Jason Plato resisted West Surrey Racing’s Rob Collard to clinch a second win of the British Touring Car Championship season at Thruxton, with race one winner Gordon Shedden finishing in third.
Collard had jumped the Team BMR driver off the line, but Plato fought back with a decisive move at the chicane at the end of the second lap, before holding off the BMW man for the remainder of the race.
It was the second phase of the start where Collard made his mark, out-dragging Plato’s Volkswagen CC on the run through Allard. Adam Morgan, Andy Priaulx and Shedden went three-abreast off the line, with Priaulx sent into a half spin as he and Morgan collided as Shedden swept by.
Things got worse for Priaulx moments later as he was involved in an incident with Mark Lines and Warren Scott, while there was chaos throughout the order as Jeff Smith and Josh Cook were forced to pit after collecting advertising boards.
Plato had stayed with Collard at the start of the race and after stalking the BMW in the opening part of the lap, dived down the inside into the chicane to regain the lead.
And the pair remained in that order until the flag, with Plato holding off Collard despite the latter’s best efforts, with a winning margin of 0.442s flattering Plato.
Shedden had stayed with the lead duo at the start but dropped back midway through the race, with Jack Goff giving the Scotsman something to think about at the end of the race as he finished just shy of a second podium of the season.
Colin Turkington was fifth ahead of Sam Tordoff, with Andrew Jordan finishing in seventh. Morgan recovered after his contact at the start of the race to claim eighth and with start the reverse grid race from pole, while Rob Austin and Aiden Moffat completed the top ten.
Race three starts at 17:17 BST.
Points scoring result
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME/GAP | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 99 | Jason PLATO |  |
Team BMR | Volkswagen CC | 16 | 21:05.521 | 1:17.936 | 1 | |
| 2 | 6 | C | Rob COLLARD | |
Team JCT600 with GardX | BMW 125i M Sport | 16 | 0.442 | 1:17.905 | 2 |
| 3 | 52 | M | Gordon SHEDDEN | |
Honda Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 16 | 3.475 | 1:17.988 | 4 |
| 4 | 31 | M | Jack GOFF | |
MG 888 Racing | MG 6GT | 16 | 4.022 | 1:17.980 | 10 |
| 5 | 1 | Colin TURKINGTON | |
Team BMR | Volkswagen CC | 16 | 6.962 | 1:17.963 | 12 | |
| 6 | 7 | C | Sam TORDOFF | |
Team JCT600 with GardX | BMW 125i M Sport | 16 | 10.385 | 1:17.960 | 14 |
| 7 | 77 | M | Andrew JORDAN | |
MG 888 Racing | MG 6GT | 16 | 10.833 | 1:18.025 | 13 |
| 8 | 33 | Adam MORGAN | |
WIX Racing | Mercedes Benz A-Class | 16 | 12.963 | 1:17.850 | 3 | |
| 9 | 101 | Rob AUSTIN | |
Exocet AlcoSense | Audi A4 | 16 | 13.755 | 1:18.228 | 15 | |
| 10 | 16 | Aiden MOFFAT | |
Laser Tools Racing | Mercedes Benz A-Class | 16 | 14.339 | 1:18.079 | 18 | |
| 11 | 40 | Árón SMITH |  |
Team BMR | Volkswagen CC | 16 | 17.095 | 1:18.071 | 6 | |
| 12 | 17 | Dave NEWSHAM | |
Power Maxed Racing | Chevrolet Cruze | 16 | 18.046 | 1:17.909 | 25 | |
| 13 | 30 | Martin DEPPER | |
Eurotech Racing | Honda Civic | 16 | 20.161 | 1:18.161 | 11 | |
| 14 | 54 | Hunter ABBOTT | |
Exocet AlcoSense | Audi A4 | 16 | 27.429 | 1:18.596 | 19 | |
| 15 | 23 | Kieran GALLAGHER | |
RCIB Insurance Racing | Toyota Avensis | 16 | 40.166 | 1:20.057 | 20 |