Mat Jackson beats Gordon Shedden to win first BTCC race at Donington Park
Mat Jackson won a hard fought first British Touring Car Championship race of the day at Donington Park
The Motorbase Ford driver jumped from sixth on the grid to third on the run to the first corner. He then pressured polesitter Jason Plato for the first two laps before the pace of the works MG6 improved and Plato closed on race leader Rob Collard.
Collard's rear-wheel-drive WSR BMW had made a great start from fifth to lead by 1.6 seconds at the end of the first lap, but lacked race pace.
The crucial moment came on lap five of 16. Plato got down the inside of Collard on the run out of Coppice. As they reached the Goddards chicane at the end of the lap, Jackson tried to follow Plato through, but braked too late and nudged the back of the MG.
Plato had to go across the chicane, falling from first to fourth, while Collard was dumped to sixth, the order ahead of him becoming Jackson-Gordon Shedden-Matt Neal-Plato-Tom Onslow-Cole.
Jackson and the Honda of Shedden then edged away from the ballast-laden cars of Neal (Honda) and Plato, who engaged in their own personal duel for third.
Shedden put Jackson under pressure during the closing laps, but the Motorbase man held on to take his first win of the season by 0.229s.
A minor Neal error at the chicane going onto the last lap allowed Plato to attack and he briefly got alongside at the Craner Curves. But Neal held his nerve to secure third.
Onslow-Cole was fifth, his WSR BMW holding off a charging Andrew Jordan's Eurotech Honda by a mere 0.112s. Jordan had ended an awful first lap ninth, having started fourth, but he showed strong race pace as he recovered.
Dave Newsham took seventh in his ES Vauxhall after a brief dice with the flying Jordan and struggling Collard.
The inexperienced Aron Smith continued his fine form with a strong eighth for Motorbase, while Frank Wrathall (Dynojet Toyota) overcame Collard for ninth with a couple of laps to go.
Results - 16 laps: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford 19m11.104s 2. Gordon Shedden Honda + 0.229s 3. Matt Neal Honda + 5.600s 4. Jason Plato MG + 5.832s 5. Tom Onslow-Cole WSR BMW + 8.656s 6. Andrew Jordan Eurotech Honda + 8.768s 7. Dave Newsham ES Vauxhall + 11.750s 8. Aron Smith Motorbase Ford + 14.484s 9. Frank Wrathall Dynojet Toyota + 20.384s 10. Rob Collard WSR BMW + 24.109s 11. Nick Foster WSR BMW + 36.021s 12. Daniel Welch Welch Proton + 40.216s 13. Jeff Smith Eurotech Honda + 45.844s 14. Tony Gilham Gilham Honda + 46.081s 15. Adam Morgan Speedworks Toyota + 46.780s 16. Andy Neate MG + 58.982s 17. Chris James ES Vauxhall + 1m11.552s Retirements: Ollie Jackson AmD Volkswagen 11 laps Rob Austin Austin Audi 6 laps Tony Hughes Speedworks Toyota 2 laps Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford 1 lap Lea Wood Wood Vauxhall 1 lap
Previous article
John Thorne withdraws from Donington with car issues
Next article
Engine problems force Rob Austin Racing out of remaining Donington Park BTCC races
About this article
| Series | BTCC |
| Drivers | Gordon Shedden , Mat Jackson , Ollie Jackson |
| Teams | BTC Racing |
| Author | Kevin Turner |
The rollercoaster ride of West Surrey Racing's 40 years
It’s four decades since one of UK motorsport’s most successful teams made its debut at Silverstone in British Formula 3. Now it’s top dog in the BTCC, time to blow out some candles with boss Dick Bennetts
Why the BTCC elite should fear Shedden's return
OPINION: The British Touring Car Championship Lord taketh away Dan Cammish, then giveth Gordon Shedden. That means substituting what would have been a future champion with an all-time series great with a point to prove on his return
The tin-top veteran turned policeman hangs up his helmet
Jeff Allam had a long and successful touring car career, and was a highly regarded works driver for Rover and Vauxhall. Then he spent his weekends policing his successors… Time to look back at a BTCC life spanning almost 45 years
The BTCC Brexit that's thrived for a decade
It won't be long until the current BTCC rules become the longest-lasting the series has ever had. The NGTC regulations are due to celebrate their tenth birthday this year and while not totally perfect for everyone, have been a huge success
The top 10 BTCC drivers of 2020
The 2020 British Touring Car Championship will go down as a classic in which new winners graced the top step of the podium and an unloved chassis was resurrected into a champion. But who were the year's top performers?
The Villeneuve-esque 'engineer's dream' who lit up BTCC 2020
The Infiniti Q50 was completely redesigned, redeveloped and revamped by BMR and Laser Tools Racing for 2020. And the flamboyant brilliance of the driver behind the wheel was enough to snatch the title at the last gasp
The BMW game-changer that monopolised the tin-top world
The rival Ford RS500 was more spectacular and almost claimed its place as Autosport's greatest touring car. But the original BMW M3 E30 was too good and too important to be ignored, as its drivers explain
Turkington meets Rouse: The BTCC's greatest in conversation
The two four-time British Touring Car champions discovered they had far more in common than they realised when Autosport brought them together to discuss all things tin-top for its 70th anniversary special earlier this year
