BTCC 2010 - Donington

**Julie B** · 18th September 2010, 16:31

QUALIFYING
Tom Chilton has taken pole position in Donington Park’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship qualifying session as the top five in the series filled the top five spots.

Chilton achieved his fourth pole of the season in a time of 1m11.328s in his Team Aon Ford Focus. It means he will start the first of tomorrow’s three races from the front of the starting grid which could prove crucial to his title hopes as he goes into this weekend with some 59 points to make up on series leader Jason Plato – now 58 as his pole gives him a bonus point.

Second fastest, just 0.081s adrift, and making it an all-Team Aon front row was his team-mate Tom Onslow-Cole, currently third in the championship table. Third, just as he is in the championship, was Honda Racing Team’s Gordon Shedden while series leader, Silverline Chevrolet’s Jason Plato, and Shedden’s team-mate Matt Neal, second in the standings, qualified fourth and fifth fastest.

The jumbled-up order means fans can likely expect fireworks tomorrow at Donington as each of these five drivers fights to keep alive his title hopes ahead of the BTCC’s Finals Day fixture at Brands Hatch early next month.

Furthermore, there's also the real possibility that several other drivers could get involved in and add to the unpredictability - less than a second covered today's 12 fastest qualifiers.

Pos Driver Car Time Gap
1. Tom Chilton Ford 1m11.328s
2. Tom Onslow-Cole Ford 1m11.409s + 0.081s
3. Gordon Shedden Honda 1m11.448s + 0.120s
4. Jason Plato Chevrolet 1m11.542s + 0.214s
5. Matt Neal Honda 1m11.604s + 0.276s
6. Andrew Jordan Vauxhall 1m11.717s + 0.389s
7. Paul O'Neill Honda 1m11.822s + 0.494s
8. Rob Collard BMW 1m11.834s + 0.506s
9. Tom Boardman SEAT 1m11.916s + 0.588s
10. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet 1m11.919s + 0.591s
11. Mat Jackson BMW 1m12.010s + 0.682s
12. James Nash Vauxhall 1m12.298s + 0.970s
13. James Kaye Honda 1m13.100s + 1.772s
14. Andy Neate BMW 1m13.221s + 1.893s
15. Lea Wood Honda 1m13.287s + 1.959s
16. John George Honda 1m13.456s + 2.128s
17. Martin Johnson Vauxhall 1m13.900s + 2.572s
18. David Pinkney Vauxhall 1m13.927s + 2.599s
19. Shaun Hollamby Volkswagen 1m14.208s + 2.880s
20. Arthur Forster BMW 1m15.140s + 3.812s
21. Steven Kane BMW

**Rob** · 18th September 2010, 19:09

hey this will be a cracker. May be another Ford stomping

**Greig** · 18th September 2010, 19:11

woooohooo my fantasy team 1-2-3

Come on Flash, great to see Donni back

**Rob** · 18th September 2010, 19:17

got 1 of mine in tope 3!!!!

great that Donnie is back, was bit worried for the place for a while.

**Greig** · 19th September 2010, 11:41

Great first race, well done Flash

shame for Plato

**RockyRaccoon** · 19th September 2010, 14:02

I missed the first race, what happened? Great second race from Plato so far.

**Julie B** · 19th September 2010, 14:35

RACE 1 - RESULTS
Gordon Shedden has won a chaotic first Dunlop British Touring Car Championship race at Donington but series leader Jason Plato crashed out.

Scottish ace Shedden, in his Honda Civic, took the chequered flag ahead of Team Aon Ford driver Tom Chilton, who’d started from pole position, and the BMW of Mat Jackson which came through from 12th on the grid to finish third.

Plato’s demise came on lap 12 in a five-car pile-up at the chicane, his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze crashing into the barriers with broken steering. Elsewhere, his other title rivals, Honda’s Matt Neal and Aon’s Tom Onslow-Cole, who were both caught up in the same incident, finished fifth and eighth.

The result has a significant bearing on the title race – Plato still leads but by the decreased margin of 14 points over Neal. Shedden is up to third, just three points further back who is an identical margin clear of Onslow-Cole. Chilton stays fifth but, with bonuses for pole position and the race's fastest lap - a new record - he is now just 46 points behind Plato who will have to start race two of three from the back of the grid.

Shedden, who’d spent most of the race nibbling at and being nibbled by the two Aon cars, said: “That was one of the toughest wins. Onslow-Cole was in front but was braking very early and stacking me back into Chilton so he could keep having a go. I had to make my move and it paid off but phew!”

And added Chilton: “I was lucky to miss everything that went off at the chicane. Luckily most of it was happening in my mirrors but there were still bits flying over my car.”

Jackson seemed surprised to be third having started from the sixth row of the grid, saying: “Where did I come from!? I just saw it all kicking off in front of me and drove through it all. Then held on!”

