Rob Collard secured the opening victory of the 2012 British Touring Car Championship after an incident filled race which saw the deployment of the safety car twice due to incidents at Paddock Hill bend and Druids.
Click here for full results of Round 1 from Brands Hatch.
As soon the lights went out, the incidents started and BTCC débutant Adam Morgan was caught up in it all, ending up in the tyre barrier at Paddock Hill bend and necessitating the deployment of the first Safety Car.
Further up the road at Druids on the opening lap the race lead changed for the first time as Collard went up the inside of Pole-sitter Dave Newsham, forcing him wide and moving into the lead, while reigning Champion Matt Neal was able to benefit as well as he slotted into second.
Once the first safety car was withdrawn, the top five drivers could not be separated and soon Neal moved into the lead, with Newsham taking advantage of Neal’s move to pass Collard to slot back into second.
Jason Plato in the NGTC MG6 and Tom Onslow-Cole in the second eBay Motors BMW 320si were close behind and constantly swapping positions, and just after the midway point of the race, Plato was involved in the incident leading to the second Safety Car intervention.
Newsham in the Team ES Racing Vauxhall Vectra made his move on Neal and Plato sensed an opportunity to gain a position. Under braking for Paddock Hill bend Plato and Newsham collided and Newsham ended up in the gravel and out of the race.
Further up at Druids, Redstone Racing’s Aron Smith was also in the barriers after contact with Rob Austin. With cars littering both the Paddock Hill and Druids gravel traps, the yellow flags were out in the first sector for the remainder of the race – this, however didn’t stop John Thorne from visiting the gravel trap on the penultimate lap.
Once the second safety car was withdrawn, Collard was able to pull out a slight gap over Neal while the battle for the final podium position started to heat up. Plato attempted to out-drag Onslow-Cole on the run to the flag but Onslow-Cole held on for a podium on his return to West Surrey Racing by a mere 0.036 seconds
Plato finished fourth with Neal’s Honda Yuasa Racing Team team-mate Gordon Shedden completing the top five. Andrew Jordan, Mat Jackson, Rob Austin, Nick Foster and Jeff Smith rounded out the top ten, with the final points going the way of Lea Wood, Andy Neate, Ollie Jackson, Liam Griffin and Chris James.