BTCC 2010- Brands (final round)

[Rob]

blimey with all the excitment and build up to Suzuka, i totally forgot about the BTCC finale tomorrow!!!

Plato secures pole at Brands Hatch www.autosport.com

By Jamie O'Leary Saturday, October 9th 2010, 15:32 GMT

Jason Plato secured his first pole position of 2010 in qualifying for the final British Touring Car Championship round of the season at Brands Hatch.

The championship leader produced a stunning lap of 48.647s despite carrying the maximum 45kg of success ballast to take pole and the bonus point that comes with it.

His closest rival for the title, Matt Neal, recovered from his poor practice pace to set the second quickest time in his Honda, 0.133s adrift of Plato.

Fellow title contender Gordon Shedden and Alex MacDowall made it a Honda-Chevrolet second row with Tom Chilton the best of the Arena Fords in fifth.

Mat Jackson (Motorbase BMW) and James Nash were next up while Nash's Triple 8 Vauxhall team-mate Sam Tordoff was a hugely impressive eighth ahead of his BTCC debut.

Paul O'Neill kept up his record of qualifying in the top 10 at every round this year. His Tech-Speed Honda was ninth, one place ahead of Tom Onslow-Cole, the last of the four title contenders, who was a disappointing 10th.

The session was red-flagged twice; firstly when Lea Wood's Wood Honda went off at Clearways and then 10 minutes later when John George (Tech-Speed Honda) and MacDowall both stopped at the same corner.

Andy Neate was another to go off, the WSR BMW driver ploughing through the gravel and into the tyre barriers at Paddock with three minutes to go. His accident was covered by stationary yellow flags.


Pos Driver Car Time Gap
1. Jason Plato Chevrolet 48.647s
2. Matt Neal Honda 48.780s + 0.133s
3. Gordon Shedden Honda 48.791s + 0.144s
4. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet 48.830s + 0.183s
5. Tom Chilton Ford 48.871s + 0.224s
6. Mat Jackson BMW 48.885s + 0.238s
7. James Nash Vauxhall 48.902s + 0.255s
8. Sam Tordoff Vauxhall 48.947s + 0.300s
9. Paul O'Neill Honda 49.100s + 0.453s
10. Tom Onslow-Cole Ford 49.110s + 0.463s
11. Andrew Jordan Vauxhall 49.171s + 0.524s
12. Tom Boardman SEAT 49.173s + 0.526s
13. Rob Collard BMW 49.190s + 0.543s
14. Steven Kane BMW 49.249s + 0.602s
15. Andy Neate BMW 49.540s + 0.893s
16. Arthur Forster BMW 49.788s + 1.141s
17. Lea Wood Honda 49.841s + 1.194s
18. Martin Depper BMW 49.960s + 1.313s
19. Martin Johnson Vauxhall 50.010s + 1.363s
20. John George Honda 50.116s + 1.469s
21. Shaun Hollamby Volkswagen 50.129s + 1.482s
22. Ben Collins BMW no time

[Rob]

ITV, BTCC extend agreement
ITV will continue its thrilling live coverage of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship for a minimum of three more years after renewing its agreement with the UK’s premier motor racing series.

This new agreement will begin in 2011 and, as currently, includes live race day coverage on ITV4 plus BTCC race highlights on ITV1 and ITV4 following each event.

Additionally, from next season all events will also be broadcast in HD (High Definition) – which will be available on the new ‘ITV4 HD’ channel to be launched soon – offering the very best in picture quality with sharper images, richer colours and amazing detail.

Furthermore, ITV’s website www.itv.com will continue to live-stream its BTCC race day coverage for UK audiences as well as continue making highlights available to view on a dedicated page in the site’s main sports section as well as on ‘ITV Player’.

This latest agreement means the BTCC’s relationship with ITV will now extend to 12 consecutive years – the network having first broadcast action from the championship back in 2002.

Alan Gow, BTCC Series Director, said: “ITV’s coverage of and enthusiasm for the BTCC has grown year on year and is clearly demonstrated by the fact we are jointly able to announce this terrific news some six months before our 2011 season even starts.

“ITV continues to provide the BTCC with fantastic free-to-air TV broadcasting that is the great envy of the sport. I’m absolutely delighted that our teams, drivers, sponsors, partners and many millions of fans can all now look forward to benefiting once more from ITV’s superb coverage for at least the next three seasons. And to now also be available in HD further underlines the quality and breadth of the BTCC’s television coverage”.

Niall Sloane, Head of ITV Sport, commented: “Everyone at ITV Sport is delighted that we have been able to continue our coverage of the British Touring Car Championship. The exciting races are a major feature of the ITV4 schedule and we look forward to three more great seasons with the BTCC."

To re-cap, ITV Sport’s coverage of the BTCC from 2011 onwards will include:
• Live coverage on ITV4 from 11.30am to 6.00pm each race day
• Live coverage on ITV4 HD from 11.30am to 6.00pm each race day
• Highlights programme on ITV1
• Highlights programme on ITV4
• Live-streaming of race day coverage via the itv.com website
• Replays of each highlights programme for 30 days after via the ‘ITV Player’
• Highlights all season of every race via the ‘race archive’ at www.itv.com/touringcars

[Rob]

wow BTCC in HD next year!!! that be great. If BTCC can do it, come on Bernie and make sure F1 in HD next year.

[Rob]

Plato wants fair fight
Jason Plato says he wants a fair clean fight to decide the outcome of Dunlop British Touring Car Championship at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent this weekend.

Silverline Chevrolet ace Plato leads the standings going into the event but three others drivers – Honda Racing Team team-mates Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden and Tom Onslow-Cole in his unique LPG-turbocharged Team Aon Ford Focus – can still deny him a second BTCC title.

Sunday will mark the first time in the BTCC’s 52-year history that four drivers will have gone into Finals Day with a chance of being crowned champion.

Brands Hatch circuit owner, MotorSport Vision, has announced that advanced ticket sales have broken all previous records and it expects a 35,000-plus attendance at the event.

Oxford’s Plato said: “It needs to be fought out in an English straight bat way and if it’s not I’ll be cheesed off.

“As odd as this might sound I don’t want any of my rivals to have a car problem but, more importantly, I hope there are no shenanigans out there.

“Ultimately I’m the one in control of my own destiny but I’m not in control of other people's actions.”

Plato will start Sunday's three title-deciding races with a 17-point advantage – the equivalent of a race win – over nearest challenger Neal, his big rival of recent seasons.

But he added: “It’s a handy lead but I certainly don’t have the luxury of being able to just cruise around and pick up a few points. I’m going to have to race hard for this.

“Only 24 points cover the lot of us and fortunes can turn in the blink of an eye – I certainly wouldn’t discount Tom even though he’s back in fourth.

“But I do think my car, the Chevrolet Cruze, will be competitive. We were fastest here in the pre-season test with maximum ballast in it which is what I start with this weekend.

"I'd imagine that after that it will ebb and flow with the ballast weights being moved around among us and when the weight is out of my car we all know what it is capable of as we demonstrated at Donington Park a few weeks ago."

[Greig]

Should be a good day, Plato already moaning hopefully Neal knocks him off hehe

[Rob]

Should be a good day, Plato already moaning hopefully Neal knocks him off hehe

that would really make my day (if suzuka doesnt go well, sure it will)

[Tifosi]

Go Plato!

Let's hope the moping daddy's boy goes out like the cheating numpty he is. Yes, I mean Matt Neal. Worst driver on the grid.

Team Orders won't help Sonic after all (shame Tom Onslow Cole was hobbled to help Chilton really).

Good Luck Gordon

[Greig]

Neal never had a chance to knock him off

[Greig]

The Stig sucks

[Julie B]

Results - Race 1
Jason Plato has taken a huge step towards the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship title with victory in the first of today’s three races at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent.

Plato, starting from pole position, led all the way and also set a new race lap record to earn a bonus point – despite his Chevrolet Cruze being laden with the maximum 45kgs of success ballast.

Notably, it is the 59th win of his BTCC career, putting him now just one shy of Andy Rouse's all-time record of 60.

Finishing second and third were Honda team-mates Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal in their Honda Civics. Neal had started from second on the grid but dropped to fourth away from the grid behind a fast-starting Shedden and Mat Jackson’s Airwaves BMW.

But Jackson spun mid-race and dropped to an eventual 13th, gifting Neal an easy third.

The result means Plato leads the championship by an extended margin of 25 points from Neal with Shedden a further two points behind. Plato only needs to be 18 points clear of Neal after race two to provisionally secure the crown…

But Plato said: "Let's not have any talk of the title yet. There's still a lot of hard work and a lot of racing to be done. All my energies were focused on the start and it paid off. I pushed to build a lead then saw Gordon was catching me a little bit so decided it was time to push again and demoralise him a bit."

But it’s all over for Tom Onslow-Cole – his Team Aon Ford Focus broke down, spelling an end to his title hopes. He continues to lead the Independent Drivers standings but by the reduced margin of 13 points from his team-mate Tom Chilton who has moved up to second ahead of Airwaves BMW’s Steven Kane. Jackson’s spin has cost him dear for it means he can no longer win the Independents title.

