Matt Neal has taken his second win of the season this morning at Donington Park, taking the championship lead from Jason Plato in the process. Plato had a disastrous race, running in the midfield before suffering a puncture that deals a heavy blow to his weekend.
Finishing second was Andrew Jordan, earning his first podium of the year. Gordon Shedden finished in third after a close battle with Jordan in the closing stages.
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Neal was initially beaten off the line by a fast-starting James Nash, but by lap 2 Neal was applying the pressure and passed Nash to retake the lead into Redgate corner. Thereafter Neal had a relatively straightforward race to the finish – never opening up a substantial lead but having just enough of a gap to be comfortable from the chasing cars behind.
Andrew Jordan finished in second after taking advantage of the squabbling Nash and Shedden in front in the early stages of the race. Shedden was able to hold on to finish in third, marking an strong start to the day for Honda.
Nash slipped back in the closing stages of the race, having to withstand pressure from Tom Chilton to hold on to fourth position. Chilton had a largely uneventful race on his way to fifth, never really pressurising the pack in front but clearly ahead of the cars behind.
Mat Jackson finished in sixth position to hold on to his third position in the championship, although he is now level on points with James Nash as a result of the Triple Eight driver’s continued form.
Tom Boardman scored his best result of the season so far to finish in eighth position, although he was one of many drivers to benefit from the demise of reigning champion Jason Plato. The Chevrolet driver had been running in eighth when his front left tyre deflated, dropping him to the very back of the field. He eventually finished in 19th, where he will start race two from with no success ballast on board.
Elsewhere there was a tangle between Dave Newsham and John George at the start of the race – with the two drivers collecting each other before the first corner. George was sent spearing to the inside of the track, making light contact with the wall, whilst Newsham limped halfway around the lap before retiring. The Rob Austin Racing Audi driven by Rob Austin himself did not even make it to the grid for the start of the race, stopping half way around the green flag lap.