This blog will be automatically refreshed throughout race 3 of the British Touring Car Championship at Snetterton.
A great win for Dave Newsham, a very, very, popular success.
Collard and Neal are battling it out over 9th. The Honda has it for now.
Last lap!
TOC himself is holding the gap back to Shedden to just over a second.
Newsham was 3s ahead of TOC last time around. The gap is now 2.8s…TOC has a lot to do to deprive Newsham his first BTCC win.
Wood’s retirement elevates Neal to 9th.
TOC passes Wood. The chase is on! Wood has a gearbox problem.
The two Vauxhalls are lapping in the mid-2ms, whereas the chasing pack are low 2ms, or high 1m59s…
Neal is 10th, rather.
Austin muscles his way past Collard, but then Neal pushes ahead of the Audi. He’s now 10th
So that means TOC is third, just ahead of Shedden. Can the BMW hold on?
Frank Wrathall is running a very lonely 9th.
Mat Jackson runs wide at the Bomb Hole, drops down to 6th.
Matt Neal is now 12th, great recovery thus far from the defending champion.
Gilham is now running slowly, damage accrued from the contact with Welch to the front right of the Vauxhall. He was 12th.
TOC again attacks on the outside at Riches. He can sniff a podium here. Shedden keeping a watching brief – he’s carrying a lot of success ballast remember.
Gilham is running quite strongly in the Insignia, in 13th. Two places back is Matt Neal.
Gilham and Welch come together at Riches and Welch is spat off. He keeps it pointing the right way though.
Five down, seven to go, and TOC lines up Jackson into Riches…Jackson covers down into Montreal.
Newsham has 3.5s between him and the lead NGTC which is still, remarkably, Mat Jackson.
Plato passes Andrew Jordan.
Neate is off track yet again.
Five-car train is battling for third now. Jackson heads TOC, Shedden, Jordan and Plato.
His last lap was the fastest of anyone.
Can Newsham hold on? Lap 4 of 12…
Newsham through at Montreal.
Newsham is now pressuring Wood for the lead.
Shedden’s passed passed TOC at Agostini
Mat Jackson passes TOC for third.
Holland ended up off track again.
Wrathall dropped back too.Newsham passes TOC.
Onslow-Cole jumps Newsham but is on the defensive immediately as Wrathall passes Neal. Neal spinsoff.
We are racing!
The two Hondas have some success ballast on…will they be able to make their way through? We’ll find out very soon.
Mat Jackson, starting fourth…can he deliver a remarkable victory for the new NGTC Ford Focus ST on its debut?
Don’t discount Tom Onslow-Cole. He’s the third of the S2000 cars on the grid in…third. But the BMW driver is quietly confident that with a good start, and a bit of luck, he could win here.
The cars are on the grid. Lea Wood will lead the field away for their formation lap shortly. Dave Newsham is alongside him. Can either of the Vauxhall’s claim a maiden BTCC victory?
