Andrew Jordan wins final race of the year

There was to be no 61st victory for Jason Plato, as Andrew Jordan won from pole position to take his second BTCC victory. Jordan led from lights-to-flag, surviving two re-starts after safety car periods to finish the BTCC season on a high by heading home Steven Kane and Tom Chilton, the latter of whom claimed the Independent Driver’s title in the process.

Chilton finished close behind Kane, who needed to finish with at least a car between him and the Ford driver, to wrap up some silverware for Team Aon by just two points.

Having wrapped up the title in race two, Plato had one final chance in the 2010 season to surpass Andy Rouse’s mark of 60 BTCC victories, but starting from seventh on the grid it was too much to ask for the Chevrolet driver, even with the Cruze showing the form it has displayed all weekend at Brands Hatch. In the end Plato finished a relatively anonymous ninth.

Plato’s pre-weekend rivals for the BTCC title continued to enjoy a terrible day, with Tom Onslow-Cole retiring before the start with power steering problems, while Matt Neal endured his third poor start of the day, succumbing to a broken driveshaft just a few hundred metres later.

Gordon Shedden meanwhile enjoyed an entertaining mid-race battle with Plato, coming home eighth.

Jordan made an excellent start from pole position to lead, but his advantage was negated by a brief safety car to retrieve Lea Wood’s stricken Honda Integra from the grass at Surtees. Second placed man Kane though didn’t go with Jordan on the re-start, affording the Pirtek Racing driver a large advantage, while the Northern Irishman was forced to fend off a gaggle of cars including Chilton, Rob Collard, Paul O’Neill, Plato and Mat Jackson.

Former teammates Jackson and James Nash then demoted Plato, with Shedden then taking his turn to harass the new BTCC Champion, eventually forcing the Cruze wide coming out of Clearways so he could slide underneath along the main straight.

At the front Kane closed right up on to the rear bumper of Jordan’s Vauxhall, and looked to have another chance to overtake when his teammate Ben Collins provoked another safety car by dumping his car in the Paddock Hill gravel.

Unfortunately Kane repeated his earlier mistake, allowing Jordan to pull away on the re-start and ensuring the Airwaves BMW man would have to spend several important laps reeling him back in.

In the pack the remaining Motorbase car was making progress through the field, squeezing past Collard to close up on Chilton. Jackson though, commendably, resisted the temptation to get unfairly involved in the Independent’s battle, and while pressuring Chilton couldn’t make a legitimate move stick.

With Jackson unable to get past the Focus, Kane had to pass Jordan if he wanted the title, but after closing right up on the final lap he made a mistake exiting Druids, allowing the Vectra to pull away to take the win.

There were double celebrations for Team Aon, as they added the Independent Teams honours to those of Chilton’s, while Team Dynamics may have failed to put Neal or Shedden onto the top step of the podium they did take the Manufacturers and Constructors title and the Teams’ competition, heading Team Aon in both categories.

Stay tuned to TouringCarTimes to further reaction on Plato’s title and the 2010 British Touring Car Championship season.