Plato takes dramatic last-gasp win

Date published : 04 Oct 2009 - 11:35:59

Jason Plato took a dramatic victory in the first British Touring Car race of the day at Brands Hatch, passing long-time leader Tom Chilton at the final corner of the race to secure the win and halve deficit in the championship.Coming out of Stirlings on the final lap, Chilton - who had led all the way from pole position - ran slightly wide, costing his Arena Ford Focus momentum down the penultimate straight.After compromising his line at Clearways, he slid wide on the exit, allowing Plato to put his RML Chevrolet inside and use his superior drive out of the corner to claim the win by just 15 hundredths of a second - one of the closest finishes in BTCC history.While Chilton's result was his best of the season, Plato's fifth win of the year allowed him to reduce his deficit to championship leader Colin Turkington from 28 points to 14, with 34 still up for grabs.Fabrizio Giovanardi, who is chasing a third straight title, completed the podium places in his Vauxhall. With Turkington only managing eighth place however, Giovanardi also closed in on the Northern Irishman in the standings and is now only six points adrift.Giovanardi led his Vauxhall team-mates Andrew Jordan and Matt Neal, while Motorbase BMW duo Rob Collard and Jonathan Adam came home sixth and seventh.Further back, Anthony Reid took his first point since returning to WSR at Silverstone in 10th, but Team Dynamics Honda driver Johnny Herbert understeered off the track at Druids, triggering one of two safety car periods that bunched up the pack.Pos Driver Car Time/Gap 1. Jason Plato Chevrolet 31m03.701s 2. Tom Chilton Ford +0.015 3. Fabrizio Giovanardi Vauxhall +1.873 4. Andrew Jordan Vauxhall +3.103 5. Matt Neal Vauxhall +3.900 6. Rob Collard BMW +4.458 7. Jonathan Adam BMW +4.956 8. Colin Turkington BMW +5.986 9. Paul O'Neill Honda +6.53710. Anthony Reid BMW +6.91611. Harry Vaulkhard Chevrolet +7.47912. Mat Jackson Chevrolet +8.90513. Tom Onslow-Cole Ford +11.57114. Stephen Jelley BMW +15.39915. David Pinkney Honda +15.42616. John George Honda +22.11317. Martyn Bell Honda +29.951Retirements Gordon Shedden SEAT 9 laps Johnny Herbert Honda 9 laps Martin Johnson Vauxhall 2 laps Matthew Hamilton Honda 0 laps