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Sprint race: MG's debut win

MG overturned Vauxhall's domination of this year's British Touring Car Championship in a dramatic sprint race at Brands Hatch. Anthony Reid's West Surrey Racing-run ZS triumphed as the Scot stayed out on the track on slick tyres while all the other BTC Touring runners pitted for wets when a mid-race shower turned to torrential rain

Meanwhile, Jason Plato, classified second in the results behind Reid, claimed maximum points - the MG team is ineligible for the championship this year - to slightly increase his series lead over Vauxhall team mate Yvan Muller going into the final round of the season later on Sunday afternoon.

Plato took the lead from pole-sitter Muller at the start, but then the rain started falling after a few laps. The safety car emerged when Steve Soper smashed into the barriers on the exit of Druids (in an incident similar to Nigel Mansell's 1998 crash). The concussed Soper was carted off to hospital, and while the safety car was out, the order constantly shuffled as the rain fell more heavily. Only Reid, in last place after a nudge with Tim Harvey, elected not to pit.

"From MG's point of view we had the options covered," he said. "I said to my engineer, 'Whatever Warren [Hughes, MG team mate] does I'll do the opposite'." Hughes himself only changed his mind at the last minute, diving into the pits and forcing Reid to stay out. The effect was to put Reid effectively almost a lap ahead of the wet-shod runners when the race restarted.

Vauxhall duo Plato and Muller duo eventually overhauled Reid when the MG ran off the road at Graham Hill Bend on the penultimate lap but, with the race red-flagged on the final lap, Reid inherited the victory on countback. No one seemed to mind.

The reason for the stoppage was a pair of sizeable accidents suffered by Production class aces Mat Jackson and Roger Moen, who were running second and third in class, then speared off the road in succession at Graham Hill Bend.

That means Moen is now only just in the hunt for the Production title, as HTML Peugeot team mate Simon Harrison finished sixth, despite losing almost two laps in a belated stop for 'wet' tyres. James Kaye also clings onto a championship chance - he took second despite plunging into the gravel trap on the last lap at Paddock Hill Bend, getting the place back because of the subsequent red flag.

Kaye's Barwell Honda team mate Simon Graves took the win. A perfect call and finely executed stops by the Barwell crew aided the chances of both Graves and Kaye significantly.

Anthony Reid (MG ZS) 29 laps
Jason Plato (Vauxhall Astra Coupe) +4.775s
Yvan Muller (Vauxhall Astra Coupe) +6.723s
James Thompson (Egg Sport Vauxhall Astra Coupe) +16.339s
Phil Bennett (Egg Sport Vauxhall Astra Coupe) +21.090s
Tim Harvey (JSM Alfa Romeo 147) +23.492s
Dan Eaves (Peugeot 406 Coupe) +26.210s
Steve Sutcliffe (TMSR Lexus IS200) +28.387s
Fastest lap Muller 49.866s

Simon Graves (Barwell Honda Accord) 28 laps
James Kaye (Barwell Honda Accord) 28 laps
Rick Kraemer (GR Ford Focus) 28 laps
Tom Boardman (TBR Peugeot 306) 27 laps
Richard Meins (GR Ford Focus) 27 laps
Simon Harrison (HTML Peugeot 306) 27 laps
Fastest lap Graves 52.404

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