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 Jason and Giovanardi started from the front row of the grid and the two BTCC contenders were joined by Neal in a three way battle for the lead – and for lap after lap Jason had to try and attack and defend at the same time.

Plato keeps BTCC lead as Turner wins twice in Scotland

Jason Plato has extended his lead in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship after beating arch rival Fabrizio Giovanardi in two out of three races at Scotland’s National Motorsport Centre at Knockhill on Sunday .

With just the final race meeting at Thruxton (October 13-14) remaining, the SEAT Sport UK driver is 9 points ahead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship table.

Darren Turner enjoyed his best BTCC race weekend ever, qualifying on pole and winning the opening two races with a pair of lights to flag runs. In front of a huge crowd, Darren then finished 7th in the third and final race to complete a fantastic day. He also moves up to 6th in the Drivers’ standings.

SEAT out-scored Vauxhall in all three races at Knockhill, scoring 77 points out of a possible 81 to close the gap at the top of the Manufacturers’ standings to just 3 points, while SEAT Sport UK is 46 points clear in the BTCC Teams’ Championship.

As Championship leader, Jason started Race 1 with 45kgs of success ballast in his SEAT Leon and after a great start from 4th on the grid finished 3rd (with Giovanardi classified 6th). He held 3rd for much of Race 2, but was struggling for pace on the long uphill drag out of the Real Radio Hairpin and up over the start/finish line and did extremely well to finish 5th (with Giovanardi in 3rd).

An equally determined drive in the third and final race saw Jason finish 3rd – to score his 102nd podium of his 10 year BTCC career. Giovanardi was 5th.

Early morning rain and low cloud had cleared when the first of three BTCC races began at Knockhill.  It was dry enough for slick tyres, but conditions were slippery and cold – with an air temperature of just 14°C at the picturesque Dunfermline venue.  

Darren Turner made a great start to lead from start to finish – a feat he repeated in Race 2, scoring a pair of brilliant back-to-back BTCC race victories in similar conditions.

The sunshine came out for the third and final race of the day (although it was still only 16°C), and with the randomly selected reverse grid, Darren started 8th and with the maximum 45kgs of success ballast on his SEAT Leon. He never put a foot wrong over the 24 lap encounter and finished 7th, ensuring he and Jason scored Championship points in all three races.

 ROUND 25

Darren Turner made a fantastic start to lead from pole into the first corner, SEAT Curves, as the top five circulated the opening lap in grid order. As Colin Turkington (BMW) and Gordon Shedden (Honda Civic) battled for 2nd,

Darren was able to pull away and open up a two second lead after three laps.  When Shedden overtook Turkington on lap four, the local driver began to close on the leader. At the end of lap 18, Shedden dived down the inside of Turner at the Real Radio Hairpin, but he ran into the side of the SEAT Leon and then turned into the pit lane with front left suspension damage.  

This left Turner with a 4.5 second lead, which he used to cruise to his second BTCC victory of the season.

With Turner out in front and Turkington in a lonely 2nd, the exciting part of the race was a five car battle for 3rd. Having been 4th in the early stages, Jason Plato slipped down to 6th as the 45kgs of success ballast became a hefty penalty. Try as he might at the Hairpin, he didn’t have the uphill speed along the start/finish straight to make several overtaking manoeuvres on Tom Onslow-Cole (BMW 320si) stick.

The final podium place was decided when Onslow-Cole tried to overtake Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra) on the inside of Carlube corner.  The two clashed, with Giovanardi run into the gravel and regain the track in 7th, while Jason overtook him and Onslow-Cole, who had lost momentum, to move up to 3rd. In an exciting last lap, Jason held on brilliantly to take 3rd. Onslow-Cole was later excluded from 4th because of his involvement in the incident.

Results

1. Darren Turner (SEAT Leon)…21:45.478 2. Colin Turkington (BMW 320si)…21:47.132 3. Jason Plato (SEAT Leon)…22:01.113 4. Adam Jones (SEAT Toledo)…22:02.381 5. Mike Jordan (Honda Integra)...22:02.697 6. Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra)…22:02.741

ROUND 26

It was a carbon copy of the previous race for Darren Turner, who made another brilliant start from pole and led all the way to score his third BTCC win of the season – and his second win of the day – in his SEAT Leon. 

He led Turkington all the way to the chequered flag, even with 45kgs of success ballast, courtesy of his race one win.

