Brands BTCC: Mat Jackson wins, Jason Plato gains on Gordon Shedden

Jackson managed 75kg of success ballast and soft tyres to deny Tom Ingram a maiden BTCC victory, while Honda driver Shedden struggled to 19th with nearest title rival Jason Plato sixth.

Team BMR Volkswagen CC driver Plato picked off Andy Priaulx after a safety-car period - caused by Martin Depper losing control at Clark Curve and hitting Rob Austin, sending both into the gravel - before closing in on team-mate Aron Smith.

Plato had criticised his team in the aftermath of race one for not giving Smith, who finished ahead of the two-time champion in the opener, a call to drop into the pack - but this time Smith moved over on the run to Hawthorn after mid-distance.

That gave Plato sixth and, though he closed in on Dave Newsham's soft-shod Power Maxed Racing Chevrolet Cruze and Jack Goff's MG, he opted to hold that position to the flag for a shot at reverse-grid pole.

It paid off, with the top seven reversed for race three, putting Matt Neal on pole but Plato second.

The 10-point haul he bagged for sixth cut Shedden's points lead from 22 to 12, as the Scot was mired in the midfield from the off.

Shedden started 13th after Plato had backed him up in race one to deny him the chance of setting a quick laptime.

The Civic Type-R was bundled to 16th over a cautious opening lap, though the safety car gave him an opportunity to regain ground.

He passed Depper's Eurotech Honda team-mate Jeff Smith for 15th - and one championship point - on the second lap of green-flag racing, but made a mistake at Hawthorns and dropped to 18th.

Shedden then suffered with partially locked-on rear brakes, a legacy of contact early in the race, and was lucky to finish 19th after a front-left puncture for Colin Turkington on the very last lap wiped the 2014 champion out of the title picture.

Conversely, sixth for Turkington's BMR team-mate Plato means he now has a good opportunity to dramatically snatch a third BTCC crown in the final race of the season.

The championship battle detracted attention from a thrilling lead fight, as Jackson, Adam Morgan and Ingram circulated in tandem for much of the encounter.

Ingram nailed Morgan at Dingle Dell with four laps remaining but despite a tyre advantage in the closing stages could not overhaul Jackson for the lead.

Second still marked a career-best result for Ingram, who had notched his first rostrum at Rockingham earlier this season.

RESULTS - 18 LAPS:

RACE THREE STARTING GRID: