Menu wins damp Snetterton night race

Menu was second on the grid but beat poleman Rickard Rydell away from the line when the race was finally started with a Union Flag. A heavy rain shower just as the field set out on the green flag lap brought the first delay, and a starting light failure led to the second.

Rydell's slow start dropped him behind Jason Plato as well. "I think he messed it up completely," said his team mate Menu charitably. So over the early laps it was left to Plato to try to stay with the Swiss. "The car was very good," said Menu, before adding with a laugh, "and very well driven."

Plato agreed that he couldn't live with the flying Ford over the early laps, but after the pit stops he came back at the Mondeo and was right with Menu at the chequered flag. "It's a shame that it didn't go on a bit longer, because I reckon I could have had a go at him," he said.

Menu, though, was quite happy that he had it all under control: "I knew how many laps there were left and what I had to do. With hindsight I should have pitted later, because I was going well and the second pair of tyres was not as good."

One driver who made up ground by pitting late was James Thompson. The Honda man stayed out, running a series of quick laps, and when he emerged from his pit stop he was alongside the second-placed Plato, having been only sixth before the stops. A fine third was the Yorkshireman's reward at the end.

Yvan Muller drove a solid race in the Vectra he'd taken over from Vincent Radermecker following their sprint race crashes. He picked up fourth place and keeps himself just ahead of Plato in the points.

Rydell, who stopped very early, was fifth, having picked up the place from Reid when the Scot's Mondeo shut down just after he'd pitted and re-joined (well ahead of Rydell). A quick fumble with the master switch brought it all back to life, but the disappointed Reid felt he could have finished on the podium.

Adding to his woes, Reid had been fined £500 and given three penalty points for his part in the multi-car accident in the sprint race.

Rob Collard took his first Class B win in the Bintcliffe Sport Racing Nissan. Collard passed regular pacesetter Alan Morrison at the second corner and never looked back, winning comfortably from James Kaye's Honda Accord. Morrison languished back in fifth in the class, troubled by broken wipers.



1 Alain Menu (Ford Mondeo) 26m29.772s
2 Jason Plato (Vauxhall Vectra) 26m30.269s
3 James Thompson (Honda Accord) 26m31.898s
4 Yvan Muller (Vauxhall Vectra) 26m34.378s
5 Rickard Rydell (Ford Mondeo) 26m41.095s
6 Anthony Reid (Ford Mondeo) 26m41.636s
7 Gabriele Tarquini (Honda Accord) 26m42.287s
8 Matt Neal (Nissan Primera) 26m47.179s
9 Rob Collard (Nissan Primera) 18 laps
10 James Kaye (Honda Accord) 18
Fastest lap: Plato, 1m17.279s, 90.936mph

Drivers' Championship: 1 Menu, 144pts; 2, Rydell, 134; 3 Reid, 130; 4 Muller, 115; 5, Plato, 113; 6, Kristensen, 91; etc.
Manufacturers: 1 Ford 394pts; 2 Vauxhall, 283; 3 Honda, 268.