Plato wins race three at Thruxton

It took Plato six laps to hunt down and pass polesitter Dave Pinkney, who had gained an early break as the chasing pack indulged in some spectacular door-to-door racing in the opening laps.

Pinkney had gamely resisted Plato's initial challenges, allowing Gordon Shedden and Mike Jordan to close right in on the SEAT.

The trio stayed together after passing Pinkney, but Plato was fast enough to resist Shedden to the flag, while Jordan slipped out of their slipstream in the closing laps.

Race one and two winner Fabrizio Giovanardi could only get to fourth after being put back to 10th on the reverse grid. By the time he overtook Pinkney, the top three had pulled away.

He then came under pressure from Darren Turner, who had charged through to fifth from the back of the grid, and champion Matt Neal. The latter managed to repass Turner on the final lap, but could not get around Giovanardi for fourth.

The RAC BMWs looked like victory contenders after strong starts but both lost ground in the opening lap dicing. Colin Turkington then pitted from fourth with an early puncture, while Tom Onslow-Cole had a spin at the chicane while tussling with Neal.

Pos  Driver               Make               Time
 1.  Jason Plato          SEAT Leon          21:45.119
 2.  Gordon Shedden       Honda Civic        +   1.413
 3.  Mike Jordan          Honda Integra      +   4.966
 4.  Fabrizio Giovanardi  Vauxhall Vectra    +   7.295
 5.  Matt Neal            Honda Civic        +   7.472
 6.  Darren Turner        SEAT Leon          +   7.881
 7.  Gareth Howell        SEAT Toledo Cupra  +  12.459
 8.  Tom Chilton          Vauxhall Vectra    +  17.421
 9.  Jason Hughes         MG ZS              +  26.642
10.  Tom Onslow-Cole      BMW 320si E90      +  28.202
11.  Matt Allison         SEAT Toledo Cupra  +  31.441
12.  John George          Honda Integra      +  31.730
13.  Dave Pinkney         Alfa Romeo 156     +  33.679
14.  Erkut Kizilirmak     Vauxhall Astra     +  35.075
15.  Martyn Bell          BMW 320i E46       +  50.599
16.  Simon Blanckley      Honda Integra      +  55.569
17.  Colin Turkington     BMW 320si E90      +1:16.437

Not classified/retirements:

     Richard Marsh        Alfa Romeo 156
     Chris Stockton       Lexus IS200
     Rick Kerry           BMW 120D