The last triple race weekend at Rockingham was one of teh best so far this year in the British Touring Car Championships.

Gordon Shedden, Sam Tordoff and Aron Smith scored a win apiece at Rockingham on 28 August, with the latter’s victory making it a record 12 different winners from eight different marques in the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

The title picture was further shaped during the three races with Tordoff leaving the Northamptonshire circuit just five points clear of triple champion Matt Neal in the overall standings.

Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Shedden secured a lights-to-flag victory in the opener, after fending off fellow front-row starter Mat Jackson in the early stages.

Jackson soon fell back into the clutches of the Subarus, however, after both Jason Plato and Colin Turkington blasted by Josh Cook’s MG off the line.

An incident on the opening lap led to a brief safety car period, but reigning champion Shedden produced a stellar restart before gradually pulling away from the chasing pack. The Honda Civic Type R took the chequered flag with Shedden having completed the perfect pole position, fastest lap and race win treble.

Jackson delivered a textbook defensive drive to keep Silverline Subaru BMR Racing duo Plato and Turkington at bay to second, whilst the MGs of Josh Cook and Ashley Sutton recovered from relatively slow starts to finish close behind. Post-race, however, Turkington was penalised and demoted to fifth by officials for gaining an unfair advantage in his tussle with Sutton.

Team JCT600 with GardX driver Tordoff won the second contest with an impressive performance.

Tordoff had earlier fought back from 28th on the race one grid to finish tenth, and he continued his surge through the order by picking his way past several rivals in the early stages of the second bout.

Running in third place by mid-distance, Tordoff then cruised up behind the Motorbase Performance duo of Andrew Jordan and Mat Jackson. He disposed of Jordan with consummate ease before repeating the trick by Jackson on lap nine.

The ballast-laden Ford of Jackson couldn’t hang on to second either as he was first relegated by team-mate Jordan, with West Surrey Racing’s Rob Collard following suit in the closing stages.

Sutton took another top five finish for MG Racing RCIB Insurance, although his stablemate Josh Cook was caught up in unfortunate first lap drama – contact between the MG6 and Plato’s Levorg forcing both cars out of contention.

Neal maintained his consistent championship challenge with sixth, ahead of Aron Smith – the BKR man enjoying one his most competitive meetings of the season.

Smith then made it an incredible 12 different winners in the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – a record number in the illustrious 59-season history of the series – after the Irishman soaked up race-long pressure to win the final encounter.

The VW driver had to contend with three safety car periods and two double champions in his rear mirrors, but he dealt with every challenge superbly on his way to a first ever victory for the fledgling Team BKR outfit.

Neal and Jackson initially pressured Smith off the line, but the pair would later succumb to the charging Shedden and Turkington – both running the medium Dunlop SportMaxx compound.

The Team JCT600 with GardX BMW of Collard also looked to be a contender but he couldn’t keep pace with Shedden’s charge, as the Honda man disposed of Sutton, Jackson and team-mate Neal in quick succession.

Turkington was busy scything his Subaru through the order from 16th on the grid and when the dust settled during a third and final safety car period the Ulsterman found himself in a podium position.

The battle between Shedden and Turkington over the final three-lap shootout aided Smith’s cause with the trio eventually crossing the finish line separated by just half a second.

Neal and Jackson held on to fourth and fifth respectively while Collard had to settle for sixth.

Tordoff failed to score in the finale but the Yorkshireman maintained his standings lead, albeit by a reduced five point margin. Honda’s Neal and Shedden are next up in the order with Motorbase’s Jackson also closing in. Collard and Turkington have drifted slightly after mixed results although the top 13 drivers all have a mathematical chance of winning the title.

WSR/BMW remain the leading Manufacturers’ although Halfords Yuasa Racing has returned to the top of the Teams’ table.

Motorbase Performance has surged into an unassailable points lead in the Independent Teams’ standings, with Jordan topping team-mate Jackson in the Independent Drivers’ championship.

Ashley Sutton further extended his advantage over Michael Epps in the Jack Sears Trophy.

Two events remain on the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship calendar with the penultimate weekend taking place at Silverstone in three weeks time (17/18 September).

