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00:00Dedicated to getting to you faster.
00:03Hello and welcome back live to Brands Hatch where we're ready for race three.
00:30Now earlier on Jason Plato won race two so he starts now from pole position.
00:35Let's catch up with Ben to see who lies where with the rest of the grid.
00:41Welcome back indeed to Brands and it's going to be a very tough race number three I think coming up here Tim
00:46because there's so much weight now on Jason Plato's car.
00:49Well Maximum Ballast he did a brilliant job in race two but with Maximum Ballast his car is going to be about half a second slower
00:55and try as he might good as he is I don't see any way that he can stay in front of this group
01:00and there's some very fast cars one row or two rows behind it particularly to watch out for first race winner Matt Neill.
01:07So the cars making their way around on the formation lap let's take a look at the lineup then.
01:11It is Jason Plato and Colin Turkington on row one now carrying lots of lead ballast on board.
01:16Rob Huff and James Thompson on the second row.
01:18James Thompson is now two points ahead in the championship.
01:21Just two points ahead that's all.
01:22On row number three it's Matt Neill.
01:24Race one winner here at Brands.
01:26He's now lost some ballast.
01:27He should be fast.
01:28So should James Caves.
01:29Had a fantastic weekend in the synchro Honda.
01:32Behind them we've got Michael Bentwood and Ivan Muller.
01:35And I'm not sure that Ivan was too impressed by Michael Bentwood's tactics earlier on
01:39although Michael Bentwood was simply racing for position.
01:41He's a member of the VX Racing Junior team remember.
01:44And they will both be pushing hard.
01:46Behind them it's Dan Eves and Luke Hines.
01:49Both running well in that second race.
01:51Behind them we've got Jason Hughes and Carl Breeze.
01:55And then we've got some other quick people coming up behind them as well.
01:58Because Tom Chilton is back on row number seven of the grid in the works Honda.
02:03He's got Fareed Karaman behind him.
02:05We've got Richard Marsh and John George on row number eight.
02:08But then behind them we've got Rob Collard and Stefan Hodgett in that repaired Alfa Romeo
02:13who has made it back onto the grid.
02:15And right at the back two very interesting cars to watch out for.
02:18Sean Watson-Smith who spun out of third place in race two.
02:21And Anthony Reid whose weekend has been a disaster so far.
02:25He's got no weight at all on the car this time.
02:27Can he do anything from back there?
02:30Now remember he's also racing under the threat of a suspended race ban
02:35after his tactics last time out in Scotland.
02:37So he can't afford to knock them off to work his way through.
02:40He's got to keep it clean Tim.
02:41Absolutely. That race ban will mean that if he has another fine or endorsement
02:46he will automatically pick up on one race suspension
02:49which would obviously finish his season completely.
02:51But the car will be very fast and this is the race
02:54where there's more likely to be grid changes, position changes
02:58than any other with the heaviest cars starting at the front.
03:01Yes and Jason Plato with the task of trying to defend pole position
03:05trying to defend the lead perhaps with that heavyweight car.
03:08And he has done it before. He did it at Croft earlier on this season
03:11and Seat had a 1-2 finish in both the second and third races there.
03:15But Vauxhall I have to say have been strong here today.
03:18Watch out for James Thompson.
03:19He finished fourth in race two.
03:21He was third in the first race of the day.
03:23Can Thompson now, having taken a two-point lead in the championship,
03:27really do something special here?
03:29And open up a little bit more of a gap over the Frenchman Ivan Muller.
03:33Muller's got a little bit more work to do because he's starting back on row four.
03:37But he does love this brand's hatch indie circuit.
03:40And John George we just saw coming into the pits there from the back of the grid.
03:43That's a shame for him.
03:45But watch out for Muller.
03:46He's one of those sort of drivers who will try to go right around the outside of everybody
03:49at Paddock Hill Bend.
03:51And sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
03:53It is going to be a close start.
03:55Jason Plato on the front row, an excellent starter.
03:58He's managed it so far this year, many times getting off the front row perfectly.
04:02But as we say, Turkington and some fired up teammates just behind.
04:07Here we go then.
04:08All set.
04:09The car's in position.
04:10It's round 24 of the 2004 Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship from Brands Hatch.
04:18And it's Jason Plato versus Colin Turkington on the front row of the grid.
04:23Wait for the lights to come on and then to go out.
04:27And we'll be racing.
