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British Touring Car Championship
Donington Park - Preview

By MJP Media | 6 April 2012

Following the thrills and spills at the opening rounds, the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship now heads to Donington Park on April 14th and 15th for the 2nd meeting of the 2012 season.

Jason Plato leads the championship going to Donington Park
Jason Plato leads the championship going to Donington Park

Brands Hatch provided a thrilling opening to the 2012 BTCC season with all the excitement and drama that we have come to expect from the UK's premier motorsport series. With all cars now adopting the Next Generation Touring Car specification turbo-charged engines, the racing was expected to be closer than ever and we were not disappointed.

A stunning qualifying lap put Dave Newsham on pole for race 1
A stunning qualifying lap put Dave Newsham on pole for race 1

Dave Newsham surprised many people in the paddock by topping the timesheets in qualifying thereby getting pole position for the first race of the season in his Team ES Racing.com Vauxhall Vectra - a fantastic achievement for the relatively small team. Rob Collard won race 1 in his eBay Motors BMW 320si with defending champion Matt Neal winning race 2 in his Honda Civic for the Honda Yuasa Racing Team.

Race 3, which was temporarily halted following a 7-car incident at the Druids hairpin when oil was dropped on the track, was won by former BTCC champion Jason Plato in the MG KX Momentum Racing MG6 following a close battle with Andrew Jordan's Pirtek Honda Civic. With the four key events of the weekend (qualifying and 3 races) going to four different drivers, teams and vehicle makes and only 2 drivers not gaining any championship points from the opening meeting, the 2012 season is shaping up to be closer than ever. Jason Plato currently heads the table on 52 points with Matt Neal on 48 and Andrew Jordan on 45.

Matt Neal in the Honda Yuasa Racing Team Civic
Matt Neal in the Honda Yuasa Racing Team Civic

The 2012 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship now moves to Donington Park in Derbyshire on April 14th and 15th. For tickets to what is sure to be a fantastic event, visit the Donington Park web site or call the Ticket Hotline on 0844 873 7343. Live race-day coverage can be seen on ITV4, ITV4-HD and www.itv.com with regular reports from the weekend appearing in these pages.

Touring Car content supplied by MJP Media

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BTCC - Donington Park - Preview BTCC - Donington Park - Preview
Following the thrills and spills at the opening rounds, the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship now heads to Donington Park on April 14th and 15th for the 2nd meeting of the 2012 season.

BTCC - Brands Hatch - Race 3 Report - 1/4/12 BTCC - Brands Hatch - Race 3 Report - 1/4/12
Jason Plato wins the final race of the day at Brands Hatch for MG KX Momentum Racing following an action-packed race.

BTCC - Brands Hatch - Race 2 Report - 1/4/12 BTCC - Brands Hatch - Race 2 Report - 1/4/12
Matt Neal takes victory in the 2nd race as Jason Plato gets his first podium finish for MG KX Momentum Racing.

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Rob Collard wins the 1st race of the 2012 BTCC season in front of a bumper crowd at Brands Hatch amid dramatic action further down the field.

BTCC - Brands Hatch - Qualifying - 31/3/12 BTCC - Brands Hatch - Qualifying - 31/3/12
Dave Newsham from Inverness secures pole position for the first race of the 2012 British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch.

BTCC - Brands Hatch - Free Practice - 31/3/12 BTCC - Brands Hatch - Free Practice - 31/3/12
Rob Collard and Andrew Jordan top the timesheets in free practice at Brands Hatch ahead the first race of the 2012 BTCC season.