Jason Plato won the opening British Touring Car Championship race of the weekend at Brands Hatch ahead of his teammate Sam Tordoff, but a third place for Colin Turkington meant that he secured the 2014 drivers’ title.
In an enthralling encounter befitting the importance of the occasion, third place and a fastest lap was enough for Turkington to maintain a 44-point advantage which Plato would not be able to usurp.
There was drama immediately as the race got underway, as Plato made a sluggish start and was passed by Tordoff and Turkington who took a look at the lead around the outside into Paddock Hill.
Behind the front three, Gordon Shedden squeezed Fabrizio Giovanardi as the cars started to turn into Paddock Hill, but the Scot came off by far the worst as he was then spun sideways as the Italian kept his foot in the door, with the unfortunate Audi of Rob Austin plowing into the back of the Honda, as a traffic jam occurred. Dave Newsham was forced to slow on the inside of the corner to avoid Shedden, but as he did so Jack Goff had nowhere to go but the rear of his Ford Focus, and the pair joined Shedden, Austin and his teammate Hunter Abbott in the gravel on the exit of the corner, with all five – as well as Shedden’s teammate Matt Neal – forced into retirement.
While the mayhem ensued in the lower order, Tordoff was able to hold onto the inside line heading into Druids, and forced Turkington wide through the hairpin, allowing Plato to regain second, before the safety car was deployed to retrieve the stricken cars.
With a considerable amount of damage to recover, the safety car was on track until the start of lap five, by which time the race distance had been extended to 18 laps. Turkington immediately found himself on the back foot as Tordoff got the race back underway, with Adam Morgan taking half a look at the inside line into Paddock Hill, and Mat Jackson joining in on the action. Those two then squabbled for fourth behind the eBay Motors man, which gave him the opportunity to catch back up to the MGs.
Turkignton’s teammate Rob Collard had started the encounter in 23rd after a disappointing qualifying session yesterday, but having avoided the incident at the start, found himself in eighth place which soon became seventh, as he forced a way passed the United Autosports car of James Cole.
But instead of looking forward, championship leader Turkington was forced to go on the defensive as Jackson took a look up the inside as the cars ended lap seven, with the eBay Motors driver squeezing his competitor close to the pit wall to ensure he could not pass.
Only three laps of racing had occurred before the safety car was deployed for a second time, after Warren Scott, who had been battling with Nick Foster for a place in the top ten, appeared to lose the rear of his car and had a huge front-end crash.
Just before that had happened, however, Plato had taken first place after his teammate Tordoff moved over to allow him through.
The race restarted on lap 12 and this time round Turkington looked much racier, immiediately applying pressure to Tordoff ahead of him. Simon Belcher survived a trip through the gravel, while Collard continued his charge through the field as he passed Giovanardi for sixth after the pair rubbed bodywork.
Plato was able to build a comfortable margin at the front over the closing laps, so the question remained whether or not Turkington – who had the fastest lap to his name – would be able to maintain his third place, as he continued to press Tordoff.
There was a brief scare that there might be a third safety car towards the end of the race as the United Autosports team’s weekend unraveled as Luke Hines was collected by his teammate Cole, after the former was sent into a spin by Marc Hynes on the way down to Graham Hill bend.
The pair were however able to move their cars into a safe position, and with things finally stable, Plato crossed the line to clinch a sixth win of the season ahead of his teammate, with Turkington completing the podium to land a second series title with two rounds to spare.
“Just relief and pure happiness,” said Turkington, when asked to describe his emotions. “This is what you work for from the start of the year.
“It was winter 2012 when we decided we wanted to do this so to actually get it all over the line is a great relief for everybody – there’s never any guarantees that you’re going to win it, even with a 50-point lead, you don’t allow yourself to think that it’s going to be an easy task.”
Behind Turkington, Jackson survived a late scare on fading tyres to hold onto fourth ahead of Morgan and the rampant Collard. Giovanardi ultimately had a quiet run to seventh despite two moments of contact, while Tom Ingram drove maturely to claim eighth ahead of outgoing champion Andrew Jordan and Nick Foster in the third eBay Motors BMW.
Race two gets underway at 14:22 BST.
Top ten result
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 99 | M | Jason PLATO |  |
MG KX Clubcard Fuel Save | MG6 | 18 | 33:43.232 | 1:32.335 | 1 |
| 2 | 88 | M | Sam TORDOFF | |
MG KX Clubcard Fuel Save | MG6 | 18 | 0.900 | 1:32.372 | 2 |
| 3 | 5 | I | Colin TURKINGTON | |
eBay Motors | BMW 125i M Sport | 18 | 1.807 | 1:32.261 | 4 |
| 4 | 6 | I | Mat JACKSON | |
Airwaves Racing | Ford Focus ST | 18 | 3.319 | 1:32.740 | 8 |
| 5 | 33 | I | Adam MORGAN | |
WIX Racing | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 18 | 3.473 | 1:32.846 | 5 |
| 6 | 10 | I | Rob COLLARD | |
eBay Motors | BMW 125i M Sport | 18 | 3.692 | 1:32.309 | 23 |
| 7 | 7 | I | Fabrizio GIOVANARDI |  |
Airwaves Racing | Ford Focus ST | 18 | 8.122 | 1:32.599 | 6 |
| 8 | 80 | I | Tom INGRAM | |
Speedworks Motorsport | Toyota Avensis | 18 | 8.603 | 1:33.308 | 11 |
| 9 | 1 | I | Andrew JORDAN | |
Pirtek Racing | Honda Civic | 18 | 10.557 | 1:33.013 | 15 |
| 10 | 18 | I | Nick FOSTER | |
eBay Motors | BMW 125i M Sport | 18 | 11.792 | 1:33.327 | 9 |