There was no surprise at the winner of the first race of the day at Knockhill as Jason Plato scored victory for SEAT, just as he has done at the past two meetings. Plato got the jump on fellow SEAT driver Darren Turner at the start of the race, beating his pole-sitting teammate into the appropriately named SEAT Curves for the first time.

Turner’s race quickly deteriorated further as he lost out to Vauxhall’s Tom Onslow-Cole. The Vectra exited the renamed Leslie’s left-hander quicker than the SEAT and probably only stayed on the track at Butcher’s by leaning on the Leon. Turner was pushed wide and dropped down the order as he struggled to regain grip on the grass.

The opening lap also saw Martyn Bell hit the tyre barrier after contact with Chris Stockton at Carlube, while Steven Kane was spun around on the exit from Real Radio Hairpin after a tag from Adam Jones.

Jason Plato’s impressive two-second lead was negated when the safety car was needed to allow the recovery of Bell’s Astra Sport Hatch. Plato headed Onslow-Cole, Colin Turkington and Matt Neal.

Plato held on to the lead following the restart three laps later, although Onslow-Cole was tight on his tail, closing right up at the John R Weir chicane. In the second VXR Vectra on the track, Matt Neal had a less successful restart, running wide at SEAT Curves with a front left puncture.

There was little chance for the race to regain a rhythm before the safety car was deployed for a second time. This time it because of both Jason Hughes and Micky Doyle landing in the gravel at the John R Weir chicane.

Another good restart from Plato followed, but Onslow-Cole closed up again later in the lap. As Plato continued to lead, Turner’s race came to a premature end. He moved up the inside of Tom Chilton at the Carlube right-hander, but the pair made contact, firing off in opposite directions. Chilton recovered but Turner hit the tyres on the inside and was left to watch the rest of the race from the sidelines.

With ten of 27 laps remaining, Plato continued to lead from Onslow-Cole. Giovanardi in third had local hero Gordon Shedden hot on his tail, but the ballast-laden Vectra was strong enough to pull away from the Scot in the closing stages. Indeed, Giovanardi was able to take second from teammate Onslow-Cole on the penultimate lap without risking either driver losing out to Shedden.

So the top five finished with Plato winning from Giovanardi, Onslow-Cole, Shedden and Colin Turkington. Mat Jackson finished sixth, with Rob Collard seventh, getting the better of Adam Jones, who crossed the line eighth. Andrew Jordan was ninth, with Tom Chilton tenth.