Two huge accidents mar an otherwise brilliant BTCC weekend at Snetterton, with three separate winners.

• Turkington and Jackson also win on dramatic day at Snetterton

Reigning champion Gordon Shedden claimed a last-gasp victory to end a breathless day of BTCC racing at Snetterton, which also included wins for Colin Turkington and Mat Jackson.

Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Shedden had already secured Honda’s first pole position in more than three years during qualifying at the Norfolk circuit, but a race one win failed to materialise for the Scotsman.

Turkington won the opener after the Silverline Subaru BMR Racing driver eventually got the better of Shedden during a near race-long duel.

It was bumper-to-bumper action for the first half of the contest, but Turkington finally muscled his way past on lap eight of 12. Shedden couldn’t respond and Turkington went on to become the first three-time race winner of 2016.

Mat Jackson made the best start of the leading contenders as he blasted his Motorbase Performance Ford Focus from fifth on the grid to third off the line. While Jackson kept the lead duo honest, throughout, he also had to hold off the challenge from Adam Morgan behind. Jackson did the job, claiming a podium on the team’s 300th BTCC race.

Jackson then secured victory in a thrilling, truncated race two, with Turkington and Matt Neal completing the podium positions.

The Focus fired off the line beyond second-placed Shedden and then past pole man Turkington, before a multi-car collision sparked drama down the order. 

Aron Smith and Kelvin Fletcher had a coming together on the exit of turn one, but the major incident came later in the lap when Dan Welch and Ollie Jackson tangled as they ran on to the Bentley Straight. 

With dust filling the air the unsighted Alex Martin, Hunter Abbott and Ashley Sutton were all caught up in the accident. Stationary cars littered the track, several with heavy damage, leaving race officials with no choice but to stop the race.

Take two and Jackson produced an almost carbon copy of his earlier effort – leading Shedden off the line but waiting until Hamilton corner before disposing of Turkington. 

Jackson remained untroubled for the remainder of the shortened ten lap race, with Turkington following up his race one win with another solid showing in the second bout.

The fight for the final podium place remained undecided until the closing moments, as Neal and Rob Collard provided a spectacle of superb racing. 

Collard looked to have made a move stick after both cars ran side-by-side for much of lap eight, but triple champion Neal immediately fought back to retake the position. 

The striking Halfords-backed Honda held on to reach the rostrum, but both drivers strengthened their respective championship challenges with stellar points finishes.

Shedden then completed a sensational day of entertainment by snatching an unlikely last lap victory in the final race on the Snetterton 300 layout.

A dramatic accident brought about the second red flag of the day when contact between Mark Howard, Martin, Jackson and Abbott sent the latter’s Chevrolet Cruze into a barrel roll. Abbott’s Power Maxed Racing machine spiralled over the barrier and into a television gantry, leaving a cameraman and several drivers shaken but thankfully unharmed.

Pole-sitter and then championship leader Sam Tordoff broke down before the race could restart as the BTCC threw up yet another twist to the title race. The relentless drama was far from over, however, as Jason Plato chased his first win of the season.

Collard muscled his way past the two-time champion on lap two before Jackson and Shedden followed suit one tour later. Third became second for Shedden when Jackson’s Ford slowed with a problem on the Bentley Straight.

The Honda Civic Type R began reeling in Collard at a rate of knots and was right on his tail coming into the final lap. Shedden fired the #52 machine down the inside of the Team JCT600 with GardX BMW and the duo ran side-by-side for what seemed like an eternity. 

Collard eventually had to give up the challenge and settle for second, as Shedden stormed to an outstanding victory.

Handy Motorsport’s Rob Austin claimed a popular podium as he fended off Plato, Andrew Jordan and Turkington at the chequered flag.

Collard now leads the driver standings by three points from team-mate Sam Tordoff, with Honda’s Neal a further three points back. Unsurprisingly West Surrey Racing/Team JCT600 with GardX top the Manufacturers’ and Teams’ tables respectively. 

Andrew Jordan and his Motorbase Performance team head the Independents’ honours, whilst MG's Ashley Sutton remains in control of the Jack Sears Trophy.

Colin Turkington said: “That win was one of my most memorable races. I’ve never won around here in a rear-wheel drive car so it’s great. My pace was much better than I expected, I just tried to be patient and I made the move when the opportunity came up. 

I was in two minds; do I let him go on up the road a bit and take the pressure off myself from the Ford behind? He went wide and I forced my way through on the switchback. I won’t give up on the championship – if we can keep the momentum going then there’s every chance.”

