Plato wins third Rockingham race

The SEAT driver made a superb start, squeezed between Matt Allison and Darren Turner on the grid, and then benefited from a first lap tangle at the hairpin.

The reverse grid draw had put John George, Jason Hughes and Dave Pinkney at the front of the field, and they made contact while diving into the corner three abreast.

Plato was able to drive around the spinning cars and into the lead, ahead of Mat Jackson and Tom Onslow-Cole.

The latter lost third place to Turner on lap 3, and was then passed for fourth by Tom Chilton after running wide at the hairpin. He eventually dropped out after suffering a puncture, while his Team RAC teammate Colin Turkington was another early retirement.

Plato quickly pulled away from Jackson, and was able to re-establish his lead with little trouble after a brief mid-race safety car period.

His SEAT teammate Turner did not manage to challenge Jackson for second, but was able to resist Chilton's late challenge and hang on to third.

Both Chilton and teammate Fabrizio Giovanardi had quickly recovered ground lost in their first lap incidents, and spent most of the race embroiled in a tight battle for fourth with the Dynamics Hondas - champion Matt Neal having made rapid progress from the back of the grid in his rebuilt car.

CLASSIFIED:

Pos  Driver            Make        Time
 1.  Jason Plato       SEAT        25:26.790
 2.  Mat Jackson       BMW         +   2.414
 3.  Darren Turner     SEAT        +   3.741
 4.  Tom Chilton       Vauxhall    +   4.359
 5.  F.Giovanardi      Vauxhall    +   6.106
 6.  Gordon Shedden    Honda       +   6.670
 7.  Matt Neal         Honda       +   6.836
 8.  Mike Jordan       Honda       +  10.955
 9.  Matt Allison      SEAT        +  14.543
10.  Simon Blanckley   Honda       +  17.273
11.  Erkut Kizilirmak  Vauxhall    +  19.976
12.  David Pinkney     Alfa Romeo  +  22.971
13.  Nick Leason       Lexus       +1:00.846
14.  Rick Kerry        BMW         +1:17.090

NOT CLASSIFIED:

     Driver            Make        Laps
     Eoin Murray       Alfa Romeo  10
     Jason Hughes      MG          10
     Tom Onslow-Cole   BMW          9
     John George       Honda        8
     Jim Pocklington   BMW          4
     Colin Turkington  BMW          2
     Fiona Leggate     MG           2
     Martyn Bell       BMW          0
     Gareth Howell     SEAT         0

Fastest Lap: Plato, 1:25.393 on lap 2