Gordon Shedden said: "I’m dead chuffed with that weekend. I broke the slipstream to the guys behind in race one and then focussed on keeping everything nice and smooth. In race two, I was on a bit of a hiding to nothing on the hard tyres with maximum ballast, and I really had to get my elbows out at the end because I wasn’t going very fast at all by then! It would have been nice to win race three, but Aron (Smith) drove really well and didn’t make any real mistakes and it would have required a fairly monumental lunge to try to get past. Then when Colin (Turkington) caught up during the final safety car period, I had to keep an eye on my mirrors too because he clearly had some good pace. Still, points make prizes as they say and we’ve closed back up to the top of the championship table. We will keep working hard and fighting to the very end."

Sam Tordoff said: "It’s been a fabulous day, and a great recovery from free practice and qualifying. I made a mistake in FP1 which left us unprepared going into qualifying and that was reflected in the result. We took a bit of a gamble with the set-up for race one and it turned out to be an inspired decision that paid dividends. We made the car even better for race two, and I think that was the first time in a long time that we’ve seen the BMW’s true pace. All credit to the WSR guys – for us to only lose a handful of points in the championship having started today 28^th on the grid is incredible."

Aron Smith said: "It was unbelievable. We were down in the dumps a little bit after qualifying in the wet yesterday – we struggled a bit. Hats off to everyone at BKR today. They made it happen. They made it all come alive. The safety cars did give me a bit of a run for my money! Every time I saw a car go off I knew I’d have to be right on it at another restart. Luckily I was. Then, when I saw Colin Turkington at the back of Gordon Shedden, I was happier. I knew he’d have his hands full there. I’m absolutely over the moon, this was what we all needed."

Mat Jackson said: "Race two was a good race for us, obviously. The Subaru didn’t look as if it had the legs through the corners but in traction they definitely had the advantage that comes with the rear-wheel drive. Every lap he (Jason Plato) was within striking distance of going up the inside at turn two but he couldn’t quite make it past. That was a good result for us as a team really and it's certainly been a good weekend for our championship challenge."

Matt Neal said: "Rockingham is always a tough challenge physically, and in truth, we weren’t too sure what to expect coming here but we kept our heads down, plugged away and came away with a solid bagful of points. The first two races were pretty heavy going, but when I got some clear air, the car felt really strong. ‘Flash’ warned me that I would be up against it on the hard tyres in race three, so I was over-the-moon to finish fourth – I really didn’t anticipate being able to hang on as well as that. To come away with both of us firmly in the thick of the title fight is a great outcome. The pressure is mounting in the championship now with just two weekends to go and Silverstone could be a tricky one for us, but believe me, we’ll be giving it everything we’ve got."

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 22 – Rockingham:

1 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing 26:36.324 (78.75 mph)

2 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +2.561s

3 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +2.869s

4 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +3.165s

5 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +8.741s

6 Ash SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +12.144s

7 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +14.072s

8 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +18.224s

9 Dave NEWSHAM (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +23.899s

10 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +24.168s

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 23 – Rockingham:

1 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX 22m44.838s (81.87 mph)

2 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +2.886s

3 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +3.085s

4 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +6.863s

5 Ash SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +15.027s

6 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +18.661s

7 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +21.341s

8 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +22.624s

9 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +25.489s

10 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +28.536s

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 24 – Rockingham:

1 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR 29m49.905s (74.13 mph)

2 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.400s

3 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +0.572s

4 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +3.491s

5 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +4.519s

6 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +4.936s

7 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +5.686s

8 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +6.227s

9 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +10.578s

10 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +10.899s

Subaru and MG are the stars at the weekends British Touring Car Championships at the Croft circuit.

Turkington and Collard also win during Croft BTCC thriller

Ashley Sutton stormed to his breakthrough Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship victory in a thrilling finale at Croft, with Colin Turkington and Rob Collard also taking wins on an exciting race day in North Yorkshire. 

Sutton’s success means that the BTCC boasts ten different winners from the opening 15 races of the 2016 season.

Turkington led home team-mate Jason Plato in the opener to score the first ever one-two finish for Silverline Subaru BMR Racing. It was a podium of firsts as Sutton took his maiden rostrum for MG Racing RCIB Insurance.