The start of the race saw Chilton lose his pole position advantage to both Onslow-Cole and Shedden into the first corner as, behind, both Andrew Jordan and Robert Collard made it past Neal and Plato into fourth and fifth places.

On lap five a tangle between Paul O’Neill’s Honda, Tom Boardman’s SEAT and Steven Kane’s BMW’s sent the former spinning to a halt on the infield exiting Coppice Corner – triggering a safety car period. Once his car was retrieved the race resumed but almost immediately there was a second safety car period as the leading group of cars had their moment of madness at the chicane.

Shedden, as in the first part of the race, was having to fight tooth and nail to tame the two Fords – at one point his car was off the track along Starkeys Straight in a clash with Chilton – and at McLeans corner lunged his way into the lead past Onslow-Cole. This cost the latter dear for at Coppice he was further demoted by both Chilton and Neal, although fought back to on Starkeys to enter the chicane side by side with the Honda. Under braking, though, Plato nudged Neal’s rear forcing him wide and into the tetrosyl barriers that line the edge of the circuit.

Onslow-Cole’s car also struck one of the barriers and, with debris flying, Neal cannoned back into Plato, this instantly breaking the Chevroilet's steering as it ran off the track into the barriers. Jordan, following at a distance after a trip through the gravel trap at McLeans, also struck one of the bouncing barriers and smacked Collard’s WSR BMW into a spin. Collard would recover to finish a distance 16th but Jordan’s damaged Pirtek Vauxhall Vectra joined Plato on the sidelines, clobbering it as it came to rest.

Following another safety car period, the race came down to a two-lap sprint at the end, Shedden holding off Chilton while, behind, Jackson kept Plato’s team-mate Alex MacDowall at bay for third. Neal, with damage to his bonnet, was fifth ahead of Kane who had come through from 21st on the grid after a disastrous qualifying session.

Onslow-Cole looked to be on course for seventh but, with heavy damage to the front of his car, was passed by Tom Boardman’s Special Tuning UK SEAT at the Old Hairpin on the final lap. Onslow-Cole thus crawled over the line in eighth ahead of impressive series returnee James Kaye in his WRC/Barwell Honda Integra and David Pinkney, deservedly earning a point in tenth having also started from near the back of the grid after problems in qualifying.

Pos Driver Car Time/Gap
1. Gordon Shedden Honda 26m45.547s
2. Tom Chilton Ford + 0.299s
3. Mat Jackson BMW + 1.193s
4. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet + 1.558s
5. Matt Neal Honda + 2.789s
6. Steven Kane BMW + 4.207s
7. Tom Boardman SEAT + 5.861s
8. Tom Onslow-Cole Ford + 6.441s
9. James Kaye Honda + 7.259s
10. David Pinkney Vauxhall + 7.969s
11. Martin Johnson Vauxhall + 8.271s
12. John George Honda + 8.488s
13. Lea Wood Honda + 10.299s
14. Shaun Hollamby Volkswagen + 11.263s
15. Andy Neate BMW + 11.479s
16. Rob Collard BMW + 12.413s
17. James Nash Vauxhall + 1 lap
18. Arthur Forster BMW + 1 lap

Retirements:

Jason Plato Chevrolet 11 laps
Andrew Jordan Vauxhall 11 laps
Paul O'Neill Honda 4 laps

**Julie B** · 19th September 2010, 14:37

RACE 2 - RESULTS
Tom Onslow-Cole has won race two at Donington but Jason Plato starred with third from the back of the grid.

Having passed race one winner Gordon Shedden’s Honda Civic into the chicane shortly after mid-distance, Team Aon Ford driver Onslow-Cole was able to draw clear for his fourth win of the season.

Shedden, his car handicapped with the maximum 45kgs of success ballast, took second but right behind the pair of them at the line was Plato in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze.

Plato had started from 19th on the grid having crashed out of race one but this result – with a bonus point for the setting a new lap record – means he maintains a handy-sized championship lead.

Onslow-Cole and Shedden are now tied for second in the standings, 15 points behind Plato, while Honda’s Matt Neal, who finished the race in eighth after serving a pit lane drive-through penalty for jumping the start, has dropped to fourth, a further seven points adrift.

Regardless of what happens in race three, all four of these are guaranteed to go BTCC Finals Day at Brands Hatch, Kent on 10 October with a chance of winning the title.

Aon’s Tom Chilton, who finished the race in fourth, is also still in the running but needs a major result in today’s third race to have any realistic chance.

Onslow-Cole said: “That was a very tough race. I got knocked about a bit on the opening lap and then Gordon put up a good fight but it all fell into place. It’s a hugely important result for the championship.”