Jason Plato was once again involved in a close battle for 3rd, which this time involved six cars. The SEAT Leon driver held 3rd for the first 10 laps, but was slower than the cars around him going up the hill out of Real Radio Hairpin. Giovanardi finally overtook Plato at SEAT Curves on lap 11, and on the same lap Shedden went up the inside of Jason at the Hairpin. Plato continued to follow Shedden and Giovanardi closely, whilst keeping a hard-charging Matt Neal (Honda Civic) behind him, eventually crossing the line in 5th.

Results

1. Darren Turner (SEAT Leon)…21:36.562 2. Colin Turkington (BMW 320si)…21:37.098 3. Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra)…21:44.767 4. Gordon Shedden (Honda Civic)…21:45.123 5. Jason Plato (SEAT Leon)…21:45.503 6. Matt Neal (Honda Civic)…21:45.832

ROUND 27

With the top eight from the previous race randomly selected to start the third and final race at Knockhill in reverse order, Jason started from 4th and Darren from 8th.

As both SEAT Leons started from the steepest part of the grid, it was no surprise to see both lose a place at the start. Jason Plato held 5th, before he overtook Adam Jones (SEAT Toledo) and then followed Shedden past Mike Jordan (Honda Integra) on the inside of Scotsman corner on lap six to move up to 3rd.  

Shedden overtook team-mate Matt Neal on lap 16 to take a home win, and Jason followed the two orange Hondas home in 3rd place. Having been 9th at the end of the opening lap, Darren raced well with maximum success ballast to complete a fantastic day in 7th.

Results

1. Gordon Shedden (Honda Civic)…21:48.929 2. Matt Neal (Honda Civic)…21:49.423 3. Jason Plato (SEAT Leon)…21:50.075 4. Mike Jordan (Honda Integra)…21:50.858 5. Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra)…21:51.407 6. Colin Turkington (BMW 320si)…21:52.173 7. Darren Turner (SEAT Leon)…21:53.641

DRIVER QUOTES

DRIVER QUOTES

 Jason Plato (3rd/5th/3rd): “I’m really pleased from a team point of view, because we’ve had a great weekend. Darren’s two race wins, my two podiums and other strong finishes; we’ve clawed the gap in the Manufacturers’ Championship back to three points, we’ve nearly got an unassailable lead in the Teams’ Championship and I’ve increased the lead in the Drivers’ standings to nine points.

I’m a little down if I’m honest, because I expected more at Knockhill and we should have had even better results. I think we had the pace and we should be seventeen or eighteen points up the road, not just nine ahead of Giovanardi. We’re too slow on the bits that require no skill, and that’s down the straights.

Tomorrow, today will be gone and we’ll look forward and do the absolute best we can at the final meeting at Thruxton – and if it’s good enough on the day, we’ll win and if it’s not we won’t. I pleased for the Championship that it’s gone down to the wire other way – I just I wish I had a bit more in hand. You can never predict what will happen at the last race of the year though.”

Darren Turner (1st/1st/7th): “It’s been a great weekend. We qualified well and we knew we had a good race pace and for once I had two very good starts from pole and that’s what really helped us win the first two races.

It’s very hard to overtake at Knockhill so the tactic was to lead off the line and control the race from the front, which we did in the first two races. I was pleased to win the first race, but I was more pleased with the second race win because I achieved that with ballast in the car and there were lighter cars behind me.

It’s been a great weekend for the team, it’s been great for me personally and it was important for Jason that he left Knockhill with a points lead in the Drivers’ Championship – so all in all, we can leave Knockhill and prepare for the final race meeting in a very positive frame of mind.” The final BTCC race weekend of the season (Rounds 28, 29 and 30) takes place at Thruxton in Hampshire on October 13-14.

Plato keeps BTCC lead after Brands great escapes

Jason Plato avoided an 11 car pile up, a high-speed spin across the grass and another collision directly in front of him during the three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at Brands Hatch today to score points in all races and retain his lead in the Drivers’ standings.

A remarkable performance saw the SEAT Sport UK driver finish 2nd, 2nd and 5th, each time directly behind Championship rival Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall).  It was an extremely hard-fought set of results, in which Jason had to drive at his most dynamic to overcome all the obstacles that were put in front of him.

Darren Turner challenged for the lead in the opening race and eventually finished 3rd behind his team-mate, but didn’t have any luck in the remaining races – having been wiped out in both, through no fault of his own.

Although SEAT Sport UK didn’t win a BTCC race at Brands Hatch for the first time June 2005, the good points score sees SEAT Sport UK maintain its lead in the Teams’ Championship and maintains SEAT’s strong challenge in the Manufacturers’ table.

