Chevrolet’s Jason Plato won the first race at Brands Hatch, fending off the challenge from championship rivals Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal. It means that Plato takes maximum points with only two races to go to gives his title charge a significant boost. Shedden, who followed home in second, could do little to challenge the Silverline Chevrolet driver, whilst Neal was forced to settle for third after a disastrous start.
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By starting from pole position, leading the race and setting the fastest lap Plato has ensured that he scored every point he could. He is now 25 points clear of nearest rival Neal with only 34 up for grab in the next two races.
Shedden was able to get past Neal at the very start of the race after the former double champion bogged down off the line. Initially Mat Jackson had been running in third separating the two Honda’s, but on lap 8 the Airwaves BMW driver made a mistake by taking too much kerb into Surtees and he spun out of the top ten.
Alex MacDowall followed the three title protagonists home to take fourth position, despite heavy pressure from Rob Collard who was fifth. It was a fantastic drive from 13th on the grid for Collard after a difficult qualifying session yesterday saw him in an uncharacteristically low grid position.
Paul O’Neill, Tom Chilton and James Nash were next up in 6th, 7th and 8th places respectively. Chilton was the only Team Aon driver to finish the race – Tom Onslow-Cole pulled off the race track after 8 laps after suffering a loss of drive in his car. It means that Onslow-Cole is now out of contention for the championship and will also start race two from the back of the grid. He can still take top honours in the Independent’s championship – although Chilton has closed the gap to just 12 points between the pair at the top.
Rounding out the top ten were Andrew Jordan in ninth and Tom Boardman in tenth – the two having a close battle for the last points throughout the race.
Two championships have already been decided after race one – the Honda Racing Team have successfully wrapped up the team’s championship with their double-podium finish, whilst Team Aon won the Independent Teams Championship, despite only Chilton scoring points. Still up for grabs are the drivers, independent drivers and Manufacturer/Constructor titles this afternoon.
Of the rest – two drivers making their debuts this weekend both made it to the finish although with varying fortunes. Ben Collins finished in 14th and finally completed some significant mileage in his BMW 320si. The former Stig had gearbox problems throughout Saturday and his team, Airwaves BMW, have worked through the night to change his gearbox entirely from a 6-speed to a more reliable 5-speed. Sam Tordoff, having his first race in a Vauxhall Vectra, was running competitively before he was given a drive-through penalty for running wide at Paddock Hill bend too many times.