Jason Plato masters damp Silverstone

Jason Plato mastered tricky conditions to win at Silverstone, while Fabrizio Giovanardi picked up a second place to tighten the championship battle. The reigning BTCC champion battled through to take second, ahead of Mat Jackson, and reduce his deficit to series leader to just seven points ahead of the day’s third race.

Championship leader Colin Turkington came home in a lonely fourth, as the BMWs struggled as the track became progressively wetter during the course of the race, while Tom Chilton recorded Team Aon’s best result of the season with fifth, albeit thanks to a last lap coming together with James Nash, which left the Lacetti beached in the gravel.

The race began on a slightly damp track, with the drizzle not setting in until half way through proceedings. From the start Jackson made a good start to lead from Plato, while Rob Collard and Turkington surged past Nash off the line.

With Turkington looking to collect vital championship points, the Team RAC driver was coming under increased pressure from Collard, who was close enough to make the two BMWs one. Coming into Luffield on lap three, Collard seemed to get just too close to Turkington, causing him to slide slightly wide, giving Giovanardi behind the smallest window of opportunity, which the double champion took.

Contact sent the Airwaves BMW sideways before further contact straightened it up, but by then Giovanardi and Nash were through, and Collard was back in the pack.

Obviously fired up, a lap later Collard fired Matt Neal off into the Brooklands gravel, and with the VX Racing driver taking a further two opportunities to explore the outer reaches of the National circuit during the race, it was another race to forget for the West Midlander.

During the Giovanardi/Collard interface, Nash had passed the pair, but the Vectra driver made swift work demoting Nash, going up the inside of Luffield and holding just enough speed along the main straight to take the inside line at Copse, causing Nash to yield.

Also running side-by-side along the Start/Finish straight a lap later were Jackson and Plato, with the latter having reeled in the leader, before passing him at Copse.

With the order pretty settled, the rain intensified provoking a variety of lines through Copse as drivers found varying grip levels around the circuit. As expected it was the BMWs who struggled the most as conditions got damper, with Giovanardi closing down Turkington and then passing through Maggots, as his title rival had to lift exiting Copse.

Once past the Italian began to close on the leading pair of Jackson and Plato, with Turkington circulating in a solitary fourth, as behind the whole pack bunched up, with Collard doing well to avoid a spinning Stephen Jelley at Copse.

Into Brooklands on the eighteenth lap and Jackson got very sideways, allowing Giovanardi smoothly past and into second, with Plato remaining just out of reach ahead.

Behind the four leaders Chilton claimed fifth, getting past James Nash on the last time through Copse, before sliding wide. Nash fought back to reclaim the position, but coming into Becketts contact was made and the Chevrolet speared to the outside and into the gravel.

Sixth behind the Ford was Andrew Jordan, with Jonathan Adam taking seventh ahead of a good drive from Johnny Herbert who held off both Collard and Paul O’Neill for eight position.

That will be good enough for a front row start for race three, as Adam Jones drew the Number 9 ball out of the hat for the reverse grid. Collard takes pole from Herbert, with Adam and Jordan, who are both still searching for their first BTCC win, lining up behind them.

One man not short of BTCC victories is Jason Plato, whose 49th win just keeps him in position as an outside bet for the title, albeit 36 points behind Turkington, who leads by seven from Giovanardi. Plato starts race three from row five, meaning the big Five-O may have to wait until Rockingham in a fortnight.