Plato, whose was driving a hastily-rebuilt Chevrolet after its race one crash, added: “Sixth was my target so third is a big bonus. It’s a funny old game, this sport. But even better is it’s a nice ‘JP’ ‘thank you’ to my team who put the car back together again. I had the pace to win that race but figured third and less success ballast for race three might work out better for us longer-term..."

Fifth, sixth and seventh places were decided at the very last bend between three BMW drivers. Airwaves’ Mat Jackson, who’d held second early on before dropping away, looked to have lost the spot to WSR’s Robert Collard half-way round the final lap but managed to squeeze back past entering the chicane. Collard was forced wide and over the gravel trap, this losing him momentum and enabling Jackson’s team-mate Steven Kane to out-drag him for sixth on the run to the line by just 0.069s.

Neal, recovering from his drive-through, made it up to eighth by passing Andrew Jordan’s Pirtek Vauxhall Vectra into the chicane several laps from home, Jordan having also come through the pack after crashing out with Plato in race one.

Tenth was James Nash in his Triple Eight-run Vauxhall Vectra. He had been following Plato through the field before several moments caused him to drop back. Indeed, several more drivers also enjoyed spells in the top ten during the race before being caught out by incidents, among them Tom Boardman (Special Tuning UK SEAT) and Lea Wood (Central Group Racing Honda) who had been as high as eighth in the opening laps.

Notably, Shaun Hollamby was ecstatic to be 19th – his AmD Milltek racing.com VW Golf had possibly its best showing to date, dicing with bigger teams’ cars before a driver error on the final lap cost him a handful of positions.

The race’s only retirement was Martin Johnson whose Boulevard Vauxhall Astra suffered a misfiring engine.

Pos Driver Car Time/Gap
1. Tom Onslow-Cole Ford 21m07.476s
2. Gordon Shedden Honda + 0.935s
3. Jason Plato Chevrolet + 1.542s
4. Tom Chilton Ford + 7.556s
5. Mat Jackson BMW + 10.236s
6. Steven Kane BMW + 10.978s
7. Rob Collard BMW + 11.047s
8. Matt Neal Honda + 12.115s
9. Andrew Jordan Vauxhall + 13.202s
10. James Nash Vauxhall + 13.549s
11. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet + 13.908s
12. Paul O'Neill Honda + 18.773s
13. Tom Boardman SEAT + 23.645s
14. James Kaye Honda + 25.597s
15. Andy Neate BMW + 30.150s
16. John George Honda + 30.710s
17. Lea Wood Honda + 31.587s
18. David Pinkney Vauxhall + 41.898s
19. Shaun Hollamby Volkswagen + 53.274s
20. Arthur Forster BMW + 1m07.580s

Retirements:

Martin Johnson Vauxhall 8 laps

**Julie B** · 19th September 2010, 17:54

RACE 3 - RESULTS
Matt Neal has won today’s third Dunlop British Touring Car Championship race at the Donington Park circuit in Leicestershire to set up a four-way title-decider at Brands Hatch on 10 October.

Honda driver Neal took the lead several laps in and from there was never headed as he romped home for his fifth win of the season.

Second was BMW driver Robert Collard and third Chevrolet’s Jason Plato as his other title rivals Gordon Shedden and Tom Onslow-Cole finished in sixth and ninth places.

It means that Oxford’s Plato, Worcestershire’s Neal, his Scottish team-mate Shedden and Team Aon Ford driver Onslow-Cole, from New Malden, will all go to Brands Hatch’s Finals Day round with a chance of being crowned the 2010 BTCC Champion.

That is a record for the highest number of drivers to have previously gone into Finals Day with a chance of the title is three - in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2009.

However, it's all over for Team Aon's Tom Chilton, fifth in the standings. He finished the race in fifth but leaves Donington 53 points behind Plato with a maximum of only 52 available from Brands Hatch's three races.

Pos Driver Car Time/Gap
1. Matt Neal Honda 19m29.257s
2. Rob Collard BMW + 4.115s
3. Jason Plato Chevrolet + 6.402s
4. Steven Kane BMW + 7.752s
5. Tom Chilton Ford + 8.983s
6. Gordon Shedden Honda + 9.300s
7. Andrew Jordan Vauxhall + 10.206s
8. Mat Jackson BMW + 15.292s
9. Tom Onslow-Cole Ford + 19.899s
10. James Nash Vauxhall + 19.946s
11. Lea Wood Honda + 21.064s
12. John George Honda + 32.411s
13. David Pinkney Vauxhall + 35.011s
14. Arthur Forster BMW + 37.643s

Retirements:

Paul O'Neill Honda 11 laps
Alex MacDowall Chevrolet 9 laps
Shaun Hollamby Volkswagen 8 laps
Tom Boardman SEAT 3 laps
Andy Neate BMW 1 lap
James Kaye Honda 1 lap