WORCESTERSHIRE ace Matt Neal held onto his Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship lead after a dramatic fire struck one of his main rivals.
MG KX Momentum racer Jason Plato scored a flawless double victory at Oulton Park before his car burst into flames in the final contest, handing the Honda Yuasa Racing driver the advantage.
Two-time champion Plato, who had previously taken seven victories at the Cheshire circuit, had been in dominant form, claiming pole position before securing two lights-to-flag wins in commanding fashion.
Plato’s young colleague Sam Tordoff was second in race one and Neal’s Honda Yuasa Racing team-mate Gordon Shedden, the reigning champion, finished third.
Shedden went one better for the Pershore team in race two in his Honda Civic with 2009 champion Colin Turkington third.
The chaotic finale was won by Andrew Jordan in his Pirtek Racing Honda Civic after his team-mate Jeff Smith spun away the lead with just three laps left.
Turkington was second and third-placed Adam Morgan, of Ciceley Racing, took his first podium, just 0.078 seconds ahead of Neal.
Neal’s results of sixth and two fourth places were enough for him to leave with the drivers’ championship lead on 173 points but only seven separate him from Jordan and Plato. Shedden is fourth with 142.
Evesham’s Rob Austin and Will Bratt, of WIX Racing, were fifth and sixth respectively in race three.
It was Bratt’s best result to date in the competition, while Austin was 13th and eighth in the first two races after qualifying 18th.
Austin said: “To have both our cars in the top six is still a very positive note to end the day.
“If we can start qualifying in the top 10 again then I believe we’ll be a serious threat to the others as we’re always at our strongest in race trim.”
Honda lead the manufacturers'
championship and Honda Yuasa Racing also top the teams' table.
The competition heads to Croft, North Yorkshire, on June 22 and 23.