However, both the HiQ and Independent teams' titles have been provisionally secured, in favour of the Honda Racing Team and Team respectively.

Elsewhere, Plato’s team-mate Alex MacDowall fought back past James Nash’s Triple Eight-run Vauxhall Vectra to finish where he started in fourth but in the closing stages was under mounting pressure from WSR BMW driver Robert Collard who took fifth, the highest-placed independent runner. Notably, MacDowall’s result moves him two points past Andrew Jordan into tenth place in the table.

Paul O’Neill determinedly fought back past Chilton in his older BTC-spec Sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed Honda Integra to claim sixth. Chilton was seventh ahead of Nash, Jordan in his Pirtek Racing Vectra and Tom Boardman, tenth in his Special Tuning UK SEAT Leon. Eleventh place for Kane means he is still in the running for the Independents crown, now 14 points behind leader Onslow-Cole.

He headed four BWW drivers, WSR’s Andy Neate and team-mates Jackson and, making his BTCC debut, Ben Collins across the line.

Fellow debutant Sam Tordoff had run just outside the top ten in his Triple Eight Vectra but fell to an eventual 17th after serving a pit lane-drive through penalty for excessive use of the track’s run-off areas.

Pos Driver Car Time
1. Jason Plato Chevrolet 19:56.707
2. Gordon Shedden Honda + 2.154
3. Matt Neal Honda + 2.750
4. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet + 4.626
5. Rob Collard BMW + 4.886
6. Paul O'Neill Honda + 11.276
7. Tom Chilton Ford + 11.871
8. James Nash Vauxhall + 13.002
9. Andrew Jordan Vauxhall + 14.268
10. Tom Boardman SEAT + 16.139
11. Steven Kane BMW + 16.248
12. Andy Neate BMW + 16.789
13. Mat Jackson BMW + 19.903
14. Ben Collins BMW + 24.614
15. Lea Wood Honda + 27.637
16. James Kaye Honda + 28.734
17. Sam Tordoff Vauxhall + 36.053
18. Martin Johnson Vauxhall + 42.227
19. John George Honda + 42.476
20. Arthur Forster BMW + 44.372
21. Shaun Hollamby Volkswagen + 1 lap

Retirements:

Driver Car Laps
Tom Onslow-Cole Ford 8
Martin Depper BMW 6

Fastest lap: Jason Plato, 49.021

[Julie B]

Toooooot toooooooooooot well done Plato on winning Championship, well deserved

[RockyRaccoon]

Woo Hoo!! Well done Plato.

[Julie B]

Race 2 - Results
Jason Plato is the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship after winning the second of today’s final three title-deciding races at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent.

Just as in race one, Chevrolet driver Plato led all the way from pole position – and this time it was enough for him to secure a second title having previously won the championship back in 2001.

It was also the 60th race win of Plato’s BTCC career and he has now equalled Andy Rouse’s all-time record of 60 victories in the series.

Matt Neal finished the race in second and is virtually guaranteed to finish as championship runner-up. Third was Robert Collard who set a new lap record in his BMW and also his second independent victory of the day.

Oxford’s Plato said: “The BTCC is one of the very best championships in the world so to win it is a very magical feeling. Everyone in my team, Chevrolet and RML who prepare the car, are the best in the business and also a great family of people so it’s a very joyous experience winning it for them.”

On matching Rouse’s wins record, Plato added: “Sixty wins… it sounds nice, doesn’t it? But not as nice as 61! The pressure’s off now so I can go and have some fun in race three…”

Neal was left in a clear second when Collard, who’d been pressurising him, lost ground with a brief off at Paddock Hill Bend, but there was nothing he could do to close down Plato. The Worcestershire driver, champion in 2005 and 2006, commented: “Hats off to Jason. He’s won it fair and square with the wins and being very cunning on track. But I still believe our Honda team have punched above our weight – Gordon (Shedden) and I have won a third of all the races this season. We’ll be back next year to give Jason an even harder time.”

Finishing the race a fighting fourth was Paul O’Neill in his Sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed Honda Integra while Tom Chilton’s Team Aon Ford Focus was fifth ahead of Airwaves BMW in sixth.

Chilton’s and Kane’s results could be crucial for they have now closed to within two and six points of Independent Drivers Championship leader Tom Onslow-Cole who suffered his second retirement of the day in the race. All three will therefore go into race three with a chance of finishing the season as the top privateer.

Seventh, just fending off Kane’s team-mate Jackson across the line, was Andrew Jordan in his Pirtek Vauxhall Vectra and he will start race three’s reversed grid from pole position. Furthermore, having lost his tenth place in the outright championship to Plato’s team-mate Alex MacDowall in race one, he has now regained it by two points. And with MacDowall starting race three from 20th on the grid following a retirement in race two, Jordan knows he has a great opportunity to make the place his own.

