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British Touring Car Championship
Snetterton (300) - Race 3 Report - 3/8/14

By MJP Media | 3 August 2014

Aron Smith takes the victory in the final race of the day from Snetterton. Colin Turkington takes his 3rd podium result from three races.

Aron Smith lifts the winner's trophy for race 3

The reverse grid for the final race of the day put the Chrome Edition Restart Racing Volkswagen CC of Aron Smith in pole position alongside the Airwaves Racing Ford Focus ST of Fabrizio Giovanardi. Row 2 was taken by Giovanardi's team-mate Mat Jackson and Wix Racing's Adam Morgan. Honda Yuasa Racing's Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden started on row 3.

Absent from the grid was defending BTCC champion Andrew Jordan. After the previous race, BTCC medical officers deemed that the Pirtek Racing driver was suffering from exhaustion following his accident in free practice yesterday and his subsequent concussion, followed by events earlier in the day and would not allow Jordan to race. This could have a dramatic effect on Jordan's championship hopes as he will leave Snetterton gaining only one championship point from his 15th place finish in the second race.

Aron Smith's Chrome Edition Restart Racing Volkswagen CC

Off the line, Fabrizio Giovanardi almost got the better of pole-sitter Aron Smith into the first corner however the young Irishman held his nerve over the experienced Italian to hold onto the lead. On lap 2, Adam Morgan lost out to the Honda Civic Tourer of Matt Neal and the eBay Motors BMW 125i M Sport of Colin Turkington as he slipped from 4th to 6th place.

As the race progressed, Aron Smith held onto his lead whilst Fabrizio Giovanardi was being challenged for 2nd place by team-mate Mat Jackson who found a way past on lap 7. Meanwhile, Jason Plato in the MG KX Clubcard Fuel Save MG6 was also on a charge and by lap 7 had made his way up to 5th place ahead of Gordon Shedden. It looked like Fabrizio Giovanardi was set to take 3rd place however his Airwaves Racing Ford Focus ST ran went wide on the last lap, losing him many places and allowing Colin Turkington to take the place.

Colin Turkington takes his 3rd podium finish of the day

The race ended with victory for Aron Smith and the Chrome Edition Restart Racing team. 2nd place went to Mat Jackson in the Airwaves Racing Ford Focus ST with Colin Turkington taking 3rd place and his 3rd podium of the day for eBay Motors. Jason Plato finished 4th ahead of Gordon Shedden in 5th and Rob Collard in 6th. Fabrizio Giovanardi recovered from his last lap incident to finish 13th.

After three good results from Snetterton, Colin Turkington now leads the Drivers' Championship on 279 points with Gordon Shedden 2nd on 256. Jason Plato is currently 3rd in the standings on 223 points with Andrew Jordan 4th on 201. With 12 races from 4 meetings still on the 2014 BTCC calendar, the championship is still wide open as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads to Scotland on August 23rd and 24th for its annual visit to the Knockhill circuit near Dunfermline.

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