04:28And it's a good start from Turkington and from James Thompson.
04:31Thompson makes a great start from the second row of the grid.
04:34But it's the MG, the black and silver MG of Colin Turkington that leads.
04:38Here comes MacNeil trying to go around the outside in the orange Honda.
04:41But he can't get past the Seat.
04:43And Jason Plato takes third.
04:45Rob Hart is in fourth.
04:46As MacNeil tries to go around the outside at the hairpin.
04:49That's pretty brave.
04:50It can get terribly slippery out there on the edge of the track.
04:53And Kane trying to follow him through.
04:54Oh, MacNeil on the grass.
04:56But he cannot get past those two.
04:58Jason Hughes there giving Luke Hines a little tap as they came through Graham Hillbend.
05:02And the battle for the lead.
05:03James Thompson on the inside.
05:05It's a 30s side by side.
05:07Oh, wonderful racing.
05:08Vauxhall versus MG.
05:09MG on the inside.
05:10Turkington still has it.
05:12But Thompson will go all the way with him.
05:14Through clear ways they've come.
05:15They're still side by side.
05:17Turkington's car carrying ballast, remember.
05:20May not be so fast onto the straight.
05:22And Thompson's trying to take the lead here.
05:24In terms of the championship, it's crucial that he gets in front.
05:27But he's not got the overlap.
05:28And he's got to watch out because Jason Plato's right there in third place.
05:32What a first lap.
05:33That was an incredible half lap of touring car driving with Turkington and Thompson side by side for over half a lap.
05:41And that's the view from Plato's car, from Thompson's car right up behind.
05:45He's now got Plato tucked in in third place.
05:48Plato so far hanging on to these two very well.
05:50Yeah, these three may begin to look at Bentwood behind them.
05:53Michael Bentwood's had a brilliant start.
05:55James Kaye.
05:56James Kaye on the grass.
05:57He got a tap from somebody.
05:58I'm not quite sure what happened, but I think he's rejoined.
06:01The leader's coming to clear ways.
06:03Thompson.
06:03Oh, look at Plato.
06:04He's doing what he did to Turkington.
06:06Right over the curve on the inside.
06:07He's done it.
06:08He's done it again for the second time today.
06:10He's used that line into clear ways.
06:12He clambered over the curve to avoid too much contact.
06:14But now the lighter voxel has the edge down the straight.
06:18But Plato's got the inside line for Paddock Hill Bend.
06:21And it's Plato who holds on to second place.
06:25Thompson's down to third.
06:26And Michael Bentwood's still running brilliantly in fourth ahead of Ivan Muller and McNeil.
06:31This is on the first lap down into Graham Hill.
06:34Look there.
06:35There Kaye gets turned around by Chilton in the other Honda.
06:38He does a brilliant job of saving it.
06:40Lights out the front and it brings it around.
06:41But he'll be disappointed to have lost those positions.
06:44Back on board Thompson.
06:46Plato squeezed the car through where there was absolutely no right to go.
06:50And Thompson's monster in the back for it.
06:53Yeah, Thompson knows how important this race is to him.
06:56He's got two people between himself and championship rival Ivan Muller.
06:59Just two points between them, remember.
07:02The rest of the field comes out of clearways.
07:05It's all looking pretty clean there at the moment.
07:07But the race leader is Colin Turkington.
07:09Still in the MG.
07:10He's getting away from this battle for second.
07:12This is really helping Turkington.
07:14Turkington's opened up a big lead.
07:15The bumper goes flying on Plato's car.
07:18It's gone into the gravel there on the exit of Paddock Hill Bend.
07:20That won't hurt him too much.
07:22But they're all ganging up.
07:23And look how Ivan Muller's now going to run around the outside of Michael Bentwood.
07:27And he's got the line into Graham Hill Bend.
07:29And now the two big championship rivals are running together on circuit once again.
07:34There's no doubt that Plato is holding this group up as well as he is driving.
07:39It's letting Turkington get away and forming a traffic jam behind him.
07:43Jason Hughes stopped on the circuit.
07:45That's up at Druids.
07:47Yeah, look at this.
07:48Matt Neill getting past Michael Bentwood as well.
07:50Bentwood lost a place to Ivan Muller the last time.
07:53But now he's going to lose another position to the Honda, the orange Honda of Matt Neill.
07:57He's on the inside.