ROUND 22

Jason Plato made a fantastic start from the second row of the grid to move into 2nd place behind pole-sitter Colin Turkington (BMW), while Darren tucked in behind in 3rd. Mat Jackson (BMW) in 4th ran onto the outside wet kerb at the bottom of Paddock Hill Bend, spun, and was hit by Matt Neal (Honda Civic).

As most of the 23 car field was racing towards the scene of the incident, many unsighted by spray, more cars became involved and it soon developed into an 11 car pile-up. The race was red flagged and after a 35 minute delay, 15 cars lined up on the grid for the restart.

As the lights went out, Jason made a bad start and dropped from 3rd to 5th, while Darren chased Turkington and set the fastest lap of the race on lap two as he closed in on the leader.  They crossed the start/finish line side-by-side starting lap six and Darren tried to go around the outside of Turkington through Paddock, but it was too slippery and he ran into the gravel and dropped from 2nd to 6th.

Conditions remained incredibly slippery, especially at Paddock, and on lap nine Tom Chilton (Vauxhall) lost 3rd place with a big slide there and on the next lap Turkington spun out of the lead at the same corner.

This left Giovanardi with a big lead, followed by Jason and Darren – with the Italian driver eventually winning by 3.119 seconds.

Results 1. Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra)…20:00.886 2. Jason Plato (SEAT Leon)…20:04.005 3. Darren Turner (SEAT Leon)…20:04.994 4. Colin Turkington (BMW 320si)…20:05.413 5. Tom Onslow-Cole (BMW 320si)…20:06.290 6. Tom Chilton (Vauxhall Vectra)…20:08.165

ROUND 23

Darren Turner’s race lasted 10 seconds after he was hit by the BMWs of Tom Onslow-Cole and Turkington and the two orange cars kept pushing Darren’s SEAT Leon until it hit the barrier on the inside of the track approaching Paddock Hill Bend – where it came to a halt with broken front and  rear suspension.  “It was like sitting in a log fume,” said Darren, with typical good humour.  “I wasn’t touching anything with my arms and legs, but I was pushed forward knowing something nasty was about to happen!”

Plato drove a truly amazing second BTCC race at Brands Hatch. On a damp track, he gambled on slick tyres all round (unlike Turner, who had slicks on the front and wets on the rear) and made a good start from 2nd on the grid – but coming around Surtees on the opening lap he and Chilton touched.  

Both “went off like a pair of ice skaters” – Chilton hitting the barrier head on and Jason spinning and rejoining the track in 13th place. With his title rival Giovanardi in the lead, it looked dire for Jason – but he had other ideas and began an astonishing fight back through the field.  

After some brilliant overtaking maneuvres, Plato moved into 3rd place with a classic maneuvre on Gordon Shedden (Honda Civic), in which he got up the inside at Clark Curve at the end of lap 18 and completed the overtake at Paddock Hill Bend. Jason then closed in on Adam Jones (SEAT Toledo), overtaking the Team Air Cool driver at Clearways with two laps remaining. He eventually finished in 2nd place, 9.271 seconds behind Giovanardi.

Results 1. Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra)…26:08.333 2. Jason Plato (SEAT Leon)…26:17.604 3. Gordon Shedden (Honda Civic)…26:21.652 4. Mat Jackson (BMW 320si)…26:21.801 5. Mike Jordan (Honda Integra)...26:23.007 6. Adam Jones (SEAT Toledo)…26:37.518 DNF. Darren Turner (SEAT Leon)

ROUND 24

With the top six from the previous race randomly selected to start the third and final race at Brands Hatch in reverse order, Plato started from 4th and Turner from 16th.

In the first full dry race of the day, Jason made a great start, but was forced wide at the opening corner by Shedden and completed the first of 27 laps in 6th. Yet again, Chilton hit Jason at Surtees on lap six, which forced Jason briefly down to 9th.  

Jason, now followed by Darren, who had overtaken four cars after a brilliant start, settled into a frustrating mid-field battle around the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, which is notoriously difficult to overtake on and relatively easy to defend.

On the penultimate lap, Onslow-Cole and Jones collided at Graham Hill Bend, with Jones mounting the car in front.   As Gavin Smith (SEAT Leon) took avoiding action on the grass, Jason nipped through to move from 8th to 5th, overtaking Onslow-Cole, Jones and Smith in one easy move.  Darren was less fortunate, as the Toledo bounced back to earth and turned into the front of his Leon.  Darren carried on to be classified 15th and score Manufacturer points.

