Race 2: Plato on top

Plato pulled away from the field in the works SEAT, having driven strategically in the previous race to ensure he started from pole. But the safety car was called out on lap 19 to remove a part of Tom Chilton's Honda, which allowed Matt Neal and Dan Eaves to close back up on the dash to the flag.

Neal tried to take the lead on the last lap at turn one, but it wasn't enough and Plato took his fifth win of the season.

"It's another great result for the team and pole gives me a good chance of winning again," he said optimistically. "My car will have maximum ballast, but I'm a wily old fox and know how to hold people back."

Yvan Muller took a seven-point championship lead after James Thompson was forced to retire through accident damage, having been punted down the grassy part of the hill by Chilton. Thompson, Chilton and WSR's Colin Turkington all failed to finish. The latter two were casualties of getting involved in a battle for sixth place, made complicated by Shaun Watson-Smith's defence of the position.

This scrap reached its climax on lap six when Turkington tried a pass down the outside of the Proton at the hairpin in his MG. Chilton weaved behind looking for a gap and Anthony Reid, from seemingly miles back, shot down the inside of all of them in the other MG.

Predictably, being a BTCC race, there was contact and Turkington's car lost its ability to change direction thereafter. Not long after that Chilton was forced to stop as more and more parts of his Honda disengaged around various locations on the circuit.

All this allowed Luke Hines and Robert Huff (from the back of the grid after his SEAT radiator was punctured in the first race) to charge through to fifth and sixth places. Reid was eventually seventh ahead of Watson-Smith, James Kaye and Jason Hughes.

Jason Plato SEAT 24m03.964s
Matt Neal Honda 24m04.216s
Dan Eaves Honda 24m04.815s
Yvan Muller Vauxhall 24m06.003s
Luke Hines Vauxhall 24m07.938s
Robert Huff SEAT 24m09.034s
Anthony Reid MG 24m09.830s
Shaun Watson-Smith Proton 24m10.508s
James Kaye Honda 24m11.964s
Jason Hughes MG 24m12.138s