Double champion Turkington was in command for the duration although he had to contend with the attentions of Plato, plus three safety car periods and an early attack from fellow front row starter Daniel Lloyd.

Lloyd’s Eurotech Racing Honda made a great getaway off the line, which left him on the outside of Turkington going into turn one. When the young rookie turned in, however, inevitable contact followed, firing the Civic Type R into the gravel and out of the race.

Turkington dealt with each of the safety car interruptions consummately, and although Plato kept him honest after getting his own stellar start, the Ulsterman held him at arm's length to take his second victory of the season.

Sutton produced a defensive driving master class as Jack Goff’s Team IHG Rewards Club BMW searched for a way past for the entire 18-lap battle. Goff looked to have secured the deal on a number of occasions but Sutton would not be denied his first BTCC podium.

Collard claimed victory in the second contest after Subaru’s Turkington and Plato dramatically clashed while battling for the lead.

The duel between Turkington and Plato provided the main storyline throughout the race, which initially seemed to favour the latter. Plato made another brilliant start and was able to sail around the outside of his team-mate into Clervaux.

Turkington hounded his Silverline Subaru BMR Racing stablemate during the early stages and regained the lead at Tower on lap four, but the battle was far from over. The pair then made contact going into the same corner at mid-distance, sending both cars sliding wide, as the West Surrey Racing duo of Goff and Collard looked on.

Goff hesitated slightly in the melee but Collard needed no second invitation as he blasted his Team JCT600 with GardX machine from fourth to first in the blink of an eye. As the Subarus straightened out it was Plato in second with Turkington now demoted to third.

The incident seemed to stunt the pace and progress of both Subarus, leaving the top four places unchanged until the finish, handing Collard a well deserved victory and a landmark 50th podium in his BTCC career. Plato and Turkington completed the rostrum positions, with Goff taking a hard earned fourth.

The first wet BTCC race since Brands Hatch in 2014 – 44 races ago – left teams scrambling for Dunlop Blu Response wet tyres prior to the start of the final encounter, although the likes of Gordon Shedden and Mat Jackson gambled unsuccessfully on slicks.

Pole-sitter Sam Tordoff held station from Tom Ingram and Goff in the early running, with Sutton trailing Turkington’s Subaru in fifth as the rain lashed down at the 2.1-mile circuit.

Despite an early safety car intervention, the action resumed in enthralling style as Turkington flung his car around the outside of Goff’s BMW at Tower, with Sutton’s MG following suit at the next turn.

Sutton clipped Turkington at the Hairpin on lap nine to move into third, with Collard also slipping by his former WSR team-mate.

MG’s Sutton was soon past Ingram on the approach to the Esses and he immediately set about hunting down race leader Tordoff. He was further aided by a late safety car period, which gave Sutton two laps to make a move on the Team JCT600 with GardX BMW, and that’s exactly what he did on the penultimate tour.

Clearly carrying much more speed and balance than the rear-wheel drive BMW in wet conditions, Sutton flew by Tordoff at Sunny and never looked back as he claimed a famous first win.

Tordoff had to make do with second, extending his championship lead in the process, while Ingram joined him on the podium.

Collard continued his scrap with Turkington until the finish, with the latter being further forced down the order after a final corner nudge from Josh Cook’s MG. That allowed Andrew Jordan’s Pirtek Racing Ford to nip opportunistically by, eventually leaving Turkington down in seventh.

Tordoff now leads team-mate Collard by 12 points in the Drivers’ standings, rounding off a celebratory weekend for Team JCT600 with GardX on the 70th anniversary of sponsor JCT600. Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Matt Neal is a further three points adrift while Jordan and Goff sit fourth and fifth respectively.

West Surrey Racing extended its advantage over Honda/Team Dynamics in the battle for Manufacturers'/Constructors' honours, with the Japanese marque enduring a difficult weekend at Croft.

Unsurprisingly Team JCT600 with GardX leads the Teams’ order, whilst Jordan and Motorbase Performance top the respective Independents’ tables.

Sutton’s sensational day saw him take a hat-trick of Jack Sears Trophy wins, further cementing his overall control of that category.

