Reigning champion Andrew Jordan came through a chaotic final British Touring Car Championship race at Croft as winner of round 15 of the season, as points leader Colin Turkington retired.
The start of the race was the scene of carnage as pole-sitter Jack Goff had initially lead the way into Clervaux, but he was tagged into a big slide a corner later by Tom Ingram’s Speedworks Toyota Avensis.
The Vauxhall Insignia man dropped to third while Ingram slid off into retirement at Tower hairpin, before further drama around the lap saw new leader Fabrizio Giovanardi spin off heading into Sunny after slight contact with Jordan’s Honda.
The safety car was deployed after the mess, Jordan making his break at the front where he was untroubled for the remainder of the 18-lap encounter on his way to a fourth win of the season by 3.4s.
The championship also closed up as Colin Turkington retired with a clutch problem, the double Croft winner now leading the standings by just five points from Gordon Shedden.
Goff meanwhile became somewhat of a punchbag for the rest of the field, grimly fending off the West Surrey Racing BMW of Rob Collard for second place.
The move from Collard finally came on lap 11 at Sunny Out, a slight tag into the back of the BMR Racing Insignia helping out somewhat as Mat Jackson‘s Airwaves Racing Ford Focus also took advantage and sneaked through into third.
Shedden was the man who charged through from ninth on the grid, placing himself in the centre of the battle as he made his way by Goff with a rub coming through Sunny also.
The Scot then made his way up to Jackson’s Ford and was edged aside at the hairpin as the Yuasa Racing Civic Tourer tried a move around the outside, finally moving onto the podium behind Jordan and Collard with a tighter line inside Jackson at Hawthorn.
Goff fought with Adam Morgan over the final two laps for fifth place, only conceding the place to Morgan’s WIX Racing Mercedes A-Class by 0.001s in the race to the line.
Nick Foster was next up, fighting by the MGs of Sam Tordoff and Jason Plato to claim seventh ahead of the fighting Alain Menu, who charged from the back up to eighth place after his controversial clash with Plato in race two that saw the MG man handed a 10-place grid penalty.
Aron Smith finished ninth in the second BMR Volkswagen Passat ahead of Plato, while Martin Depper shone with 11th place in the second Pirtek Racing Honda Civic ahead of Hunter Abbott.
Matt Neal‘s final race was a complete disaster as, following his race two exclusion for a ride height check failure for his Honda Civic Tourer, he was first involved in an incident with Glynn Geddie‘s United Autosports Toyota Avensis before pitting after a second clash with Rob Austin and Warren Scott at Hawthorn.
