SEAT dominated the first race at Snetterton, with Jason Plato and Darren Turner scoring a first one-two for the new-for-2008 Leon TDis. Tom Chilton and Gordon Shedden finished third and fourth respectively for Team Halfords, while Colin Turkington was the leading independent driver in fifth.

Plato started round 16 of the 2008 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship from pole position and led teammate Turner into the Riches right-hander for the first time. Behind the SEATs, Tom Chilton passed championship leader Fabrizio Giovanardi and fellow Team Halfords Honda driver to move up to third away from the line. Carrying 45kg of ballast, Giovanardi made a poor start, dropping to ninth by the end of the first lap.

The safety car was out on track at the end of lap two after Martyn Bell collided with the marshals’ post at the entrance to Sear corner. The Arkas Racing with Sunshine.co.uk driver was forced to take avoiding action after John George spun across the track in front of him. At the same time, Andrew Jordan’s John Guest Racing Honda Integra came to rest in the crop field on the outside of Sear.

Repairs to the tyre barrier at Sear saw the safety car lead the pack for five laps. When racing resumed, it was status quo among the leaders. Down the order, Giovanardi was able to drive around the outside of Steven Kane’s Motorbase Performance BMW at Riches on lap nine, moving up to seventh position. It was a move that left Kane running ahead of teammate Rob Collard, with both Motorbase drivers continuing the strong pace they showed at Croft.

Another impressive performer at Croft was Mat Jackson, however the BMW Dealer Team UK driver struggled in the first race at Snetterton. Having started 13th on the grid, he was up to ninth and challenging Matt Neal on lap sixteen. A gentle tap on the approach to the Esses looked to have put Jackson through, but when Neal returned the nudge on the exit, Jackson dropped to 14th as the train of cars behind the battling pair streamed past. On the following lap, Jackson ran across the infield at the Esses, damaging his front splitter and dropping further down the order to 15th.

With no further changes to the order at the front of the pack, Jason Plato cruised to victory with Turner just behind him. Chilton and Shedden were third and fourth with Colin Turkingtona and Tom Onslow-Cole fifth and sixth respectively. Fabrizio Giovanardi finished seventh ahead of Motorbase Peformance pair Steven Kane and Rob Collard. Matt Neal passed Mike Jordan on the run to the line to finish tenth, securing the final championship point.

Race winner Jason Plato said, “It’s a great result for everybody after what was a pretty poor effort from all of us at Croft. We’ve really made amends today.”