Mat Jackson said: “It was good. To do it for a second time after the restart makes it even better – the car was on fire. I have to say it’s been absolutely awesome. Colin knew my tricks second time around but it was terrific to take the win with all the ballast on. It’s great for us and all of our sponsors. We were on the softs so we were mindful of being there at the end, managing it to a point. It was just about keeping an eye on where Colin was and keeping him at bay.”

Gordon Shedden said: “Five laps from home, it wasn’t happening. Three laps from home it wasn’t happening, but somehow we made it. What a race for us and what a move. I braked really nice and late into the hairpin and normally that’s more of a BMW move but we made it work. We were both slipping and sliding in there but I got up the inside. I’m delighted to get the result, it was a stunning one for the team and myself.”

Matt Neal said: “It’s a good job I’m not a betting man because I’d have put money on Rob Collard taking the race two podium with three laps to go. To start with I got my head down and was trying to be as aggressive as I could, looking forward to Colin Turkington. I saw Rob’s BMW in the mirrors and my attentions had to turn from attacking to defending because he was flying. He was charging but the Type R held on!”

Rob Collard said: “After qualifying yesterday I wasn’t expecting anything. Race one didn’t go to plan either and I thought the day was over. To come back from that and be leading the championship is just absolutely amazing. Congratulations to my team, they keep driving me on and back me. I’m here to please the crowd too and us guys are nothing without them. What a crowd it was, so thanks to all of them.”

Rob Austin said: “That was great. It’s the best result for Handy Motorsport, so it’s fantastic. Thanks to the fans and everyone at the team. You’re always concerned when Jason Plato is behind you! I started to lose the rear tyres but I was quicker in the right places under braking, so I knew it’d be hard from him to get past me. Fortunately he couldn’t get close enough and I held my own. It’s been a tough start to the year but we turned a corner at the test day.”

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 16 – Snetterton:

1 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing 23:46.178

2 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +2.771s

3 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +4.042s

4 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +5.400s

5 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +6.880s

6 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +8.994s

7 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +9.607s

8 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +10.172s

9 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +11.160s

10 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +12.647s

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 17 – Snetterton:

1 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance 19m48.288s

2 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.190s

3 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1.950s

4 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +2.140s

5 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +7.255s

6 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +7.687s

7 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +8.421s

8 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +9.935s

9 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +11.649s

10 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +11.989s

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 18 – Snetterton:

1 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing 19m56.310s

2 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.525s

3 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +3.738s

4 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +4.306s

5 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +4.406s

6 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +5.278s

7 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +6.288s

8 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +6.434s

9 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +6.621s

10 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +7.219s

the Halfords Yuasa Honda Civic's prove that Oulton Park can be a front drive success, with some great results.

• Second success of season keeps Matt Neal firmly in title fight
• Honda Civic Type R fastest front wheel-drive car at Oulton Park
• Gordon Shedden denied podium finish by late-race puncture

Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Matt Neal tallied his second success of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship campaign at Oulton Park this weekend (4/5 June), as the Honda Civic Type R proved its prowess as the fastest front wheel-drive car in the field.

  

Oulton Park is renowned as a circuit that favours rear wheel-drive machinery, and with both drivers carrying significant success ballast, Gordon Shedden qualified fifth – less than eight hundredths-of-a-second shy of the top spot – with Neal not far behind in eighth, placing the pairing ahead of the majority of their chief title rivals.

 

Shedden ran as high as third in the opener, but with his soft-compound tyres fading in the closing stages, he found himself fighting a rearguard battle. Following a valiant defence under persistent pressure, the defending champion ultimately had to concede the position to old foe Jason Plato, taking the chequered flag fourth with Neal ninth.

 

The Scot repeated the result with a solid effort in race two, as Neal emerged from a titanic multi-car scrap in seventh. That saw both Civic Type Rs begin the reversed-grid finale from the sharp end of the order, with Neal leading from lights-out and Shedden working his way swiftly up to second.

 

Thereafter, the duo ran in close formation as they consistently pulled away from the chasing pack, but a late puncture for Shedden dashed a comfortable one-two finish. 

Neal’s dominant victory saw him leave Oulton just one point off the championship lead, with Halfords Yuasa Racing in the same position in the Teams’ standings. Honda similarly sits second in the Manufacturers’ Classification, with Shedden improving a spot to fourth in the Drivers’ table.

 

Matt Neal:

“It seems to be becoming a bit of a trend at the moment that we run under the radar in races one and two with the weight on-board and then win race three! 

