Plato takes last gasp win

Team-mate James Thompson, playing number two to Plato during his part-time campaign, led from pole position until the complex on the final lap, when he allowed Plato, who had spent much of the race battling through to second, ahead to take victory.

Plato drove an inspired race from fourth on the grid, ambushing championship leader Matt Neal's Team Dynamics Honda Integra-R for third place at the hairpin at the end of the final lap. However, the loss of momentum allowed Vauxhall's Fabrizio Giovanardi, who had made a lightning start from sixth on the grid, and the second Integra of Shedden to slip ahead.

Plato assumed fourth place when Shedden was forced to pit on lap six after being shown a black and orange flag for flailing rear bodywork, and immediately began to pressure Giovanardi for third. By the eighth lap, the WSR MG ZS of Rob Collard and Neal had closed up on the pair. It became a battle for second a lap later when the lead Vauxhall Astra Sport of Tom Chilton dropped back after suffering a rear suspension problem.

On lap ten, Giovanardi, struggling gamely with an increasingly understeering car, ran wide in Sunny 1, allowing Plato through to take second position and, when Thompson backed off, victory.

Giovanardi's problems were far from over, as the Italian ended up only sixth at the finish after Neal, Turkington and Collard all slipped past him in the final two laps when he could barely get the car to turn in.

Neal and Collard had earlier enjoyed a spectacular battle, twice coming together in the ultra high-speed Barcroft corner, the second time with Collard showing superb car control to catch a massive slid on the outside of the track after contact with Neal and firing back across into the Integra, forcing him onto the grass.

David Pinkney had a lonely race to an impressive seventh place in his ex-Dan Eaves Integra, ahead of the Synchro Motorsport Honda Civic Type-R of James Kaye and the third Astra of Gavin Smith. Smith had dropped back early in the race after contact with Mike Jordan's Integra on the opening lap.

Irishman Eoin Murray claimed the final point on his British Touring Car Championship debut driving a Team Quest-run Alfa Romeo 156.

Results:

Pos  Driver               Make                   Time
 1.  Jason Plato          SEAT Leon         22:08.206
 2.  James Thompson       SEAT Leon           + 0.795
 3.  Matt Neal            Honda Integra       + 5.045
 4.  Colin Turkington     MG ZS               + 5.994
 5.  Robert Collard       MG ZS               + 7.799
 6.  Fabrizio Giovanardi  Vauxhall Astra      + 9.245
 7.  David Pinkney        Honda Integra      + 10.085
 8.  James Kaye           Honda Civic        + 19.285
 9.  Gavin Smith          Vauxhall Astra     + 21.462
10.  Eoin Murray          Alfa Romeo 156     + 23.421
11.  Mike Jordan          Honda Integra      + 25.010
12.  Gordon Shedden       Honda Integra      + 32.259
13.  Adam Jones           Lexus IS200        + 34.437
14.  Jason Hughes         MG ZS              + 40.236
15.  Erkut Kizilirmak     Vauxhall Astra     + 52.768
16.  Martyn Bell          BMW 320i E46     + 1:14.606
17.  Mark Smith           Alfa Romeo 156     + 2 laps

NOT CLASSIFIED:

     Mark Proctor         Honda Civic         D.N.F. 
     Tom Chilton          Vauxhall Astra      D.N.F. 
     Fiona Leggate        Vauxhall Astra      D.N.F.