Mondello 3: MG bites back

Jason Plato had made the most of pole to pull away in to a comfortable lead as the rest tried to find a way past James Thompson - still struggling to find his usual speed on the tight little track near Dublin.

The turning point in the race came when Matt Neal went off into the gravel at 'Holiday in Ireland' bend and the safety car was despatched to remove his car. That wiped out Plato's lead and on the re-start he came under attack form a seriously racey Turkington, who'd already moved ahead of Hines, Reid, Muller and Thompson.

A robust move put Turkington into the lead and away to his long-sought win, while Plato was fed to the lions - eventually retiring after a crunching clash with Muller.

Hines survived best of the rest to take second place and his second podium of the day, while Dan Eaves bagged third, crossing the line virtually three-abreast with Thompson - streaming tyre-smoke from freshly-battered bodywork and fifth-placed Tom Chilton in the Honda.

Muller kept going to take a handful more points in sixth place.