Results 1. Colin Turkington (BMW 320si)…23:54.988 2. Gordon Shedden (Honda Civic)…23:02.478 3. Mat Jackson (BMW 320si)…24:03.131 4. Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra)…24:03.701 5. Jason Plato (SEAT Leon)…24:11.097 6. Tom Onslow-Cole (BMW 320si)…24:12.917 15. Darren Turner (SEAT Leon)… + 2 laps  

DRIVER QUOTES

Jason Plato (2nd/2nd/5th): “It’s been a pretty hard day in the office! As a team, I don’t think we did anything wrong, but sometimes the balls run against you. I made a good start and did everything I needed to do in race one and then the red flags came out.  I made a mistake at the restart and didn’t get off the line well and after that I had a good run through to second. I made another good start in race two, better than Fabrizio who started from pole, but not good enough to have a go around the outside of him at Paddock Hill Bend, so I thought I’d sit behind him for a bit.  I made a mistake at Graham Hill Bend, I was on slicks on a wet track, and Chilton got a run on me down the back straight. I tried to give him a bit of space at Surtees, but bounced off the kerb; we touched and we both went off.  After that, I had another good run back to second. In the last race I had another good start, but found myself in no-mans land where I couldn’t go in low at Paddock and got pushed out wide and onto the dirty stuff and lost some places. I made a clean move on Chilton later in the race and he just wiped me out; he just tried to hook me off. But that happens sometimes. It should have been a great weekend, but it certainly wasn’t a bad weekend.  I’m still leading the Drivers’ Championship, and we’ve maintained our strong challenge in the Manufacturers’ and Teams’ standings as well.”

Darren Turner (3rd/DNF/15th): “I was happy with qualifying and I was happy with the opening race. I finished third, I had a challenge for the lead which didn’t work, dropped to sixth and came back, so I was quite pleased with that.  I didn’t really have a second race, because I was pushed into the wall before I got to the first corner.  The lads did a great job to fix the car and in the final race I got wiped out again through no fault of my own.  I made a good start, but didn’t have the ultimate race pace I was hoping for, and in the middle of the pack we just all bunched up. Tom Onslow-Cole and Adam Jones came together at the bottom of Graham Hill Bend and I overtook Gavin Smith on the inside by following Jason through. Unluckily, Adam bounced back right in front of me and there wasn’t anything I could do to miss him.  It was a reasonably large impact, but the team told me to get the car across the line to score Manufacturer points, so that’s what I did.”

Jason Plato continues to lead the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship after a bruising race meeting at Snetterton in Norfolk. Having been hit off the track at the first corner of the opening race, Jason recovered from 17th to finish 8th in Race 1, scored a podium in Race 2 and challenged for the lead in Race 3 before finishing 14th. His SEAT Leon showed the battle scars of a hard-fought day, but with nine rounds of the 30 race series remaining, Jason holds a 14 point lead in the Drivers’ standings.

It was an equally frustrating day for Darren Turner, who ran as high as 2nd and scored three top 10 results, but ended the day with a battered Leon and the feeling that more could have been achieved. Their combined points tally over the weekend has nevertheless enabled SEAT Sport UK to maintain its lead in the BTCC Teams’ Championship and keeps SEAT’s strong challenge alive in the Manufacturers’ table

Round 21

With the top six from the previous race randomly selected to start the third and final race at Snetterton in reverse order, Darren Turner and Jason Plato lined up together on the second row, with the BMWs of Tom Onslow-Cole and Mat Jackson in front of them.
Jason made a great start to overtake Darren on the race to Riches, and the two SEAT Leons slotted in behind the two BMWs. Jason made a move on Jackson at Sear Corner on lap three and they were side-by-side down the Revett Straight; but it was a fantastic move at the Bomb Hole on lap seven which finally saw Jason go passed. He then challenged Onslow-Cole for the lead, but as he’d been pushing hard, his front tyres began to go off and the last three laps were a struggle.
It all came to a head at The Esses on lap 16, when Jason was sandwiched between Jackson and Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra). Jason drop from 2nd to 4th, Jackson ran a long way out onto grass and drop from 3rd to 7th, Giovanardi move from 4th to 3rd and Matt Neal (Honda Civic) drove through them all unscathed to come from 5th to 2nd. And that is the order in which they finished, behind race winner Tom Onslow-Cole (BMW).
Darren dropped to 9th by the end of the race, and was left wondering if his SEAT Leon was off-song, as he’d been unable to defend his position and had been “a sitting duck” as rivals overtook at will.