07:58Michael Bentwood in the VX Junior Racing.
08:00Voxel Astra on the outside in his first season of front-wheel drive touring car action.
08:05The safety car is out.
08:06That's going to slow everybody down just for a couple of laps.
08:10We can catch our breath.
08:12They can plan their next strategy and relaunch another fight after the safety car goes in.
08:18What an exciting first couple of laps.
08:20Great racing all the way through.
08:23But it's Colin Turkington who leads at the moment.
08:26Jason Plato in second place.
08:28And James Thompson in third.
08:31And, well, great racing already we've seen here.
08:35And there's more great racing to come, I'm sure.
08:38Turkington leads at the moment.
08:40But I wonder how much longer.
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10:06Due to continuing pessimism in this service.
10:12Aha, that's where it got to.
10:15Hmm?
10:16Not yet.
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11:25What can I get for 50p, Dad?
11:2950p? Wow.
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12:43The safety car is still out here at Brands Hatch, leading the field around in the third
12:48and final touring car race of the day, after we saw an incident for Jason Hughes' privately
12:53run MG, which has left some fluids on the circuit.
12:56Marshall's doing a fantastic job of trying to clear up and get everything out of the way.
13:00The volunteer marshals, who always do so much to keep British motorsport running, once again
13:05doing their best here to get that car moved and get this race running once more.
13:10It's being led by the MG of Colin Turkington.
13:12Let's take a look at some of the incidents that we've had already in this race.
13:16This was Tom Chilton turning around fellow Honda driver, James Kerr, who does a brilliant
13:21job of keeping it together and getting back in the right direction.
13:24And here we see very close racing at the front between Plato and Thompson.
13:28Yeah, there was a big battle between Thompson and Plato, and you could see Thompson there
13:34just giving Plato a little tap as they went through the hairpin, and that really was what
13:38dislodged the bumper.
13:39The bumper then came off a lap or so later.
13:41It's ended up in the gravel trap at Paddock, although that's been cleared away now.
13:45And so the safety car is still out there at the moment, but I think the lights are off now.
13:51Yep, the lights are off on the safety car, and they will be racing once again when they
13:55get back to the start-finish line.
13:57There's a new race distance of 27 laps.
14:00They'll have completed 10 by the time they come past next time.
14:03Still 17 laps to go.
14:05Still a fantastic battle in Prospect, particularly with
14:08Turkington in the MG, Plato in the Sayac, Thompson in the voxel,
14:11Muller in another voxel, and then
14:13McNeil in the first of the Hondas, who won earlier on today and looks to have great pace once more.
14:20Be interesting to see how Turkington handles the restart.
14:24So far this week, this week today, we've had two very slow restarts.
14:28I think Plato got his knuckles wrapped by the clerk of the course for braking and then
14:32accelerating as he came up to the line.
14:35Let's see how Turkington do it.
14:36I fancy he'll probably set off a little bit earlier.
14:39Well, we're about to find out because the safety car making its way into the pits now.
14:43Turkington in the black and silver MG will control the pace at the start of this race.
14:49He's trying to fend off the 2001 British touring car champion Jason Plato,
14:54and behind him is the 2002 and 2003 champions.
14:58What a lineup across the line.
14:59Turkington starts this race again.
15:02It's Plato chasing it, then it's Thompson and Muller.
15:05Three champions there.
15:06The last three British touring car champions running second, third, and fourth in this race.
15:11But they're being led by 22-year-old Colin Turkington and Ivan Muller there,
15:15trying to find a way past James Thompson.
15:17Has to watch his mirrors because the orange Honda of McNeil
15:20is bearing down on him.
15:21Behind him, Michael Bentwood under pressure from Rob Huff.
15:24Well, McNeil's no respecter of reputations.
15:26British touring car champions or not, he will want to be trying to get to the front of this field.
15:30And Turkington, as I suspected, went a little bit before the line
15:34and got a little bit of advantage.
15:35But Plato got up the inside, his favorite place to pass, that is.
15:40He's got a bit of an overlap, and the Seat, even with weight, is quick.
15:44What a move that is from Plato.
15:46He just doesn't break going into clearways,
15:48and he gets up the inside before the other car even knows it's there.
15:51It's fantastic racing.
15:53We're looking at the view from James Thompson's car, and Plato's through.
15:56Plato's taken the lead despite carrying ballast.
15:59He's got in front of Colin Turkington.
