BTCC Knockhill: Mat Jackson fends off pursuers to win race three

He had started on pole position and beat front-row starter Rob Collar's WSR BMW 125i M Sport to the top of Duffus Dip first to set off on a superb defensive drive.

Initially, Jackson had his mirrors full of Collard and Colin Turkington's Subaru Levorg, but the two chasing rivals tripped over each other coming out of Clark's corner on lap eight.

They fired into each other side-by-side and were both spat on to the grass and out of contention.

There was no break for Jackson, as Sam Tordoff's WSR BMW 125i was glued to his bumper with Jason Plato's Subaru and Gordon Shedden's soft-tyred Honda Civic hard on his bootlid as well.

The order in the top four did not change after a tough fight and Jackson took his fourth win of the season.

Jackson said: "That was a hard job, but no one was having that win off me.

"I saw Collard go off and I knew that threat was gone, because he had been on the soft tyres, but then Sam Tordoff gave me a hard time.

"Fair play to him, I made it hard for him and he didn't just shunt in to me."

Behind the top four, Matt Neal finished in fifth after ceding ground early on to Shedden, while Rob Austin (Handy Motorsport Toyota Avensis) and Adam Morgan (Ciceley Mercedes-Benz) rounded out the top seven after they had also endured a mighty dogfight.

RACE THREE RESULT