Results
1. Tom Onslow-Cole (BMW 320si)…22:07.246
2. Matt Neal (Honda Civic)…22:09.947
3. Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra)…22:10.498
4. Jason Plato (SEAT Leon)…22:10.154
5. Gordon Shedden (Honda Civic)…23:12.214
6. Colin Turkington (BMW 320si)…23:12.767
9. Darren Turner (SEAT Leon)…22:15.782

Round 20

After all the dramas of the first race, Jason Plato and Darren Turner started the second BTCC race at Snetterton from the same slots of the grid – with Jason lining up on the outside of row four, immediately behind his SEAT Sport UK team-mate.

Both SEAT Sport UK drivers made a good start, but Fiona Leggate (MG ZS) and
Chris Stockton (Lexus IS200) collided on the run down to Riches and the Safety Car was deployed. At the restart on lap six, the 18 lap race had been extended to 21 and Jason followed Darren before overtaking him on lap seven to move up to 5th. Jason, Tom Chilton (Vauxhall Vectra) and Mat Jackson (BMW 320si) were then side-by-side coming down the long Rivett Straight, at the end of which Chilton spun in front of Jason, forcing the Leon driver onto the grass and dropping him to 7th.

Jason did his best lap of the race on lap 14 as he moved back up to 5th and was closing on Matt Neal (Honda Civic) and 3rd-placed Darren when the Safety Car came out again; this time for Erkut Kizilirmak (Astra Sport Hatch) to be rescued from the field adjacent to Sear Corner. During this period, Gordon Shedden (Honda Civic) retired from 2nd place with gearbox problems and only three racing laps remained when the race resumed. In a straight race for the line, Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra) won, while Neal stole 2nd on the final lap, Jason claimed a podium finish in 3rd, one place ahead of Darren.

Results
1. Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra)…32:08.399
2. Matt Neal (Honda Civic)…32:09.597
3. Jason Plato (SEAT Leon)…32:10.076
4. Darren Turner (SEAT Leon)…32:10.832
5. Mat Jackson (BMW 320si)…32:11.093
6. Tom Onslow-Cole (BMW 320si)…32:11.526

Round 19

Jason Plato made a fantastic start from the fourth row of the grid to power between Darren Turner and Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra), who started on row three. As he turned into the first corner, Riches, in 6th place, Matt Neal (Honda Civic) drove into the side of him, pushing the SEAT Leon off onto the grass.

“I looked in my mirrors and thought ‘great, I’m safe’ and then there was his almighty bang,” said Jason. “I didn’t ease off much for the first corner and I doubt Matt Neal lifted at all. He just used me as his brakes. It’s just what I’ve come to expect from him.”

Jason rejoined the track in 17th and over the 18 lap race came back to finish 8th.

Darren had a clutch problem on the start line, and was initially embroiled in a close race for 6th place with Mat Jackson, before the BMW driver pulled away. On lap six Giovanardi overtook Darren exiting The Esses, and as the SEAT driver lost momentum, Mike Jordan (Honda Integra) also went passed. Thereafter, Darren was in a close battle with Jordan, eventually getting through when Jordan made a mistake at the end of lap 14. As Jason closed, Darren, Jordan and Jason took to chequered flag nose to tail in 6th, 7th and 8th places.

Colin Turkington won the race, but was later excluded when his BMW was found to be underweight.

Results
1. Gordon Shedden (Honda Civic)…22:05.923
2. Tom Onslow-Cole (BMW 320si)…22:06.732
3. Tom Chilton (Vauxhall Vectra)…22:07.134
4. Mat Jackson (BMW 320si)…22:07.833
5. Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra)…22:09.523
6. Darren Turner (SEAT Leon)…22:19.603
8. Jason Plato (SEAT Leon)…22:20.199

DRIVER QUOTES
Jason Plato (8th/3rd/4th): “It’s been very frustrating, because what happened in the first race completely screwed up our weekend. Touring car racing is hard and there is an acceptable level of door-to-door stuff which spectators love to see and which I give as good as I get, and that’s fair enough. But we’ve taken a lot of hard hits today. We’ve got a lot of damage on the car – not through crashing, but by being driven in to. But we came back from seventeenth in race one to finish on the podium in race two and then challenge for the lead in race three, so you have to think to yourself what we might have achieved had Matt Neal not whacked me off the road on the opening corner. I thought I could win the last race, but I needed to be clear of Mat Jackson on the last three laps to attack Tom Onslow-Cole and it didn’t quite work out like that. As for what happened between Jackson, Giovanardi and myself I really don’t know, because by then my wing mirrors had been swiped off, the car wasn’t straight and I’d just been whacked again! It’s been a bit mad today, but I’m still leading the Championship and we live to fight another day.”

