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British Touring Car Championship
Snetterton - Race 3 Report - 12/8/12

By MJP Media / Pictures: Andrew Hartley | 12 August 2012

Inverness based Dave Newsham takes his maiden BTCC victory in the final race of the day from Snetterton. Matt Neal leads the championship after team-mate Gordon Shedden is disqualified.

Dave Newsham celebrates his maiden BTCC victory at Snetterton

Going into the final race of the day from Snetterton, the championship battle could not be tighter with Honda Yuasa Racing team-mates Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal tied at the top of the table on 247 points and Jason Plato only 17 points behind.

Lea Wood started from pole position in the BINZ Racing Vauxhall Vectra alongside Dave Newsham in the Team ES Racing.com Vauxhall Vectra thanks to the reverse grid system. Newsham was passed at the start by the eBay Motors BMW 320si of Tom Onslow-Cole but regained the place later in the lap to run in 2nd place. In separate first-lap incidents, Robb Holland spun off the track in the Team HARD. Honda Civic as Matt Neal also spun off whilst being challenged by Frank Wrathall in the Dynojet Toyota Avensis.

Lea Wood leads the field

As Wood and Newsham started to extend their lead, Mat Jackson in the newly-built Redstone Racing Ford Focus was putting pressure on Tom Onslow-Cole and passed him on lap 2 to take 3rd place. Newsham was soon challenging Wood for the lead and finally found a way past on lap 4. Meanwhile, behind the leaders the battle for 3rd place was between Mat Jackson, Gordon Shedden and Tom Onslow-Cole who managed to pass Shedden to take 4th place.

On lap 7, Mat Jackson had a big slide and lost several places to Tom Onslow-Cole, Gordon Shedden and Jason Plato. The pack, now unhindered by Jackson, set about catching the two Vauxhall Vectras in front. Whilst running in 2nd place, Lea Wood ran wide and retired with a gearbox problem, promoting Tom Onslow-Cole to 2nd ahead of Gordon Shedden.

Dave Newsham takes the chequered flag in his Team ES Racing.com Vauxhall Vectra

At the chequered flag it was a maiden BTCC victory for Inverness based Dave Newsham and a fantastic result for the relatively small Team ES Racing.com team. Tom Onslow-Cole finished 2nd with Gordon Shedden taking the final podium position. Jason Plato finished 4th ahead of Mat Jackson in 5th and Andrew Jordan in 6th.

Gordon Shedden was later excluded from the result for exceeding turbo boost limits, as a result of which Jason Plato was promoted to 3rd place with Mat Jackson 4th, Andrew Jordan 5th and Aron Smith 6th.

Matt Meal now leads the championship on 255 points ahead of Gordon Shedden on 247 and Jason Plato on 245 as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads to Knockhill in Scotland on August 25th and 26th for the next meeting of the 2012 season.

Pictures courtesy of Andrew Hartley

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