16:02Look behind.
16:02Ivan Muller trying to make a move there on Thompson.
16:04Thompson had it covered.
16:06Meanwhile, Rob Huff in the silver and yellow Seat trying to go around the outside of Michael Bentwood
16:11and not quite able to manage it.
16:13He's got the second orange Honda of Dan Eves behind him.
16:16And then it's Luke Hines, the third of the Vauxhalls, the works Vauxhalls.
16:20But Jason Plato using that line at clearways to perfection.
16:24Jason Plato's gone from pole position back to third and then driven his way back to the front again
16:29with two beautiful passes up at clearways.
16:31He's obviously got a bit of rally suspension on that Seat.
16:34He can go over the curbs of the grass on the inside and use a line that no one else can use.
16:38And despite the weight, he's actually pulling away.
16:41That is remarkable.
16:42I'm not quite sure how they've managed to do it.
16:44I think what the problem is now is that Turkington, remember, who is running a heavy car as well,
16:49I think the MG is hurting more with the ballast than the Seat.
16:52And the Turkington's holding everyone else up now.
16:54He can't go any quicker than this.
16:56He's flat out for that extra ballast.
16:58Seems to be hurting the MG in second place more than it is the Seat that's leading.
17:02And Thompson will get frustrated here.
17:04Thompson will.
17:05And I mean, certainly it shouldn't be possible for the car with maximum ballast to drive away on this circuit.
17:11I think if Plato wins this race, then Vauxhall are going to be talking to Mr. Gow and ask him to reassess the weights before the last two races.
17:19But that's off to Plato.
17:21He can't fault his determination and race craft.
17:24Definitely not.
17:25But Turkington has to keep an eye on his mirrors because Thompson is now getting closer and closer as they head down the Bradham Strait.
17:31Again, up to about 130 miles an hour here, then onto the brakes through the plunging Paddock Hill corner.
17:37Look how he closes up through the corner, but can he get to the inside?
17:41No, he can't.
17:42But he's looking to do that.
17:43Oh, and Bentwood and Huff make contact.
17:44Bentwood's on the grass.
17:46Can he stop in time?
17:47Oh, he did brilliantly to keep it on the island because it looked to me for a moment as he was heading for the gravel trap.
17:53Yeah, just for his pleasures, he got a whack, I think, with Dan Eaves as he came back on.
17:58But brilliant car control.
18:00Did very well to hold it.
18:01And obviously here, Rob Huff disputing that track on the way up the hill to Druids.
18:06Ivan Muller's in the middle too there with the red windscreen strip.
18:09The number one car, the reigning champion.
18:11And he's now right behind his championship rival, James Thompson, his teammate as well.
18:16This has been the dominant team, of course, in touring car racing over the last three years.
18:20They're having their work cut out in terms of individual race wins at the moment.
18:25Muller's gone down the inside.
18:27Oh, it's tight there.
18:28But once again, he's not quite through.
18:30Thompson's going to have to be quick to cover the inside.
18:33He is.
18:33And as we look at it now, Muller is trying to go around the outside of the hairpin with Matt Neil and the Honda also trying to follow him.
18:42Well, that was close at the fastest part of the track there through Paddock Hill Bend.
18:46Muller just rub, rub, rubbing on the back of Thompson.
18:49And that will certainly get Thompson's blood boiling.
18:52He doesn't want that.
18:53Here we go.
18:53It's a late lunge up the inside.
18:55Gets a bit of an overlap.
18:56Then I think backs out of the maneuver, but just a little bit of contact.
19:00And both drivers doing well to cover that move and stay on the track.
19:04Great example, perhaps.
19:05Look at this of Muller now getting on the inside.
19:07But these two have so much respect for each other.
19:10And you could really see that in that move.
19:11But now Muller's got the advantage.
19:13Thompson cannot afford to let Muller beat him here.
19:15They're still side by side as they go into Paddock Hill Bend.
19:18Muller's got the advantage.
19:19Thompson's going to have to be careful.
19:21Otherwise, he'll lose the place to Matt Neil behind him.
19:23And Matt Neil's on the inside of Thompson here.
19:26Matt Neil's going to go through.
19:27He's going to follow Ivan Muller.
19:28And so is Rob Huff.
19:30So Thompson could be in big trouble here.
19:32He's got the inside line for the next left-hander.
19:35But Thompson has lost two places on half a lap.