Darren Turner (6th/4th/9th): “We had a problem with the clutch cylinder seal which bogged me down at the start of the first race, but the rest of the race was pretty much okay. I was happy with my start in the second race and had some good battles which got me up to second at one stage. I’ve never had a more frustrating race than the third and final one here at Snetterton. We started third on the grid, slotted in to fourth after a no-so good start and was then a sitting duck to the rest of the field down the long Revett Straight. I think I must have had a problem with the car, because people were getting a tow off me, overtake and pulled away before we reached the braking area; I know straight line speed isn’t our strongest point, but it hasn’t been as bad as that all weekend. There isn’t a lot you can do it that situation; it was just a frustrating end to what had been quite a positive race weekend.”

Rounds 22, 23 and 24 of the BTCC takes place at Brands Hatch in Kent on August 18-19.

Jason Plato won two out of three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at Donington Park today to restore his lead in the Drivers’ standings.  By beating arch rival Fabrizio Giovanardi in all three races, Jason has turned a one point deficit into a 25 point advantage. SEAT Sport UK also takes the lead in the Teams’ Championship, and a 75 points profit has halved the gap between SEAT and Vauxhall at the top of the Manufacturers’ table.  And all at a racing circuit which hasn’t historically been good for SEAT.

Darren Turner qualified 2nd and held 2nd in two races, but while the torrential rain and wet conditions played into Jason’s hands, it created problems for Darren.  He locked up and overshot the chicane in the first race and dropped from 2nd to 13th (eventually finishing 12th), and after finishing 6th in race two his windscreen wipers failed when he was once challenging for the lead in race three.

Torrential rain, deep puddles of standing water, impenetrable spray and aquaplaning made Round 16 of the BTCC extremely tricky for the 23 drivers who started the first of three races on the 1.96 mile Donington Park National Circuit in Leicestershire.  

Mat Jackson (BMW 320si) made a great start from the second row to take the lead, but then ran wide at Old Hairpin and let Gordon Shedden (Honda Civic) take the lead, while Darren overtook Jackson as they raced down the Dunlop Straight.

As cars battled for position, they ran off the racing line and hit puddles, spun off and overshot corners.  Even the most experienced drivers like Jason were not immune, as on lap two he locked up under braking for the final chicane and ran down the escape road, dropping from 7th to 9th.

After two Safety Car periods – the first when Tom Ferrier (SEAT Toledo) hit a spinning Tom Chilton (Vauxhall Vectra) and stopped in the middle of the track at McLeans, and again when Fiona Leggate (MG ZS) hit the tyre barrier at the chicane – the 16 lap race was extended to 19. As the rain increased and the conditions deteriorated, Darren hit the brakes earlier for the final chicane, but still locked up and skated down the escape road.  He dropped from 2nd to 13th, and eventually finished 12th after overtaking Erkut Kizilirmak (Astra Sport Hatch) on the penultimate lap.

Jason had a close and fair battle with Tom Onslow-Cole (BMW 320si) and then Mike Jordan (Honda Integra), and eventually finished 5th. The result was good enough for Jason to re-take the lead in the BTCC Drivers’ standings, by two points.

Results 1. Gordon Shedden (Honda Civic)…30:19.346 2. Adam Jones (SEAT Toledo)… 30:26.227 3. Matt Neal (Honda Civic)… 30:26.567 4. Mike Jordan (Honda Integra)... 30:27.008 5. Jason Plato (SEAT Leon)…30:29.214 6. Matt Allison (SEAT Toledo)… 30:34.586 12. Darren Turner (SEAT Leon)…30:47.347

Plato dominated the middle BTCC race at a very wet Donington Park, to score the maximum 17 points available in the Drivers’ standings for winning, leading the race and setting the fastest lap. Victory moved Jason to 17 points ahead of Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra) and was his 37th BTCC win of his career, making him the undisputed second-most successful race-winning driver in the history of the series.

In pouring rain, Plato made a fantastic start from 5th on the grid to move up a place on the race down to the first corner.  He then overtook Adam Jones (SEAT Toledo) at Coppice on lap three to move up to 3rd, and overtook Matt Neal (Honda Civic) to take 2nd in an audacious opposite-lock sideways move around the outside of  Redgate.  

Plato set five fastest lap times in the race, each time bettering his own record as he sliced over two seconds off his lap time as conditions improved slightly. After three side-by-side attempts to overtake Shedden down the Craner Curves, Plato took the lead on lap 12 when he made the manoeuvre stick after a good run out of the Hollywood corner. He then increased his lead by around one second per lap, taking the chequered flag after 16 exciting laps +5.876 seconds ahead of Shedden.

