96710 Will Bratt (Rob Austin Racing) +27.16211 Ollie Jackson (Speedworks Motorsport) +27.96912 Lea Wood (Wheel Heaven/Houseman Racing) +1 Lap13 Kieran Gallagher (RCIB Insurance Racing) +1 Lap14 David Nye (Welch Motorsport with Sopp + Sopp) +1 Lap15 Aron Smith (Airwaves Racing) +1 Lap
Not Classified- Paul O'Neill (RCIB Insurance Racing) +7 Laps- Liam Griffin (Addison Lee Motorbase) +8 Laps- Gordon Shedden (Honda Yuasa Racing) +10 Laps- Tom Onslow-Cole (PPCGB/Kraftwerk Racing) +14 Laps- Mike Bushell (Team Club 44) +14 Laps- Dave Newsham (Speedworks Motorsport) +14 Laps- Warren Scott (Team BMR Restart) +24 Laps- Frank Wrathall (Dynojet) +25 LapsDQ Colin Turkington (eBay Motors) - Technical Infringement -