MacDowall’s retirement followed two pieces of contact. Having got up into second place behind Plato at the start he was rudely knocked off the track at Druids Hairpin in a clash with the challenging Neal. Later, fighting his way back through the order, he went off again in a collision at Paddock Hill Bend with Lea Wood’s Central Group Racing Honda before crawling back to the pit lane with damage to his Chevrolet.

Another driver in the wars was Gordon Shedden who, instead of starting from second on the grid, pitted on the green flag with a broken driveshaft on his Honda. His mechanics fixed it and, although he rejoined the race several laps down, was not classified as a finisher.

There were two more retirements, James Kaye and Martin Depper after their WRC/Barwell Honda Integra and Forster Motorsport BMW barged into one another and ran into a gravel trap on the opening lap.

Pos Driver Ca Time
1. Jason Plato Chevrolet 22:11.749
2. Matt Neal Honda + 0.887
3. Rob Collard BMW + 4.783
4. Paul O'Neill Honda + 5.671
5. Tom Chilton Ford + 8.314
6. Steven Kane BMW + 9.485
7. Andrew Jordan Vauxhall + 16.022
8. Mat Jackson BMW + 16.333
9. James Nash Vauxhall + 16.848
10. Andy Neate BMW + 20.094
11. Sam Tordoff Vauxhall + 20.760
12. Ben Collins BMW + 21.876
13. Tom Boardman SEAT + 22.842
14. John George Honda + 36.110
15. Lea Wood Honda + 37.391
16. Arthur Forster BMW + 42.761
17. Shaun Hollamby Volkswagen + 43.973

Retirements:

Driver Car Laps
Gordon Shedden Honda 22
Tom Onslow-Cole Ford 13
Alex MacDowall Chevrolet 9
Martin Depper BMW 5
James Kaye Honda 0

Fastest lap: Rob Collard, 48.898

[Julie B]

Wonder whether they will get 'I beat the Stig' Tshirts

[Rob]

Wonder whether they will get 'I beat the Stig' Tshirts

like to see one saying, "i was the stig"

not big fan of his, but, congrats Plato well done. 60 wins that is impressive. Hats off to him. Hope see some door banging action in last race, see them have bit of fun.

[Julie B]

Race 3 - Results
Andrew Jordan has won today’s final race of the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent.

Lichfield's Jordan led all the way from the reversed grid pole position in his Pirtek Racing Vauxhall Vectra to record his second win of the season and his career. The result cements tenth place in the final Drivers’ standings for the 21-year-old.

Airwaves BMW’s Steven Kane chased Jordan throughout to finish right behind him in second but it was not enough to prevent Team Aon’s Tom Chilton, who finished third, from stealing the Independent Drivers’ title.

But the outcome was in doubt until the very end as Chilton needed to fend off Kane's team-mate Mat Jackson, who set the race's fastest lap, all the way to the line to be sure of the privateers' trophy. Jackson had earlier forced his way past WSR BMW driver Robert Collard who in the same move, at Paddock Hill Bend, was also passed and relegated to sixth by Paul O’Neill in his Sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed Honda Integra.

Notably, the gap between Chilton and Kane at the top of the Independent Drivers’ table was just two points. Chilton's team-mate Tom Onslow-Cole who'd led the standings comfortably starting the day slipped to third after suffering his third retirement of the day in the pit lane.

Gordon Shedden produced the star drive of the race. The Honda Racing Team ace started way back in 18th after problems in race two but came through to finish eighth in his Honda Civic. Meanwhile, Jason Plato, already crowned Drivers’ Champion earlier in the day, finished the race in ninth in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze as Shedden’s team-mate Matt Neal, runner-up in the championship, retired on the opening lap with a mechanical failure.

Finishing tenth to take the final point of the season – and on his debut BTCC event – was young Yorkshire driver Sam Tordoff in his Triple Eight-run Vauxhall Vectra. But there was disappointment for fellow newcomer Ben Collins who, having been dicing with Tordoff, span out of the race in his Airwaves BMW.

Arthur Forster’s race was also over early after he span his BMW backwards into the barrier exiting Graham Hill Bend. Shaun Hollamby retired his AmD Milltek Racing.com VW Golf early on after spinning on oil dropped by Lea Wood’s Central Group Racing Honda Integra which pulled off the circuit. James Kaye (WRC/Barwell Integra) and Tom Boardman (Special Tuning UK SEAT Leon) also stopped with mechanical problems.

[Tifosi]

Well done JP. 9 years in the making.