Jelley triumphs again in race three
Stephen Jelley took his second win of the day in a chaotic third British Touring Car Championship race at Rockingham
After running third early on, the WSR BMW driver made it by Tom Chilton's Arena Ford at Deene on lap nine, and then repeated the move on Andrew Jordan's Vauxhall to take the lead three laps later.
A lurid moment at the fast Gracelands right-hander allowed Jordan back in front further around the same lap, but Jelley redressed the balance with a forceful move at Yentwood soon after, tagging the back of Jordan's car and sending him wide.
While Jelley and Jordan were never again challenged for their top two spots, there were chaotic scenes behind.
Having started ninth on the reversed grid, Jason Plato had made his way onto the tail of the championship-leading WSR BMW of Colin Turkington.
His attempt to rid Turkington of third at Tarzan on lap 13 came to nothing though as the pair made contact, Turkington only just managing not to spin and James Nash hitting his RML Chevrolet team-mate Plato as he tried to avoid the melee.
While the incident spelt retirement for Nash and a pitstop for Plato, Chilton made it through unscathed to take third and the final podium spot. Next on the scene were Johnny Herbert and Fabrizio Giovanardi, who went three-wide with Turkington into the following corner, hit each other a couple of times, but survived.
Turkington finished fourth, one place ahead of RML's Mat Jackson, who had recovered after falling to the back early on when Jordan nudged him off at Deene.
Jonathan Adam (Motorbase BMW) came home fifth, one place ahead of Herbert, who recorded his best BTCC finish yet for Team Dynamics.
Giovanardi, however, suffered damage to his Vauxhall in one of the many brushes he had during the race, and was passed by Martin Johnson's Boulevard Vauxhall for 10th place and the final point on the run to the finish line.
His result means he has dropped to 13 points behind Turkington in the championship, while Plato, 28 behind, is still in with a chance of the title at the Brands Hatch season finale.
Pos Driver Car Time/Gap 1. Stephen Jelley BMW 26m47.230s 2. Andrew Jordan Vauxhall + 2.057s 3. Tom Chilton Ford + 7.705s 4. Colin Turkington BMW + 8.455s 5. Mat Jackson Chevrolet + 10.345s 6. Jonathan Adam BMW + 12.375s 7. Johnny Herbert Honda + 13.623s 8. Gordon Shedden SEAT + 18.182s 9. Tom Onslow-Cole Ford + 24.386s 10. Martin Johnson Vauxhall + 37.908s 11. Fabrizio Giovanardi Vauxhall + 38.243s 12. Jason Plato Chevrolet + 1m03.214s 13. John George Honda + 1 lap 14. Matt Hamilton Honda + 1 lap Retirements: Anthony Reid BMW 16 laps James Nash Chevrolet 13 laps Paul O'Neill Honda 12 laps Matt Neal Vauxhall 7 laps Rob Collard BMW 5 laps David Pinkney Honda 2 laps Harry Vaulkhard Chevrolet 1 lap
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