19:38Yeah, slight mistake from Thompson there.
19:41He let Muller get up the inside along the start-finish line.
19:43And then perhaps foolishly try to go around the outside of him with Paddock.
19:47And all that did was allow Matt Neil to cut back underneath him
19:50on the run up the hill to Druid.
19:52So perhaps he would have been better off giving up that position
19:55and saving himself losing two.
19:57Very carryman we saw in the pits in the Proton.
19:59Looks as though he's not going any further.
20:01But Thompson's still under pressure here from Rob Huff as they come across the line.
20:06And Thompson having dropped to fifth place now.
20:09It means that the championship lead will go back to Ivan Muller
20:13if things stay as they are right now.
20:15And Thompson's really having to work hard to keep that Seat, the second Seat behind him.
20:20The lead Seat of Jason Blato has opened up a 1.3-second advantage over Turkington.
20:26It's an astounding display bearing in mind he's got the maximum ballast on the car.
20:31Turkington in turn has got quite a lot of weight on board.
20:34And it's Muller now who is bearing down on them.
20:36And remember Muller's car is pretty light.
20:39He's got pretty much all the ballast taken out.
20:41It's the lightest of those front running cars.
20:44Anthony Reid, I think, making a big move up the inside further back.
20:48And I can also see one of the competition with Halford's cars lapping slowly.
20:52That'll be Dan Eves.
20:53He's heading to the pits on board with Plato.
20:56He doesn't look flustered, does he?
20:58He's got the knack of winning these races from the front.
21:01But he had to work for it in this one by dropping back to third and getting back.
21:05Rob Huff still all over the back of Thompson.
21:08Yeah, and also just ahead of them, Matt Neill is right on terms with Ivan Muller.
21:12And they're both catching Colin Turkington.
21:13Look, there's the battle for second.
21:15Turkington, Dan Eves in.
21:16You mentioned that he was going slowly there, Tim.
21:19He's not had a good day at all, has he?
21:20It's not been good after such a great run up at Notkill.
21:23But certainly the competition racing with Halford's Honda's very, very quick.
21:28And this man, I think, has still got some action to come in this race.
21:32It looks like a rear puncture for Dan Eves.
21:34So disappointing for him.
21:36But as you say, his teammates still in the hunt here.
21:38Turkington now with Ivan Muller right behind him.
21:41You're on board Ivan Muller's car as he comes to the outside, does he?
21:45Yes, he's forced to the outside by Turkington, taking the tight line.
21:48Oh, there was contact almost between them.
21:51And through goes Matt Neill.
21:52So Matt Neill gets through as a result of Muller trying to get Turkington.
21:56And there's tire smoke coming off Turkington's car.
21:58And Matt Neill's got past both of them.
22:00Well, Muller went to the outside of Turkington.
22:02Turkington took his line.
22:04And, of course, that made sure there was contact on the approach.
22:07Well, there was more contact there.
22:08But it was the perfect opportunity for Matt Neill to get through into second.
22:12And now we'll see whether he can close down on leader Plato.
22:16And Huff has got past Thompson as well, just behind that.
22:18Oh, and off has gone Richard Marsh, one of the privateers.
22:22The Team Vata entry is out of it by the looks of things.
22:26But looking at this group, it is Turkington with the smoke pouring off his left rear wheel.
22:32Hopefully that won't cause too many problems.
22:34Muller still chasing, of course, it might just slow it down on the straight a bit.
22:38Bit of drag on that rear attire.
22:40And Muller looking to the outside again as he did when it all went wrong last time.
22:44Which allowed Matt Neill into second place.
22:46So the Honda of Matt Neill now in second.
22:48Can he close on Jason Plato?
22:50That's the next question.
22:51Will Plato have a problem?
22:53There are still some eight laps to go here.
22:55Bit of time for Plato to come under pressure from Matt Neill.
23:00But there's a bit of a gap for that for him to close.
23:03There is Plato.
23:04There is Matt Neill.
23:06Matt Neill now head down, charging, trying to close that gap.
23:10Turkington third.
23:11Muller in fourth place.
23:12Now it's Rob Huff in fifth and James Thompson in sixth.
23:15Well, Matt Neill is on zero ballast, success ballast.
23:20Jason Plato's on plus 42 kilos.
23:23If the rules are right, Neill should be able to catch Plato.
23:27Across the line.
