Jason Plato wins breathless second Brands Hatch race

Triple Eight’s Jason Plato took his second win of the day in a breathless second race at Brands Hatch, where a clash with Colin Turkington eliminated the new champion from the lead. Mat Jackson, Rob Collard and Adam Morgan also had spells at the front, but it was Plato who kept his nerve to take the flag in another safety car-affected race.

Ciceley Racing’s Morgan executed several perfect overtaking moves to put himself in position for a stunning maiden win, but it was not to be, as he ran wide at Dingle Dell on lap 15 and ceded the led to Plato.

Morgan nevertheless hung on to a career-best second ahead of Plato’s team-mate Sam Tordoff, with long-time leader Collard just holding off Eurotech Racing’s Andrew Jordan at the line.

Speedworks Motorsport’s Tom Ingram took his best finish in touring cars in sixth, with Aron Smith, Gordon Shedden, Jack Goff and Nick Foster completing the top 10. Foster was drawn out of the hat for pole for the 30th and final race of the season.

Once again, the first lap yielded a safety car, when Team BMR’s Alain Menu lost the rear of his car going through Paddock Hill, and had a hefty rear-end contact with the wall. As in the first race, AmD Tuning’s Dave Newsham made contact with BTC Racing’s Chris Stockton, with Shedden narrowly missing the spinning Chevrolet.

Within a lap of the green flag flying, the main talking point played out. Plato was right up behind West Surrey Racing’s Turkington across the stripe, then dived up the inside on the grass, and made contact with the rear of the BMW 125i.

Turkington was beached in the Paddock Hill gravel, and Motorbase Performance’s Jackson passed Plato in the melee. But then, in a most uncharacteristic fashion, Jackson lost it all on his own at Westfield.

Collard took advantage of the slowing Plato to pass as the safety car was once again deployed, to allow Turkington’s car to be retrieved.

The race resumed on lap six, and there was very nearly another huge moment, when Jackson’s team-mate Fabrizio Giovanardi had a huge spin at Westfield while battling with Ingram. He slewed luridly across the track, but miraculously, nobody in the chasing pack hit him.

Morgan started his advance, passing Tordoff at Druids on lap eight, and quickly caught Plato, who was bottled up behind Collard.

The BMW resisted for several laps, before Morgan took advantage of his car’s superb performance through Paddock to pass Plato into Druids on lap 14, then pass Collard across the stripe at the end of the lap.

But it was not to be for Morgan, as he slid wide at Dingle Dell on lap 15, allowing Plato back through to take the win. However, the result may be cast into doubt if the stewards investigate Plato’s move on Turkington.

UPDATE: Stewards later handed Plato a 20 second penalty for his move on Turkington, meaning the win was awarded to Morgan.