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

Rockingham sees some brilliant racing with new winners, and a fight at the top of the table for supremacy.

Wins for two title contenders and Mat Jackson on brilliant day of BTCC racing at Rockingham

Honda Yuasa Racing’s Gordon Shedden moved back to the top of the 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship after scoring an impressive win and a further podium at Rockingham.

Mat Jackson triumphed in the opening race before Shedden’s success, whilst Jason Plato responded in style with his own fantastic victory in a memorable finale.

After taking his first BTCC pole position in six years and Motorbase Performance’s first-ever qualifying top spot on Saturday, Jackson duly added a race win to his weekend’s impressive tally.

Jackson’s Ford Focus shot off the line and never looked back in Sunday’s opener, as a number of title protagonists endured mixed results.

An incident also involving Tom Ingram and Josh Cook forced Team BMR RCIB Insurance driver Plato out of contention before the end of the first tour, as three into one simply wouldn’t go on the exit of Yentwood.

Shedden went on to take the best result of the main championship challengers, despite serving a four-place grid penalty due to a procedural infringement during qualifying, A blistering start in his Honda Civic Type R left him third by the end of lap two, and the Scotsman went one better with a clean move by Aron Smith’s VW shortly after.

With the podium positions complete, misfortune struck another title contender as Matt Neal’s Honda Civic Type R suffered from a puncture on the last lap. The experienced racer did well to hang on, but he couldn’t avoid losing places to eventually finish eighth.

Shedden put his rivals further in the shade with a dominant lights-to-flag victory in race two.

Having made a textbook getaway, the 2012 champion was more than three seconds up the road before any challengers even came close to matching his lap times. By that point the damage was already done and Shedden streaked away to his fourth victory of the season.

It was to be a role reversal between Shedden and Jackson in race two, as the latter followed up his earlier victory with an impressive second place.

The fight for third was far from routine as front row starter Adam Morgan fell back into the clutches of a rampant Josh Cook. The Power Maxed Racing driver started the race from 14^th on the grid but he would eventually find himself hounding Morgan after a number of impressive moves.

The Chevrolet closed down the Mercedes at an impressive rate and launched its assault on the penultimate lap. Morgan defended well at Tarzan but when Cook tried again at the same place on the final tour, he managed to scythe his Cruze down the inside of the WIX Racing A-Class before blasting across the line to the rapturous delight of his squad.

Plato then grabbed the 93^rdvictory of his career after eventually getting the better of a brilliant effort from Ingram, in what was a classic BTCC bout in the final race of the day.

Pole-sitter Ingram made a stellar getaway in his Toyota Avensis and produced a faultless opening to the race, as Plato was busy hauling his VW CC into second.

Team BMR RCIB Insurance driver Plato hounded Ingram throughout and crept alongside the Speedworks Motorsport car on lap four, but he couldn’t complete the move as they surged towards Yentwood.

Plato was immediately on Ingram’s tail following a brief safety car period, and he attempted the same move into Deene soon after. His young challenger again held on but even greater drama was to follow on lap 12. It was third time lucky for Plato as yet another similar attempt finally succeeded, but Ingram’s Toyota refused to go away. 

Despite the potential risk of losing his first ever BTCC podium, Ingram flung his car inside of Plato’s through Gracelands in what was a quite remarkable move at high speed. The packed main grandstand rose on its collective feet with cheers being heard across the circuit.

It was clear, however, that Plato’s stealth-like VW was showing more speed late on and when the double champion repeated his trick at Deene on lap 14 there would be no comeback. Plato edged ahead and then immediately bulked Ingram up behind on the exit of Yentwood, which was enough for the championship challenger to break the tow and move clear.

Ingram fended off Turkington for second, despite another safety car period, while Neal’s Honda took fourth.

The title picture is tighter than ever with Shedden leading Plato by just six points. Neal and Turkington are also separated by six points while MG Triple Eight Racing’s Andrew Jordan remains in contention back in fifth.

Honda has extended its advantage at the top of the Manufacturers’ standings, whilst Team BMR RCIB Insurance maintained its position at the head of the Teams’ and Independent Teams’ tables. Turkington is the leading Independents’ driver, whilst Cook has moved into an unassailable lead in the Jack Sears Trophy.

Mat Jackson said: “To get pole position was great but to top it off with a win is amazing. We only just made it after a front-right puncture, but the team has given me a great car and it’s fantastic. 

Then to get second with 75kgs of success ballast on-board was another top result. The car stood up to it and we were reasonably close to Gordon [Shedden]. We came here to get podiums and wins and that’s what we’ve done. It has been a brilliant job by the team and we’re learning all the time.”