The ballast certainly hurt us in qualifying and race one, and race two got pretty fraught at times with some really robust driving – we had to battle for every inch of track space. It was nice to have a more straightforward race three, although it was obviously a shame about Flash’s puncture because it would have been great to take a one-two finish for Halfords Yuasa Racing. 

After that, I backed off a bit because we had enough of a cushion behind. I was dead chuffed to get the win – I really don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that feeling!”

 

Gordon Shedden:

“I think it’s fair to say the Civic Type R was the fastest front wheel-drive car at Oulton and given the advantage that the rear wheel-drive cars enjoyed, we definitely extracted the most that we could from races one and two. Race three was looking even better and then we got the puncture so close to the end, which was massively disappointing. 

It came completely out of the blue; there was no tyre drop-off and the car felt fine. In hindsight, given the advantage we had, perhaps we could have backed off a bit earlier but neither of us was taking any unnecessary risks – it was just pure bad luck. Still, we proved once again that we have the pace so we’ll put it behind us and move onto the next one.”

Three different drivers win each of the days races at this Thruxton circuit for last weekends BTCC race.

BTCC wins for Adam Morgan, Andrew Jordan and Mat Jackson

WIX Racing’s Adam Morgan took a win and two further podiums in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship event at Thruxton, whilst Motorbase Performance duo Andrew Jordan and Mat Jackson claimed a victory apiece at the UK’s fastest circuit.

Podiums for Rob Collard and Matt Neal propelled the experienced pairing to the championship summit, with the top eight drivers now covered by just 21 points in the overall standings.

A fast and frenetic triple-header of races was played out in front of a huge crowd in Hampshire – basked in glorious sunshine ­– and the packed banks of spectators were provided with yet more high-class entertainment.

Morgan won a breathtaking opener, having carved his way through the melee to become the first double winner of the 2016 season.

The race began in a frenzied fashion and that theme was maintained throughout the shortened contest, which initially looked to favour pole-sitter Tom Ingram off the line. A slipstreaming contest commenced down to the first chicane, however, which left Ingram alongside both Neal and Aiden Moffat.

Three into one simply wouldn’t go and when the dust settled it was Neal’s Honda out front while Moffat and Ingram were shuffled down the order following slight contact.

MG’s Josh Cook and the Mercedes of Morgan slipped through into second and third respectively, whilst the other MG6 of Ashley Sutton went off on lap two while tussling with Ingram.

Neal led from Cook, Morgan, Moffat and Ingram at the end of the second tour, with positions changing hands at almost every corner. Morgan then blasted by Cook into the final chicane, and a bevy of others further demoted the MG Racing RCIB Insurance driver as he tried to regain his composure.

Morgan hounded Neal’s ballast-laden Honda Civic Type R and produced a stunning move on the leader across the start/finish line at the end of lap four, as a queue of some seven cars jostled for places.

Moffat clawed his way past Neal too, seemingly completing his recovery while potentially rewarding Mercedes with a maiden one-two in the BTCC. It wasn’t to be though, as a puncture forced him onto the grass and back down the order on lap 10. Jackson’s Ford Focus incurred a similar fate at the same time, leaving debris all over the circuit.

By the time the leaders next blasted their way down Brooklands and Woodham Hill, Neal’s Honda had too picked up a puncture. The triple champion attempted to pull into the pit lane but was collected by an unsighted Cook, which resulted in Gordon Shedden, Jeff Smith and Jake Hill, among others, being caught up in the incident.

With cars now littering the track, officials were left with little choice but to cut the race short, and duly the Thruxton marshals waved the red flags to signal the end of the showdown.

With the contest being officially classified at the end of lap 11 it left Morgan with a richly deserved win ahead of the recovering Ingram and Andrew Jordan’s Ford Focus, who had himself made steady progress up the order.

Jordan then joined a list of seven different race winners from the opening eight BTCC races, after the Pirtek Racing driver produced an impressive drive in the second bout of the day.

Morgan made a steady getaway from pole position and the WIX Racing driver coped well with maximum success ballast in the first half of the race. Jordan had nipped by Ingram’s Speedworks Toyota off the line and worse was to come for the latter when he was adjudged to have jumped the start.

A subsequent drive through penalty for Ingram forced him out of the fight as a gaggle of five cars moved into contention. Morgan led from Jordan and the WSR trio of Collard, Jack Goff and Sam Tordoff in close company – the BMWs coming alive in the battle for victory.

The pivotal moment came on lap 11 as Jordan scythed his way past Morgan, with the Mercedes struggling to hang on after a valiant effort at the head of the pack. Morgan was displaced down the order again by Collard’s Team JCT600 with GardX BMW, but he fended off further attacks from the now trio of cars behind him.

