Silverstone feature race: Plato wins

It all started on the first lap when polesitter Phil Bennett was given a hit by Plato into Becketts, the Egg Sport Vauxhall Astra Coupe dropping to fourth. Yvan Muller then got the run on Plato and, despite being edged towards the grass by the sister works Vauxhall, got ahead into Abbey and into the lead.

Meanwhile, a clash at Becketts between the Production class front-runners brought the safety car out while Roger Moen's Peugeot, Simon Graves's Honda and Mat Jackson's Ford were swept away.

At the restart, Bennett lanced inside Egg Vauxhall team mate James Thompson at Copse, then was ideally placed to benefit when war broke out between the works Astras. Muller went wide at Becketts, Plato drawing alongside, only for the Frenchman to repay the opening lap compliment and push the Brit onto the grass. "I would never do that if he hadn't done it before," he muttered darkly in explanation.

Bennett, in a brilliant move, swept around the outside of both of them at Abbey and into the lead, only for Muller to slide back inside the Egg car at Priory and back into first place.

Two laps later Bennett slowed, his driveshaft broken. "When the driveshaft gets a sideload into it, that snaps it," he explained. "And the only sideload I had was from Mr Jason Plato. Again. But at least I've proved something today: that after my win I'm not such a c*** behind the wheel."

From then on the race settled down a bit, Muller leading Plato and Thompson and the order changing little at the pit stops. Warren Hughes, in the MG, managed four laps in front for some glory on the ZS's debut before making a late stop.

Into the closing stages Plato began to catch Muller as the Frenchman played a conservative game. Then, through Bridge on the final lap, the engine suddenly misfired, sending Muller sideways, "but for me that was quite normal!" he joked.

Nevertheless, Plato had momentum and felt he had a chance to make a move into Priory. But Muller turned in, Plato smashing into his 'team-mate' and sweeping ahead to the flag. Muller, his left front suspension billowing smoke, crawled across the line in third behind Thompson.

"Yvan tried to close the door but really he needed to concede the corner," explained Plato. "I was committed and as far as I was concerned I was alongside. People will point fingers, but let's have a look at the evidence first."

A bitter Muller remarked: "I turned in and 'Bang', he came into my door. I can imagine what Jason's excuse will be, and it's always the same bullshit. I was not enough of a hypocrite to shake his hand after the race. Now it's time to pay him back." Hmm...

Thompson, his car a little off-beam after a first-lap clash with Steve Soper's Peugeot, kept up his consistent run of finishes to take second.

While Soper struggled round with his car handling badly as a result of the incident, Dan Eaves upheld Peugeot honour in fourth, while Hughes took fifth, his only problem a lurid slide early in the race when team mate Anthony Reid got caught out and punted him at Priory.

Reid ended up seventh behind Thomas Erdos's Lexus, the Scot being given a drive-through penalty after the MG crew only changed one wheel at his pit stop - they couldn't get the left front off.

Both Alfas retired late on, Mark Blair - who was going extremely well - with suspension failure and Tim Harvey when he ran out of fuel on the last lap.

And now the Production class... After the first lap dust-up, Gavin Pyper took the lead, but his Alfa 156 was not really on the pace this weekend and, after the safety car, Peugeot privateer Tom Boardman swept ahead.

Boardman drove a perfect race, but the 17-year-old was destined for cruel luck. His engine began smoking a few laps from the end and, on the very last lap, he lost the lead and parked by the side of the road when the powerplant cried enough.

Through into an unlikely win came James Kaye's Barwell Honda after a punishing battle with title rival Simon Harrison's HTML Peugeot. Despite starting from the rear, and a first-lap spin, Harrison got up to second behind Boardman, but was pushed off the road at Becketts after contact with Kaye. Eventually he took the runner-up spot behind his season long rival.

"Those were some of the worst driving standards I've ever come across," complained Harrison of the race in general. Concerning Kaye, he said: "There's a difference between getting alongside and making a corner, and needing someone to be there to make the corner."

Kaye replied: "I went down his inside and he turned in. If I was in his position, leading the championship, I wouldn't drive like that. And then his childish behaviour when he came into the pits at the end was atrocious. He drove straight into the side of me."

Paul O'Neill was in with these two for much of the race and inherited the final podium spot thanks to Boardman's misfortune, then dedicated his result to the unlucky teenager.

Jason Plato (Vauxhall Astra Coupe) 35 laps in 55:39.548
James Thompson (Egg Sport Vauxhall Astra Coupe) +16.133
Yvan Muller (Vauxhall Astra Coupe) +28.178
Dan Eaves (Peugeot 406 Coupe) +42.615
Warren Hughes (MG ZS) +52.826
Thomas Erdos (TMSR Lexus IS200) +1:11.694
Anthony Reid (MG ZS) +1:17.405
Steve Soper (Peugeot 406 Coupe) +1:23.846
P James Kaye (Barwell Honda Accord) - 1 lap
P Simon Harrison (HTML Peugeot 306) - 1 lap
P Paul O'Neill (Techspeed Peugeot 306) - 1 lap
P Gavin Pyper (GA Janspeed Alfa Romeo 156) - 1 lap
P Rick Kraemer (GR Ford Focus) - 1 lap
P Dave Allan (Synchro Honda Accord) - 1 lap

Yvan Muller 1:28.424
Tom Boardman (TBR Peugeot 306) 1:33.139


1 Plato 286
Muller 274
Thompson 251
Bennett 134
Eaves 93
Soper 89
Erdos 59
Luby 33
Harvey 31
Blair & Priaulx 15


Harrison 202
Kaye 185
Moen 184
Jackson 137
Howell 117
Pyper 109