Turkington Wins Race Two
Colin Turkington claimed his second British Touring Car victory of the year in drying conditions at Mondello Park
The Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch driver survived a first corner skirmish with Dan Eaves and Rob Collard to take the lead from the fast-starting Honda Civic Type-R of Tom Chilton on lap three.
Chilton had gambled on further rain and started on wets, but despite charging from ninth to first in the opening half-lap soon realised that slicks were the way to go and came into the pits.
Front-row starters Yvan Muller (Vauxhall) and Jason Plato (SEAT) gambled on slicks at the start, although both were served with 30 second stop/go penalties for changing tyres after the three-minute board had been shown. Both returned near the back of the field, with Muller pushing on to take sixth place and Plato concentrating on pole position for race three by finishing tenth.
At the front, Turkington survived a mid-race charge from Eaves, who like the Northern Irishman was running on a mixture of slicks on the front and wets on the back, to take a relatively comfortable victory.
Eaves' teammate, Matt Neal, took the final podium place after staying patient on slicks in the early stages of the race and passing the fast-starting MG ZS of Rob Collard in the closing stages. Collard, struggling with rear suspension damage, put up no serious defence into the final corner, and settled for a solid fourth place.
Local hero Gavin Smith, driving the third Sport Hatch, was set for his best result of the year before suffering a left-front puncture, the result of debris, in the closing stages.
CLASSIFIED: Pos Driver Team Time 1. Colin Turkington Vauxhall Astra 26:59.042 2. Dan Eaves Honda Integra + 5.143 3. Matt Neal Honda Integra + 11.626 4. Rob Collard MG ZS + 27.498 5. Luke Hines SEAT Toledo Cupra + 33.373 6. Yvan Muller Vauxhall Astra + 51.295 7. Jason Hughes MG ZS + 57.187 8. Tom Chilton Honda Civic Type-R + 57.394 9. James Pickford SEAT Toledo Cupra +1:02.705 10. Jason Plato SEAT Toledo Cupra +1:05.069 11. Ian Curley Lexus IS200 +1:45.380 12. Richard Williams Lexus IS200 +1:46.086 13. Fiona Leggate Vauxhall Astra Coupe +1:55.427 NOT CLASSIFIED/RETIREMENTS Driver Team On Lap Gavin Smith Vauxhall Astra 12 James Kaye Honda Civic Type-R 4 Mark Proctor Vauxhall Astra Coupe 4
About this article
| Series | BTCC |
| Drivers | Colin Turkington |
| Author | Edd Straw |
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