The heavy rain over Donington Park had become somewhat lighter in the half hour leading up to the second race of the day, only for the clouds to burst again as the cars lined up on the grid. After his first race victory, it was Gordon Shedden who started on pole position, with Adam Jones joining him on the front row.

Shedden and Jones led through the first corner, but it was a Team Halfords 1-2 before the end of the first lap, as Matt Neal squeezed past Jones at the chicane. The Team Air Cool driver was under pressure again on the following lap, this time from works SEAT driver, Jason Plato. It took Plato a couple of laps, but almost inevitably, he managed to pass the older SEAT model.

As Plato climbed up through the order, Fabrizio Giovanardi was doing exactly the same, passing Mike Jordan to move into fifth. Plato’s progress was put on hold for a couple of laps, as Matt Neal defended successfully. Eventually there was contact between the pair as they went through Redgate on lap five, but it was enough to give Plato the advantage and see him take second spot.

Adam Jones was the next target for Giovanardi, and it was not long before the Vauxhall driver was up to fourth position, putting his Vectra on the inside line through the final corner chicane.

There was still time for the top two in the championship to gain another place each. For Plato, this meant taking the race lead away from Gordon Shedden. It took several laps of carefully planned moves, but the SEAT driver clearly had the quicker car and was able to get past the first race winner on the entry to the Craner Curves. Giovanardi’s victim was also a Team Halfords driver. Just as he had done to pass Adam Jones, the Italian flew past Matt Neal as the pair went through the chicane.

The top three was settled, with Jason Plato scoring win number five of the season. Gordon Shedden was second, with Fabrizio Giovanardi in third. Matt Neal defended from Adam Jones in the closing stages, with the pair finishing fourth and fifth respectively. Darren Turner edged out Mike Jordan for sixth. Matt Allison, Colin Turkington and Mat Jackson completed the top ten.