23:28And Matt Neill four tenths of a second faster than Jason Plato on that lap.
23:32As meanwhile, they're side by side again into Paddock Hill Bend.
23:35And this time Muller has got past Turkington.
23:38So Muller ahead of Turkington.
23:40Turkington now trying to defend from Rob Huff.
23:43And Muller now into third position as a result of that.
23:47So the reigning champion, the Frenchman.
23:48The star of ice racing in France in the winter months,
23:52but the star of British touring cars over recent summers as well.
23:56Finally wrapped up the title for the first time last year.
23:58He's got himself there into third position.
24:00And his big championship rival, James Thompson,
24:03is still languishing down in sixth behind Turkington and Rob Huff in Carnival 12.
24:08Well, Rob Huff will be all over the back of Turkington now.
24:10You can see the Seat holding a tight line on the exit there.
24:13He has got a good engine in that Seat, and he's all over Turkington.
24:17But in front of these two, you've got Matt Neil
24:19ringing the neck of his little Honda, trying to catch up.
24:22And again, a faster lap than Plato.
24:24Huff is a tiger. He's trying to get the overlap.
24:27It's so hard. Yes, he's done it.
24:29Yes, he's done it. Yes, he has definitely got an overlap.
24:31That was close.
24:32Turkington thought about closing the door on him,
24:34but that wouldn't have been a wise move on Huff.
24:36But will Thompson get through as well? I think he will.
24:39Yeah, Turkington goes wide, and that's put Huff into fourth place,
24:42and Thompson into fifth, and here comes Bentwood going for it as well.
24:45Bentwood squeezes through.
24:46That was a bit of a risky maneuver.
24:47He's on the grass coming out, and there's Anthony Reid joining in.
24:50Reid, who started at the very back of the grid,
24:53and Anthony Reid inside the top ten,
24:56and he's gained another place there.
24:57This is a fantastic performance from Anthony Reid,
25:00whose championship hopes have really been slipping here today.
25:04Now he's got to get past Bentwood,
25:05and remember, he's got to keep it clean as well.
25:08Plato coming around to complete his 23rd lap.
25:11Five laps to go.
25:13Matt Neill still second.
25:14Ivan Muller is in third place.
25:16Then it's Huff, then it's Thompson, then it's this battle.
25:18Bentwood versus Reid for sixth place.
25:21Oh, Thompson in the gravel there, coming out of Paddock.
25:24Well, can you believe it?
25:25All the hard work done, gains the positions,
25:28and now he's given it away.
25:29This could be a crucial moment in the championship.
25:32Oh, and James Kay has gone straight on at the top of the hill.
25:36Everything's unfolding in these last five laps.
25:39It has all changed as Thompson has dropped a number of places.
25:43James Kay off, and we're surely going to see the safety car come out,
25:47because that's in quite a difficult position on the exit of the hairpin.
25:50We'll wait and see.
25:51No confirmation of that yet.
25:52Yes.
25:53Now we see the boards come out.
25:55Well, that's just what Matt Neill needed at the front, isn't it?
25:58He only had a 1.3-second gap, but now he's going to be right on the back.
26:02But disaster for Thompson.
26:05Well, this is one of the most changeable races we've seen so far this year
26:09in terms of different incidents.
26:11We've seen some action-packed races,
26:13but all these things going on throughout the field and cars going off.
26:17I wonder what happened to Thompson.
26:18We saw, picked up that shot of him going through the gravel,
26:21coming through Paddock Hill Bend, whether he'd made a mistake,
26:24whether he'd had a hit from somebody.
26:26Let's take a look back.
26:27He caught the inside kerb.
26:29He caught the inside kerb.
26:30He just saw the car bobble,
26:32and that was enough to throw the car out wide,
26:35and no chance of saving it there,
26:37but a trip through the gravel, dirt all over the car,
26:39slow up the hill, everybody else driving up.
26:42No idea what happened to James Kaye there,
26:44whether he lost the steering or just suddenly got a puncture on the left front,
26:47but he clearly had no steering control.
26:49Yeah, it looks like something broke, as you say, or a puncture.
26:53It just went straight on, didn't it, on the exit of the hairpin.
26:55Nasty, frightening when a car does that.
26:57No control for the driver.
26:59Fortunately, at the slowest point of the track,
27:01or the slowest corner there,
27:03and only a very light bump into the tyres,
27:05so fortunately it didn't happen at Paddock Hill Bend.
