2) 2009 – Turkington takes terrific title despite Plato hat-trick
Colin Turkington is one of five drivers in contention for the prize this weekend, one which he first claimed four years ago at the same Brands Hatch circuit in one of the most tantalisingly close conclusions in BTCC history.
The Team RAC driver held a 13-point lead over defending two-time champion Fabrizio Giovanardi, with the spoiler potentially being Silverline Chevrolet‘s Jason Plato, another 15 behind the Vauxhall man. While Plato produced an amazing outcome, Turkington would ultimately be the limelight hogger.
Giovanardi’s chances were helped with tird on the grid behind the excelling Tom Chilton – who grabbed the AON Ford team’s first pole on the manufacturer’s return – and Plato, Turkington only 10th on the grid.
Race one was a straight fight between Chilton and Plato, the victory being robbed from the Ford man on the run to the finish line by a gut-wrenching 0.015s after a power steering failure before the final corner gave his rival’s Chevrolet Lacetti the grip advantage Plato needed.
Giovanardi finished third while Turkington could only recover to eighth, the pair finishing on the podium in second and third respectively after a tense tussle between themselves in race two. Plato had eased Chilton wide at Druids on lap 16 to snatch the lead and a second win of the day in that encounter, keeping the three title contingents covered by just eight points heading into the third and final race of 2009.
That boiled down into an eye-watering reverse-grid climax, Matt Neal trying to help out his VX Racing team-mate Giovanardi throughout the messy contest. Neal collided with the Motorbase BMW of Jonny Adam on lap one to lead with a damaged Vectra, the rapid-starting Turkington and Giovanardi slotting into second and third within the jostling pack.
On a safety car restart, Neal fended off Turkington’s BMW sternly, Giovanardi losing out to Chilton’s Ford Focus at Westfield on lap five for third. Neal was not in a hurry and finally Turkington elbowed him aside at Druids on lap nine to take the lead, Giovanardi pouncing also to remain all over the back of his title rival.
However the real drama was to come as the jolt had wounded Turkington’s rear suspension and left him crabbing around the circuit. Amazingly, he drove around the problem, but his increasingly desperate lap nine defence from Giovanardi allowed Plato to perform the overtake of the season around the outside of both men at Paddock Hill Bend to take the race lead.
Plato completed only the second BTCC clean sweep of the three-race era since 2004, but narrowly missed out on achieving the unthinkable as a resurgent Turkington held on to take second place ahead of the attacking Chilton and Giovanardi, clinching an emotional maiden British Touring Car Championship title for himself and Dick Bennetts’ WSR squad.