A number of drivers also reached significant milestones at Croft today with a quartet of competitors having now clocked up 950 BTCC between them - Collard (400 races), Shedden (300), Rob Austin (150) and Goff (100).

Colin Turkington said: "It was great to come away with another pole position, podium and win and a good haul of points – if you’d offered me that before the start of the weekend, I would have been happy with it. We’re moving the Subaru Levorg package forward and definitely looking strong now. We knew this place would suit us better than some other circuits, but you can never be over-confident and I certainly didn’t expect to have such a big margin in qualifying. Our pace was good throughout the weekend, and we were able to capitalise on that – it really highlights all the hard work that everybody in the team has put in, and it’s very rewarding to see smiles back on faces. We’ve proved we can race up at the sharp end now."

Rob Collard said: "To bounce back the way we have here after Oulton Park – where we had cracking pace but came away with very little to show for it – is a massive result for the whole team. Qualifying at Croft dealt us another blow, but we fought like a lion in all three races and our reward is to be up to second in the championship, having halved the points gap to Sam [Tordoff] going into the summer break. To be first and second in the Drivers’ table now – on the weekend when I made my 400^th BTCC start and JCT600 celebrated its 70^th anniversary – is fantastic."

Ashley Sutton said: "What a weekend! I love Croft – it’s a fantastic track – and I’ve achieved good results here in other championships. We knew it was never going to be our best circuit of the season as a front-wheel drive car, so to score my first BTCC podium was already a great achievement but to then go and win my first race topped it all off. I knew the MG6 would be strong in the wet and I love conditions like that so I was doing a bit of a rain dance in the garage and when it came, I thought ‘game on’. We definitely showed what we are capable of, and even without the final safety car period, I was confident of catching [Sam] Tordoff – it just made the job a little bit easier. The car was on rails in that race – absolutely mega!"

Sam Tordoff said: "All things considered, it’s been a tough weekend. To qualify fifth on maximum ballast was a good start, but then it all went wrong in race one with the engine problem. I really thought it was going to go bang, so to get to the end and score some points was a real relief. The boys pulled off a complete engine change before race two which was the key to our weekend because it allowed us to finish eighth in race two, earning us the reverse grid pole for race three. Massive credit to the team for that turnaround. It was pretty frustrating to lose the lead so close to the end, but I knew Ash [Sutton] was driving quite aggressively and not holding anything back and had nothing to lose whereas I had everything to lose."

Jason Plato said: "It’s been a really successful weekend for Silverline Subaru BMR Racing. We made further progress with the car, and to come away with podiums in races one and two was great. Race three was my first in rear-wheel drive in the wet, and it took me a few laps to find my feet and understand the grip levels before I properly got into the groove, but it was a useful experience and now I know what to expect next time. We take some great data away from Croft and know what areas we still need to work on – we’re homing in."

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 13

1 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing 29m56.374s

2 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.353s

3 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +2.305s

4 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +2.689s

5 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +6.429s

6 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +7.136s

7 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +7.306s

8 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +8.025s

9 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +8.279s

10 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +9.191s

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 14



1 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX 23m59.017s


2 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +2.341s


3 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +5.152s


4 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +7.038s


5 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +12.363s


6 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +15.335s


7 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +15.815s


8 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +16.062s


9 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +17.782s


10 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +18.117s

2016

Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 15



1 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance 32m50.206s


2 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +1.337s


3 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +2.284s


4 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +2.860s


5 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +3.759s


6 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +4.324s


7 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +4.683s


8 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +4.947s


9 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +5.942s


10 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +6.290s

Penalties

Qualifying:

Matt Neal was officially reprimanded and received two penalty points for an incident involving Rob Collard

Race one: 

Gordon Shedden was officially reprimanded and received two penalty points for an incident involving Aiden Moffat

Kelvin Fletcher was officially reprimanded and received two penalty points for an incident involving James Cole

Race two: 

Kelvin Fletcher received a verbal warning for an incident involving Dan Welch

Rob Austin was officially reprimanded and received two penalty points for overtaking under yellow flag conditions

Race three: 

Chris Smiley was officially reprimanded for gaining an unfair advantage during an incident involving Jeff Smith