Jackson completes clean sweep

Mat Jackson secured a trio of Chevrolet wins, taking his second win of the weekend at Silverstone, holding off the challenge of Rob Collard. For the second BTCC round in succession, Jackson took a trio of podium finishes, while Colin Turkington secured third to stretch his championship lead back out to eleven points.

Jackson rounded out a, as predicted, strong weekend for Chevrolet, with Racing Silverline taking all three wins in Northamptonshire, with two going the way of the former Seat Cupra champion, and Jason Plato taking the other.

A first podium of the weekend for Turkington helps the Northern Irishman push his championship lead over Fabrizio Giovanardi back out to eleven points, with six races remaining. Strong performances in the first two races of the weekend keep Plato in third on 190 points, with still an outside chance of the title, while victory helps lift Jackson up the championship standings to fifth above Collard, with fourth looking likely if Matt Neal’s poor form continues. The Vauxhall driver leaves Silverstone with just a solitary point for tenth in race one.

The chances of a fairytale first win for Johnny Herbert lasted as long as it took his Honda Civic to be swamped off the line, as in front Collard made a perfect getaway while behind Jonathan Adam and Turkington swept past.

At Brooklands the first time round, second row starter Andrew Jordan spun, cleaning out Tom Chilton as he came back into play. At the front it was BMWs to the fore, with Jackson, Herbert and Giovanardi behind.

Turkington swept past Adam with a brave move through Brooklands and Luffield, with the Scottish drivers loss of momentum allowing Jackson through on the straight.

Keen to keep on title rival Turkington’s pace, Giovanardi went round the outside of Herbert at Brooklands giving him the inside line for the following corner of Luffield. But when Plato also tried to follow the Italian through it caused an early end to the former Grand Prix driver’s first day of touring car racing.

There was briefly concern for Team RAC after a slow lap for Turkington let Jackson through into second and allowed Adam to crawl all over the back of the orange BMW, but Turkington soon regained his pace to hold of the fellow German machine.

Behind teammate Stephen Jelley was doing as required, hassling Plato for sixth before making his way past on the Club Straight to close right up onto Giovanardi.

With the pressure from Jelley gone, Plato instead had the attentions of teammate James Nash, and questions will surely be asked in the Racing Silverline pit box after the pair made heavy contact on several occasions through Silverstone’s complex.

Turkington and Adam’s battle allowed Giovanardi to close, with the Airwaves machine surrendering the place after running into the back of Turkington, giving the VX Racing driver the chance to slide up the inside, with Jelley soon following suit.

The pressure from Jelley was such that Giovanardi was forced to defend on the straights, easing the pressure on Turkington, whose tight lines were rapidly unearthing a new racing line round much of the circuit!

At the front, Jackson, lights ablaze, caught Collard, and in a repeat of race one, albeit with slightly less contact swept past at Brooklands and into a lead he’d never relinquish, despite the strong attentions of the BMW.

On a day when the Giovanardi’s title support went astray (and returnee Anthony Reid failed to have an impact on anything other than Tom Onslow-Cole!), Jelley provided a text book example of what is required in such a situation, forcing his way past at Brooklands, to give Turkington an extra two points advantage in the standings.

Behind the Vectra came Adam, before the squabbling Chevrolets of Plato and Nash in seventh and eighth, with Paul O’Neill and David Pinkney rounding out the points.