Darren made a great start from 12th on the grid and was up to 8th by the end of the opening lap. He had a good battle with Matt Allison (SEAT Toledo), before making 7th place his own and then began to close on Jordan – moving up to 6th with a good move under Starkey’s Bridge.  Although Turner was rapidly catching the cars ahead, there was not enough laps left for him to make further progress and he finished a fighting 6th.

Results 1. Jason Plato (SEAT Leon)…23:11.490 2. Gordon Shedden (Honda Civic)…23:17.366 3. Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra)…23:18.778 4. Matt Neal (Honda Civic)…23:23.344 5. Adam Jones (SEAT Toledo)… 23:23.526 6. Darren Turner (SEAT Leon)…23:23.903

With the top nine from the previous race randomly selected to start the third and final race in reverse order, Plato started from the outside of row five and Darren Turner from the inside of row two. Although it wasn’t actually raining, wet weather Dunlop tyres were essential as a lot of standing water remained on the track.  

Both SEAT Leons made a great start and immediately moved up a place – and they continued to move up places until Darren and Jason were running 2nd and 3rd behind Jordan.  Darren’s windscreen wipers stopped working and Jason overtook his team-mate entering the final chicane on lap seven and then took the lead when he took a tight line though the Old Hairpin on the next lap.  

Jason Plato lost the lead for a few corners on lap 11, but once out in front again he was never worried and raced to a +1.489 second victory. Having been overtaken by Jason Plato, Darren Turner  was under pressure from Neal and lost 3rd place when Matt muscled past at McLeans on lap eight. Unable to see anything with three cars spraying water and mud, Darren was slowed and then forced wide at Redgate on lap 14, dropped to 9th in one corner.

Results 1. Jason Plato (SEAT Leon)…23:17.182 2. Matt Neal (Honda Civic)…23:18.671 3. Mike Jordan (Honda Integra)... 23:25.808 4. Mat Jackson (BMW 320si)…23:26.756 5. Gordon Shedden (Honda Civic)…23:27.289 6. Colin Turkington (BMW 320si)…23:27.794 9. Darren Turner (SEAT Leon)…23:30.514

Jason Plato (5th/1st/1st): “The great British summer has played into our hands, because that’s what has made the difference today. The wet is a great engine leveller; engine performance becomes less important and it’s more about the car, and as we know the Leon has a fantastic chassis.  In the first race we took a gamble on set-up to try and improve on where we were in qualifying.  It didn’t work perfectly, so we made more changes between race one and two and it was perfect, s expecting it to be a case of damage limitation, we’ve ended up scoring a great deal of points.

The team was really up for this, and to reward all the hard work they have put in with two race wins is wonderful. We’ve taken fifteen points off Vauxhall in the Manufacturers’, we’ve taken the lead in the Teams’ Championship and I’m back in the lead in the Drivers’ standings. It’s been a top weekend.”

Darren Turner (12th/6th/9th): “It’s been a race weekend of highs and lows really. Race one was going well until I locked up under braking coming into the chicane and shot down the escape road, so it was disappointing to be in a strong position but only finish twelfth. Race two was good; I started twelfth and finish sixth, so I was happy was that – and with the reserve grid I was sitting pretty on the second row for the third race.  I got up to second and then my windscreen wipers packed up.  It made it difficult behind Mike Jordan, but with only one car ahead it wasn’t impossible, but then Jason caught me and as I wasn’t in complete total control of the car because I couldn’t see exactly where I was going, I wasn’t in a position to fight. But as soon as there were two cars ahead of me, that was it – the visibility was halved again.  Once Matt Neal overtook me as well I really couldn’t see anything at all – especially between Old Hairpin up to McLeans.

I got more and more frustrated as I was getting slower and slower and I just dropped back.  But on a positive note, Jason’s had two fantastic results and has retaken the lead in the Drivers’ standings, we’ve taken the lead in the Teams’ and closed the gap in the Manufacturers’ – all at a circuit which hasn’t historically been good for SEAT.  I haven’t got the results I was personally hoping for, but the important thing is that it’s been a great weekend for the team.”

Rounds 19, 20 and 21 of the BTCC takes place at Snetterton in Norfolk on July 28-29.