27:08But Thompson is obviously dropped right back to 10th place now,
27:11has an opportunity to clean his tyres up,
27:14but I think he's lost his front splitter into the bargain,
27:16so his car is not going to be perfect.
27:20Well, there was evidence of oil up there earlier.
27:23Now, there's James Kaye's car being moved.
27:27Vicky is down in pit lane with the boss of VX Racing, Ian Harrison.
27:31Now, your boys seem to be having a bit of a battle out there between them,
27:34Tomo and Munna in particular.
27:35Yeah, it's all sort of kicking off a bit, really.
27:38There was a little bit of an incident,
27:39but Tomo's just picked up some understeer for some reason,
27:42which is why he ran wide in turn one.
27:45So we're just talking to him on the radio at the moment just to find out why.
27:48Our gloves are definitely off now between these two, do you think?
27:50Yeah, for sure.
27:52They're both battling for the championship,
27:54along with Reid and Neil and Plato,
27:58but they're still not allowed to take each other off,
28:01so I hope they adhere to that.
28:03It makes for exciting racing, so we thank you.
28:05Yeah, you're very welcome.
28:09So as the marshals continue their work to get that car out of the way,
28:12Plato is, we gather, pretty angry that the safety...
28:15We heard him earlier on saying he didn't think the safety car was going fast enough,
28:19and I think he's getting a bit upset once again.
28:21We'll see if we can have a chat with him.
28:25Ben to Jason, Ben to Jason.
28:26Are you getting a bit wound up about that safety car?
28:31Oh, we're sorry, we're not quite kicking that up.
28:36So, uh...
28:37All right, Matt, you remember what it said.
28:38We'll try and pick that up in a moment, but we'll see what happens.
28:42Jason Plato didn't seem to be very happy from what we could gather there
28:46with the speed, the pace, the safety car is going.
28:48We'll just try once again.
28:50Ben to Jason.
28:51I don't know if you can hear us, Jason,
28:52but you don't seem too happy about that safety car.
28:54We're going too slow.
28:56I'm losing all the temperature and the tires.
28:57Anyway, Ben, I'll speak to you after.
28:58I've got to concentrate.
29:01Well, thanks, Jason.
29:02Well, let's hope that we'll see what happens next.
29:05We'll leave you to it, mate.
29:06And the lights are now off on the safety car,
29:10and that means he'll be coming in at the end of this lap.
29:13There'll be just two laps to go then.
29:15Two laps.
29:16It's going to be a real shootout this time.
29:18Can Jason Plato fend off Matt Neill?
29:21Remember, Plato's still carrying that ballast.
29:24But can we see what happens this time?
29:27Well, we think it's just one lap, in fact.
29:28When they come across the line this time,
29:30is it just going to be the one lap?
29:31I think it is.
29:33We'll see.
29:34We'll see.
29:34We've got the lap counter in front of us, actually.
29:36Yes, they've just put it down to one now,
29:38across from our commentary position.
29:39So it's the one lap.
29:40It's a one-lap shootout for the win in race three here at Brandt Hatch.
29:44And it's Jason Plato who blasts away.
29:46Matt Neill and Ivan Muller go with him.
29:48And Ivan Muller's been in this situation before with a late race restart.
29:52Oh, and Plato's sideways.
29:54Matt Neill and Muller comes through.
29:56Muller's on the inside.
29:58And it's the Frenchman who's going to take advantage of all this.
30:01Ivan Muller.
30:02But he's run wide.
30:03He's run wide.
30:04He's in trouble.
30:05That's Rob Huff in the lead.
30:06Rob Huff is about to win his first ever touring car race.
30:10What a fantastic...
30:10It's all going now.
30:11Muller's sideways again.
30:13Reed is out on the grass.
30:15They're all all over the place.
30:16They're all desperate on this last lap.
30:18And Rob Huff.
30:19Rob Huff is going to win his first British touring car race in the Seat.
30:24He was driver of the day here at Brandt's earlier on this season.
30:28And he has emerged from chaos on the last lap to take his first ever win.
30:34The 24-year-old from Newmarket has won here at Brandt's Hatch.
30:38Second place goes to Jason Plato.
30:41Third goes to Michael Bentwood.
30:43Michael Bentwood.
30:44He got third ahead of Matt Neill, Ivan Muller.
30:47Anthony Reid was sixth.
