BTCC Rockingham: Gordon Shedden wins ahead of lively race

Honda man Shedden was untroubled en route to extending his championship lead, converting pole into his fourth win of the season.

Mat Jackson gave chase initially but the race-one winner had 75kg ballast aboard his Motorbase Ford Focus and fell as far as three seconds behind Shedden at one stage before finishing 2.7s adrift.

But he was a lonely runner-up, as behind a thrilling fight raged for the final podium slot.

Rookie Josh Cook prevailed over Adam Morgan with a move round the outside at the Brook chicane on the final lap.

It capped a stellar drive from the Power Maxed Racing man, who started 14th in his Chevrolet Cruze but was ninth at the end of the first lap.

He moved past Hunter Abbott's Audi and Jeff Smith's Eurotech Honda on the next two tours, then nailed Abbott's team-mate Rob Austin for sixth just half a dozen laps in.

Colin Turkington was his next target as the Team BMR Volkswagen CC started to struggle slightly on his soft tyres, and Cook breezed past at Deene at half-distance.

A lap later he passed Jack Goff's MG for fourth, before reeling in Morgan and applying substantial pressure over the final three laps.

They ran side-by-side on several occasions before Cook cut underneath the Mercedes A-Class exiting Tarzan for the final time, and bravely outbraked Morgan into the last corner.

A similarly combative drive from Matt Neal - which included fine late-braking moves on Turkington and Goff at Tarzan and Yentwood respectively - earned the Honda man fifth.

He was well clear of Austin, who was a well-earned sixth and well clear of another terrific scrap behind.

That went the way of Jason Plato, whose opening race was ruined by an incident caused by Cook and who finished the opening lap down in 14th.

Plato made slow progress initially on his soft tyres, but he edged towards the top 10 with moves on team-mate Aron Smith and Tom Ingram, and then made contact with Abbott at Pif Paf.

The VW hit the inside kerb and bounced into the Audi, spinning it off, though Plato continued in 11th.

He passed Jeff Smith at Deene with four laps remaining but was still only 10th - and then pulled a stunning move to pass Turkington and Sam Tordoff in one go at the same corner.

Plato then passed Goff, struggling on softs, on the penultimate lap to clinch seventh.

Turkington also beat the ailing MG in a run to the line to steal eighth, with Ingram completing the top 10 - and bagging pole for the partially-reversed race-three grid.

RACE TWO RESULT