Darren Turner scored his first Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship victory at Croft today by leading home team-mate Jason Plato in a fantastic one-two finish in SEAT Sport UK’s 101st BTCC race.  The achievement is all the more remarkable as it was Darren’s first appearance at the North Yorkshire circuit since 1998. The result was the highlight of an exciting race day, in which both SEAT Leon drivers scored points in all three races to maintain the team’s impressive record at Croft.  It enabled SEAT to out-score Vauxhall and close the gap in the BTCC Manufacturers’ standings, while SEAT Sport UK is now just three points behind VX Racing in the Teams’ Championship. A gritty performance by Jason saw him finish 7th, 2nd and 8th in the three races to maintain his lead in the BTCC Drivers’
Round 12

Round 10

Having started from 3rd on the grid, Darren Turner battled with handling problems and drove brilliantly to keep Mike Jordan (Honda Integra) behind him and finish the first of three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at Croft in 4th place.

The problem that troubled his free practice sessions, but which disappeared for qualifying, returned for Round 10 of the BTCC, as Darren’s SEAT Leon understeered and oversteered its way around the 2.12 mile North Yorkshire circuit. A damaged front bumper was testimony to a coming together with Gordon Shedden, although the understeering Darren was grateful that the Honda Civic driver had been in front, otherwise he might have run off the circuit.

With 45kgs of success ballast, Jason Plato started from 8th and finished 7th – his improvement of one position caused when Tom Onslow-Cole (BMW 320si) retired, following a collision with Matt Neal (Honda Civic). The extra weight didn’t help, but the straight-line speed deficit of the Leon was the main problem, as Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra) was able to pull away down the long fast sections.

After an exciting opening few laps, the race settled down with no changes to the lead positions for two-thirds of the 15 lap race. Colin Turkington (BMW 320si) won, finishing +3.957 seconds ahead of Shedden, with Neal in 3rd.

Results
1. Colin Turkington (BMW 320si)…22:06.494
2. Gordon Shedden (Honda Civic)…22:10.451
3. Matt Neal (Honda Civic)…22:11.577
4. Darren Turner (SEAT Leon)…22:13.323
5. Mike Jordan (Honda Integra)...22:13.997
6. Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra)…22:15.988
7. Jason Plato (SEAT Leon)…22:19.190

DRIVER QUOTES

Jason Plato (7th/2nd/8th): “It’s been a tough weekend.  In the first race we did the best we could do with the success ballast we had.  Race two was very good and to get a one-two finish for SEAT is fantastic. We had a bit of a coming together at the final Hairpin with Colin Turkington, but the data shows that I braked earlier and lighter than I had done for that corner before, yet I still locked up.  Both Colin and I had had a moment earlier in the lap at Tower Bend, and somebody was dropping oil around the circuit.  It was a racing incident. As for taking the lead and giving it back, it’s in the regulations that you gain an extra point for leading a race and it made sense for Darren and I to swap and I needed to repay the favour at the end of the race; it was only right that I did that. I’m not really happy about the way my team-mate overtook me in race three, because it ruined my race and I lost places and six Championship points because of it.”

Darren Turner (4th/1st/5th): “I need to be collecting points at the moment because I’m still a long way down in the Championship, so with that in mind I’m quite pleased about the weekend.  I had a reasonable start in the first race and kept out of trouble and then that rolled on to me having a great second race. My car was quick and for a change other people had problems which I could benefit from.  It was great to get a win and with Jason coming second it was a brilliant result for the team.  I started from ninth on the grid in the third and final race and carrying maximum success ballast I just picked up places where I could.  Jason ran wide at Sunny and I nipped through on the inside and then I had to defend my place with Matt Neal behind me towards the end.  I was quite exhausted after the race because there is no ventilation in the Leon and it was pretty hot in there.  All in all, I’m happy to have scored so many points this weekend.”
 

Fourth BTCC victory keeps Plato out in front Jason Plato scored SEAT Sport UK’s first race win at Thruxton since 2004 to maintain his lead in the 2007 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.  

His fourth win of the season, together with a 2nd and a 6th in the other two races at arguably the SEAT Leon’s weakest track, sees him head into the mid-season – and on to more Leon friendly circuit – with a nine point lead over Fabrizio Giovanardi. Darren Turner was fast all weekend around the 2.356 mile ultra-fast Hampshire circuit, and even more delighted having mastered the standing starts in his SEAT Leon.  He was heading for his second podium of the day when he was hit from behind coming into the Club Chicane in Round 8, which sent him and Matt Allison slamming head-on into the crash barriers.  Worse still, Allison’s SEAT Toledo bounced into the air and landed on the front bonnet of Darren’s SEAT Leon, causing even more damage.  The Northampton-based SEAT Sport UK team worked miracles in the two hours between races to repair the car and allow Darren to finish the third and final race of the day in 6th.