Gordon Shedden said: “Today just goes to show how close it is out there and how quickly everything can change. It’s been a brilliant day though – the Civic Type R has been fantastic around here but coming into today we weren’t sure how well we’d go. 

It could come down to just one or two points at the end of the season so I’ll take every one I can get at this stage. I’m sure it’s going to be tough for us at Silverstone but we’ve got to keep grinding out the results and getting the points – we’ve got to stay in the hunt as our car will be very quick at Brands Hatch.”

Jason Plato said: “It was a brilliant race to end the day – I loved every minute of the battle with Tom [Ingram]. That will go down as one of the best battles of the season – it was good, clean and really exciting. I know how talented Tom is having mentored him in the KX Akademy over the last few years and it’s great to see him get a result like this. 

After the bad luck we’ve had today we needed to get a result – and now we’re back in the game. It’s been a really important weekend for us and we’ve shown our true spirit – six points to the championship lead is nothing. This one is for Justin Wilson.”

Aron Smith said: “It was a good race. After Knockhill it was important to bounce back and I’m delighted to be back on the podium. The VW came into its own and has been on song right from the go this weekend. We should be competitive at Silverstone too so we’re looking forward to the next one.”

Josh Cook said: “The Power Maxed Racing car has performed really well all weekend – we reaped the rewards of testing here and the team really deserves this for all their efforts. It’s a really special feeling to get the first podium, even more so because it came in race two and completely on outright pace and not because of a reversed grid. Adam [Morgan] defended really well but to get the position on the last corner of the last lap is fantastic.”

Tom Ingram said: “I was crying all the way around my in lap! I’m absolutely speechless, I’m such a small cog in a very big machine – I’ve got to thank everybody who’s involved from my girlfriend, my family, the team and all my sponsors. I can’t begin to describe how much it means to all of us and how over the moon we are. I tried all I could to hold onto the win, when I managed to get back alongside Jason I couldn’t believe what I was doing! It was the best race of my career without a doubt, this is what it’s all about.”

Colin Turkington said: “The guys ahead had more pace in race three so I had to manage the gap – I knew if I tried to make a move I wouldn’t have been able to pull away and it was too much of a risk. It was very entertaining to watch the battle ahead but it’s been a difficult weekend for me. To finish with good points on the board and another podium is what we needed.”

2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Rockingham

Race 1

1.    Mat JACKSON (Motorbase Performance): 16 Laps

2.    Gordon SHEDDEN (Honda Yuasa Racing): +1.832s

3.    Aron SMITH (Team BMR RCIB Insurance): +3.686s

4.    Jack GOFF (MG Triple Eight Racing): +4.317s

5.    Tom INGRAM (Speedworks Motorsport): +14.622s

6.    Andrew JORDAN (MG Triple Eight Racing): +17.285s

Race 2

1.    Gordon SHEDDEN (Honda Yuasa Racing): 16 Laps

2.    Mat JACKSON (Motorbase Performance): +2.778s

3.    Josh COOK (Power Maxed Racing): +5.185s

4.    Adam MORGAN (WIX Racing): +5.434s

5.    Matt NEAL (Honda Yuasa Racing): +6.765s

6.    Rob AUSTIN (Exocet AlcoSense): +7.203s

Race 3 

1.    Jason PLATO (Team BMR): 19 Laps

2.    Tom INGRAM (Speedworks Motorsport): +1.234s

3.    Colin TURKINGTON (Team BMR RCIB Insurance): +1.871s

4.    Matt NEAL (Honda Yuasa Racing): +4.838s

5.    Sam TORDOFF (Team JCT600 with GardX): +5.264s

6.    Aron SMITH (Team BMR RCIB Insurance): +5.830s

Penalties

RCIB Insurance Racing has received a twenty point deduction from the Teams' and Independent Teams' championships for having changed further engine(s) above the number permitted. 

Race one:

Derek Palmer received a verbal warning for an incident involving Stewart Lines

Dave Newsham received a 2.5s time penalty for gaining an unfair advantage

Race two: 

Nick Foster received a verbal warning for in an incident involving Dave Newsham

Tom Ingram received a £500 fine and three penalty points for an incident involving Jeff Smith

Jason Plato received a verbal warning for an incident involving Hunter Abbott and Rob Collard

Race three:

Jeff Smith received a verbal warning for an incident involving another competitor. Warren Scott received a verbal warning for an incident involving another competitor