30:49Luke Hines seventh.
30:50Chilton eighth.
30:51Collard ninth.
30:52Breeze tenth.
30:53And James Thompson all the way down in 12.
30:56Here's the restart going into Paddock.
30:57Watch Matt Neill.
30:58He kicks this off.
31:00Plato's a little bit steady into the corner.
31:02Obviously worried about cold tyres.
31:04Neill makes an attack.
31:05Touches the back of him.
31:06Muller goes round the outside of Neill.
31:08Dives to the inside.
31:09And you'd think now that was it.
31:11But he and Plato run out wide.
31:14Through goes Huff on the inside.
31:15Thank you very much.
31:17And then, of course, Muller gets tagged wide by Plato, who's a little bit cross.
31:20And Bentwood comes through to pick up that third place.
31:23And then Reid and Muller touch again at the bottom of the hill
31:27as Turkington fires off onto the grass.
31:29Oh, wonderful, wonderful racing.
31:31And Rob Huff has emerged from all that to take his first touring car win.
31:37The young man who's in his first ever season of British touring cars, who won this opportunity
31:42by winning the SEAC championship.
31:44And his father in the middle there in the white shirt.
31:46He must be so, so proud.
31:48He's followed Rob throughout his career, helped him try to get him up through the ladder of motorsport.
31:53And he's won several scholarships on his way.
31:56It's been tough for him to get there.
31:58But he has made the most of it this year.
32:00And in fantastic style, he kept it clean.
32:03He saw the gaps there, Tim.
32:05And that's what you have to do.
32:06He did. He kept his car reasonably intact.
32:08When all around him, everyone else was firing it off.
32:11He had a difficult race. At one point, he was down to seventh place.
32:14But in this type of racing, absolutely anything can happen.
32:17I think Jason will be upset, but he was a bit slow into paddock there.
32:21Definitely on that first lap, a little on the restart, a bit cautious,
32:25but certainly wouldn't have expected a tap from Matt Neil behind.
32:28But at the end of the day, it's a one-two for SEAT in Plato's 150th race.
32:34Yeah, that's a pretty remarkable score.
32:36You can see the 150 up on the windscreen strip for Jason Plato there.
32:41Well, it looked like he was going to win that one, didn't it?
32:43Until that last lap got underway once again.
32:47And he wasn't happy.
32:48We know he wasn't happy about the pace of the safety car.
32:51He felt it wasn't going quick enough to keep some tyre temperature up.
32:54Maybe that's why he was a bit cautious going into Paddock Hill Bend on the restart.
32:58But whatever, it is his teammate that has emerged.
33:01Look, you can see.
33:02Listen, the reception for Rob Huff.
33:08This will be a very, very popular victory.
33:11The team really supported of Rob.
33:13Let's not forget, this is his first ever year in touring cars,
33:17and he has driven like a veteran,
33:19and been the ideal team man and supporter of Plato.
33:22But this was his day.
33:24Let's go and join Vicky, who's right in the middle of all the celebrations.
33:27Just tell us about that last lap. It was unreal.
33:31On the restart, I think Matt got past.
33:37Matt made a move on Jason.
33:39They both got turned around.
33:40Muller went up the inside of Jason, outbraked himself.
33:43I went up the inside and cruised home.
33:46Unbelievable.
33:46Absolutely brilliant. Well done you. Well done.
33:51Well, that was a fantastic performance there from Rob Huff.
33:54He really just managed to get it perfectly lined up on that last lap.
33:58And for SEAT, once again, you have to say, you know, they've shown us once more that they deserve to be in this championship and that they've challenged all the top cars and drivers.
34:07Well, there were lots of drivers that could have won that last race, particularly with the restart.
34:10We've seen it here, of course, before with Turkington and Muller on the last lap into Paddock.
34:14Don't know how Alan Gow managed to arrange these last lap restarts, but you could have picked anyone.
34:19And I would not have picked Rob, but I couldn't be more delighted for his first win.
34:23Well, we've seen some more fantastic racing here at Brands Hatch.
34:26There'll be more of the same, I'm sure, throughout the year.
34:30Well, that's all we have time for here from Brands Hatch.
34:33But join us again in two weeks' time, where we will be live once more, but from Snetterton in Norfolk.
34:38You can find out more details about that on our website, which is itv.com forward slash touringcars.
34:44But from everyone here, goodbye.
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