Yvan Muller, Jason Plato and Colin Turkington were the winners of yesterday's (Sunday) three action-packed Green Flag MSA British Touring Car rounds at Irelands Mondello Park. Northern Irish driver Turkington becomes the eighth different race winner from the seasons 15 rounds so far, but it is Muller who leaves the County Kildare circuit at the half-way stage of the season with a slender fourpoint lead in the championship over Vauxhall team-mate James Thompson.
Reigning champion Muller won the first race from pole position, but was under massive pressure throughout from Anthony Reid, in WSRs MG ZS. Mullers performance was all the more impressive considering he had qualified and raced with maximum success ballast following his win in the previous round at Oulton Park. Meanwhile, Reids second place gave him victory in the HarrierZeuros Independents Trophy which he already leads.
Reids team-mate Turkington followed in third after fending off Matt Neals Computeach Racing with Halfords Honda Civic. Fifth and sixth were Vauxhall drivers Thompson and Luke Hines, with Team Hondas Tom Chilton in seventh.
They each gained places at the expense of SEAT Sport UK driver Plato who with the BTCCs top ten reversed grid rule in mind tactically dropped back to ninth behind team-mate Robert Huff to ensure himself of a front row starting grid position for the second race. VX Racing Junior Techspeeds Michael Bentwood took tenth to guarantee pole position in his Vauxhall Astra.
Bentwoods big chance of a maiden victory, however, ended on the first lap when he was sent into a spin by Huff. Plato and Huff went on to cross the line first and second in their Toledos, much to the delight of a celebrating SEAT team on the pit wall. Huff, though, was later excluded from the results for his incident with Bentwood.
This promoted Vauxhall trio Thompson, Hines and Muller to second, third and fourth and Reid to fifth, again as the highest-placed Independents Trophy driver, the four drivers covered by little over a second. The result meant Thompson took four points out of Muller to reduce the gap between them to seven heading into the days final race.
Turkington once more followed home Reid, this time in sixth, ahead of an inspired James Kaye, up from the back of the grid in Synchro Motorsports Honda Civic. Kaye was the Japanese manufacturers top finisher after passing Chilton in the official teams car.
Chilton had held third for much of the race, stubbornly refusing to allow a train of cars past him with some excellent defensive driving. This caused the drivers behind to trip up over one another but, on the 11th of the 14 laps, Thompson hussled his way past and this opened the path for the rest to file through.
Taking tenth, to score a point on his debut BTCC weekend and in front of his home crowd, was Irelands Gavin Smith in Team Sureterms Vauxhall Astra.
Former champion Platos win ensured he started the days third race from pole position and for much of the encounter looked to be on course for his second victory of the day. By lap nine he had opened out a substantial lead over the pack behind as Thompson sought to hold on to second position. But Platos chances of winning were effectively ended by the safety car which was sent on to the track to bunch up the field so marshals could recover Neals crashed Honda. This also enabled a fed-up Reid to catch up to the field the WSR driver had had to dive into the pit lane for repairs after one of his MGs doors fell off following an earlier brush with Neal.
Also out by this stage in a race of real attrition were Bentwood, Kaye and Smith, Sureterms other debutant Stefan Hodgetts and defending Independents Trophy champion Rob Collard. Huff, having moved up to eighth after his earlier exclusion put him to the back of the grid, would also retire soon after the re-start.
When the race got back under way, it was Turkington who was the man on the move and within a couple of corners he attacked Plato under braking. Their cars touched and Turkington barged his way into the lead, followed by Muller. Plato, now down to third, tried to re-pass Muller just a couple of corners later but they also controversially clashed and ran off the track.
This left Turkington with a clear lead and he came home to win from Hines by four seconds. The result truly laid to rest Turkingtons Mondello ghost he had failed to start the previous four BTCC races at the circuit through food poisoning and mechanical problems.
Its just unbelievable, said Turkington. Words cannot describe what this means, especially to have done it at Mondello and in front of all my home support and particularly considering what happened in the last two years. It is such a great feeling. Im off out in Dublin tonight if anybody wants to come along!
In third, behind second-placed Hines who enjoyed his strongest weekend in terms of form this season came Computeach Racing with Halfords Dan Eaves, who was under constant attack in the closing stages from Thompson and a rapidly-closing Chilton. Eaves third place gave him his second Independents Trophy win of the season.
Plato retired as a result of his collision with Muller, but the Frenchman was able to continue. His Astras handling had been damaged in the contact, but he just managed to keep back an overjoyed Jason Hughes, a career-best seventh in the tiny Kartworld Racing teams MG ZS.
Carl Breeze, in Sureterms Alfa Romeo, finished eighth, just ahead of the recovering Reid. Tenth was Team Petronas Syntium Protons South African driver Shaun Watson-Smith, who again proved extremely rapid in the teams Impian during the course of the weekend.
The BTCC now takes a six-week break before returning to action for rounds 16, 17 and 18 at the Croft circuit in North Yorkshire on 24-25 July.
While Muller and Thompson enjoy a clear lead in their fight for the title, Reid has moved past Neal for third in the championship. Turkingtons big points haul from the weekend has thrust him past Neal into second behind Reid as WSR enjoys a lock-out at the top of the HarrierZeuros Independents Trophy. Vauxhall and its competition brand VX Racing have both extended their leads in the Manufacturers and Teams championships.
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