There was no fairytale finish to the weekend for Andrew Jordan, despite the John Guest Racing driver starting from pole position for the third race of the day. Victory went to Jason Plato, going some way to making up for the SEAT driver’s disqualification from the day’s first race, while Gordon Shedden was again hit by a puncture while leading the race.

Away from the line, Gordon Shedden and Jason Plato both got the jump on Jordan, with the 18 year-old also coming under pressure from the BMW of Mat Jackson. However, Jackson was himself forced to defend and was slow exiting the chicane on lap two, allowing Darren Turner through into fourth.

With Shedden leading from Plato, Andrew Jordan continued to push hard in third position. Further down the order, Fabrizio Giovanardi started to work his way up through the order, passing Colin Turkington to move up to eighth position on lap six. It was a move that also saw Turkington lose out to Tom Chilton and Tom Onslow-Cole.

Just as in the first race of the day, Gordon Shedden led until lap eight, when his Honda Civic suffered a front-left puncture. Jason Plato was on hand to inherit the lead, as Shedden slowly made his way back into the pits. Now with the race leader in his sights, Andrew Jordan seemed to get a second lease of life, closing on the back of Jason Plato. Behind the two leaders, Darren Turner was next to be hit by a puncture, dropping down through the order from third.

With four laps of the race remaining, Fabrizio Giovanardi was up to fourth position, and was on the tail of Mat Jackson’s BMW, who in turn was chasing down Andrew Jordan. Giovanardi got a run on Jackson through the fast Church section of the circuit and passed the BMW on the run up Woodham Hill. On the entrance to the chicane, Giovanardi tapped the back of Jordan’s Integra, sending him across the chicane. Although a gentle knock, it was enough to put Jordan off his stride and Giovanardi apologized for the move following the race.

Next time round, Andrew Jordan’s strong run came to an end, as he lost all power on the exit from the chicane. Jordan Jr was able to coast his Honda into the pits, but was clearly upset at being unable to make the most of his impressive form.

At the chequered flag, Jason Plato led across the line, although it later emerged his Leon had been without rear brakes for the entire race, putting additional strain on the front tyres. Mat Jackson came home in second position, while Fabrizio Giovanardi’s charge from tenth ended with a visit to the podium. Matt Neal was fourth, ahead of Adam Jones and Colin Turkington. Tom Onslow-Cole took seventh to go with his earlier victories, while Mike Jordan, Steven Kane and Harry Vaulkhard completed the scoring positions.

Racewinner Jason Plato said, “It was a hard race. We lost all rear brakes after the second race. I knew when I was on the brakes it was hurting the front tyres. It’s been one of those days for us. The penalty was bang out of order in my opinion. The guys have worked tremendously hard and we’ve just had a few things go against us, but that’s motorsport as they say.”