BTCC Brands Hatch: Jackson wins race one, rivals close on Shedden

For the third meeting in a row Motorbase Ford Focus driver Jackson converted pole position into a race-one win.

Jackson managed two safety-car periods with ease and kept Aron Smith's Team BMR Volkswagen CC at arm's length throughout, ultimately prevailing by 0.7 seconds.

Smith, in turn, was clear of Adam Morgan, who completed the podium in his Ciceley Racing Mercedes-Benz A-Class.

Turkington was first of the title protagonists home, though his and Plato's respective gains on Shedden were minimal.

A slightly slow start from Shedden allowed Turkington to get ahead into Paddock, while Plato tried to force his way through at Druids but was rebuffed.

Shedden looked as though he'd retained the position after holding on through Graham Hill Bend, but a nudge from Plato sent the Honda wide at Surtees and allowed the second VW through.

"Jason was more than aggressive on the first lap - which I can understand at Druids because sometimes it bunches up, but onto the GP loop that was the most blatant push to pass I've seen all season," Shedden said post-race.

"It massively affected my race. I'm pretty disappointed with that - it's not how you want to go racing."

After a safety-car period - for separate offs for Alex Martin's Ford Focus and Dave Newsham's Chevrolet Cruze - Plato pumped in a relatively quick lap on soft tyres, before backing up Shedden and preventing the Scot from setting a fast time.

They crossed the line in fourth, fifth and sixth but Plato's tactics banked him eighth on the grid for race two, one place ahead of Turkington - with Shedden to start 12th.

Shedden's Honda team-mate Matt Neal acted as rear-gunner throughout the 18-lap encounter, a role that proved most useful in the closing stages as he held off the late-charging Andy Priaulx.

Priaulx's WSR team-mate Rob Collard rose from 18th to make it two BMW 125i M Sports in the top 10, with Josh Cook's Power Maxed Racing Chevrolet in between the two in ninth.

MG's rank outsider in the title fight Andrew Jordan was one of three drivers starting in the midfield to sacrifice the opening race in order to set a better laptime for race two.

Jordan, team-mate Jack Goff and Team BMR stand-in Alain Menu all started from the pitlane, while Tom Ingram pited at the end of lap one - he fared best, banking fifth on the grid for the second encounter.

Jordan finished 19th, and is thus mathematically eliminated from the tile fight. Shedden now leads Plato by 22 points, with Turkington 29 points in arrears and Neal 38 points off the top.

RESULTS - 18 LAPS:

RACE TWO GRID:
Decided by race one fastest laps