Incredibly Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Gordon Shedden had hauled his Honda onto the lead quintet in the closing stages, having started from the back of the grid. While Jordan was busy taking the lead, Shedden caught Goff and Tordoff napping to slip into fourth place. That's how it stayed until the finish, and Jordan was left celebrating his first victory in nearly two years.

Motorbase Performance then scored its second win of the day as Jackson followed Jordan’s race two success with his own dynamic display in the Thruxton finale.

The victory also marked Jackson’s second of the 2016 campaign as he joined Morgan as the only two drivers to record double wins so far this season.

Off the line, Jackson’s Ford Focus blasted past the Proton of pole-sitter Dan Welch, and despite being kept honest by the chasing pack throughout, he was able to cruise to the chequered flag in relative comfort.

After a series of incidents, Team IHG Rewards Club’s Goff inherited second until Neal’s Honda got by on lap eight. Then, as the second Honda of Shedden attacked Goff for a spot on the podium, closing as the duo swept through Church, the BMW locked up going into the final chicane and the pair made contact. Shedden retired with damage after limping over the start/finish line while Goff could only manage an eventual 18th place.

The final spot on the rostrum went to Morgan – making it a hat-trick on the day – as he crossed the line just 0.198s ahead of MG pair Cook and Sutton.

Collard claimed sixth and with it the joint lead of the championship alongside Neal. The top eight drivers are covered by just 21 points – with Morgan, Jackson, Shedden, Goff, Tordoff and Jordan all in contention.

West Surrey Racing now leads the Manufacturers’/Constructors’ Championship from Honda, although the latter has maintained its lead of the HiQ Teams’ standings.

Morgan tops the Independents’ Trophy for drivers while Motorbase Performance maintained its position at the summit of the Independent Teams’ table.

MG’s Sutton heads the Jack Sears Trophy although Michael Epps has closed the gap after a hugely impressive day in his Toyota Avensis.

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship now rolls on to Oulton Park in Cheshire on 4/5 June for Rounds 10, 11 and 12 of the series.

Adam Morgan said: “It was incredible. It didn’t feel like I was trying too hard from the beginning and I was taking time out of people all the way round. It’s been a mega job by everyone in the team. The car was hooked up and I couldn’t have asked for much more. Every time I got the chance, I was asking my team what the gap was and just trying to conserve as much as I could. I saw that Mat (Jackson) held everyone up for me and then later on there were a couple of incidents, so it was a tricky one and a fantastic win. I love Thruxton – it just seems to work.”

Andrew Jordan said: “I got a bit emotional initially because it’s such a big relief. A lot of the media like to remind you when you last won a race. I knew it’d come when the time was right and when everything fell into place. Adam (Morgan) drove a really good race but I could see where he was struggling off the chicane. He gave me good room and saw I had enough on him so it was fair enough. It was a great race with great guys. I love racing with people like this. There’s just a great respect between us.”

Mat Jackson said: “It had been tough earlier on. Race one was a bit of a nightmare. To come through and pick up eighth in race two, and get the reverse grid massively helped. We’ve ended the day well but it’d been a difficult day. It was very warm and it’s hard on tyres at Thruxton. The downside is we go to Oulton with ballast, but success comes at a price and that’s the price you pay. We’ve certainly got a car that can challenge and I feel very confident and comfortable in it. It’s frustrating that we’ve had two zeroes. Everyone can say the same though. Ifs, buts and maybes don’t win the championship.”

Matt Neal said: “It was certainly good to finish on a high – it makes the journey home a lot more enjoyable! It was a bit of a shame overall because in truth, it was a weekend that had promised so much more and I was staring down the barrel of a gun until the last race! Thruxton has always been a Honda circuit, and we proved that again with the ballast on-board in qualifying. I was surprised just how strong we were carrying so much ballast in race one and the puncture was nobody’s fault. The boys did a stellar job to get us out again for race two in the nick of time – they had to deal with not just one but two cars in a million pieces – and then I was able to open the car up again in race three and was flying at the end. I would never have thought I’d leave here still leading the championship after the first two races, so all’s well that ends well, as they say.”

Rob Collard said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be joint leading the championship after three race weekends – it’s fantastic. It shows that age is only a number with the two oldest boys at the top! It’s experience that’s counting at the moment. I struggled in qualifying yesterday and went to bed thinking ‘my championship’s over’ but it came back to me on race day. We changed the car overnight and dialled the BMW in. We fettled to compensate for the ballast in each race and the car was the best it has been in race three.”