Shedden claims first win

The Scot, in his first full season in the championship, driving Team Dynamics' second Honda Integra-R, benefited from a 30-second stop/go penalty issued to pole-sitter Jason Plato for a timing infringement.

Plato had led from pole position but handed the lead to Shedden after two laps when he served his penalty.

Shedden had scythed inside Synchro Motorsport's James Kaye at the Island hairpin on the second lap to claim what became the lead when Plato pitted, and retained his position to the end.

He did have a brief scare with three laps to go when he was forced to take evasive action at the chicane after Fiona Leggate's bio-ethanol powered Vauxhall Astra Coupe demolished a tyre stack.

"Someone had knocked over the tyre wall, so it seemed sensible not to go through the corner," said Shedden. "The car was perfect during the race, and it's a real boost to get my first win."

Eurotech's Mike Jordan, driving Matt Neal's 2005 BTCC-winning Integra, followed up his maiden win at Mondello Park last month with a superb second place, closing to within a second of Shedden in the final laps after starting seventh on the grid.

James Kaye, driving in his 259th BTCC race, took his first outright podium finish for the richly-deserving Synchro Motorsport team after an inspired drive from fourth on the grid, holding off Neal's Integra for half of the race.

Fabrizio Giovanardi put a qualifying crash behind him to take a battling fifth place despite pressure from the RAC-backed MG ZSs of Rob Collard and Colin Turkington.

Both MGs had been forced to start from the back of the grid after failing to get out of the pitlane before it closed, but neither could get ahead of Giovanardi.

Gavin Smith finished eighth ahead of independent David Pinkney after spinning on the first lap, with James Thompson, who had lost his front-row slot after also missing the pitlane opening, fighting a lack of power-steering on his way to 11th.

CLASSIFIED:

Pos  Driver            Make                  Time
 1.  Gordon Shedden    Honda Integra         22:40.431
 2.  Mike Jordan       Honda Integra         +   1.177
 3.  James Kaye        Honda Civic Type R    +   5.257
 4.  Matt Neal         Honda Integra         +   5.429
 5.  F. Giovanardi     Vauxhall Astra Sport  +  11.775
 6.  Robert Collard    MG ZS                 +  11.985
 7.  Colin Turkington  MG ZS                 +  12.338
 8.  Gavin Smith       Vauxhall Astra Sport  +  12.613
 9.  Tom Chilton       Vauxhall Astra Sport  +  13.770
10.  David Pinkney     Honda Integra         +  15.723
11.  James Thompson    SEAT Leon             +  18.565
12.  Jason Hughes      MG ZS                 +  21.536
13.  Mark Proctor      Honda Civic Type R    +  23.042
14.  Jason Plato       SEAT Leon             +  40.278
15.  Fiona Leggate     Vauxhall Astra Coupe  +1:05.521
16.  Mark Smith        Alfa Romeo 156        +   1 lap

NOT CLASSIFIED:

     Driver            Make                 Laps
     Adam Jones        Lexus IS200           13
     Martyn Bell       BMW 320i E46           1

Fastest lap: Jason Plato, 1:29.140 on lap 4