Snetterton race 1: Turkington wins

Colin Turkington has won the first of today’s three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk.

Northern Irishman Turkington (Portadown) lost his pole position advantage at the start to Team RAC BMW team-mate Tom Onslow-Cole (New Malden), but fought back to regain the lead and win for the third time this season.

Finishing second after also passing Onslow-Cole was Gordon Shedden (Dalgety Bay) in his Team Halfords Honda Civic. Onslow-Cole took third. Fourth, setting the race’s fastest lap, was Vauxhall’s Tom Chilton.

In the title race, Vauxhall’s Fabrizio Giovanardi finished sixth to take three points out of series leader, SEAT’s Jason Plato who was ninth after running off at the track at the first bend in a collision with reigning champion Matt Neal’s Honda (pictured above). Neal finished a lap down in 19th after pitting for repairs.

The gap between Plato and Giovanardi now is 22 points heading the second of today’s three races which is scheduled to start at 12.35.

Elsewhere, Eoin Murray had been on course for a tenth place finish – and a point – in his Quest Racing Alfa before it cruelly stopped with mechanical failure two laps from home.

Rick Kerry chose not to start the race to allow his AFM Racing team extra time to cure an engine problem with his diesel-powered BMW.