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00:00Sponsored by Green Flag Motoring Assistance, dedicated to getting to you fast.
00:30Hello and welcome to the penultimate meeting of the British Touring Car Championship.
00:41This weekend we're coming to you from Snetterton in Norfolk, live, and like today's weather, the championship is reaching boiling point.
00:48That's right Vicky, there are only two points separating the Vauxhall drivers, Ivan Muller and James Thompson, after 24 races that we've had so far this year.
00:55And the two previous champions haven't got the battle all to themselves either, because Jason Plato of Seat and Anthony Reid in the independently run MG,
01:02they're less than 40 points behind, and there are 50 points on offer here at this Snetterton meeting alone.
01:07And when you put into account the reverse grids, the weight handicaps, and the fact that the Vauxhall drivers both had engine failures here at Snetterton last year,
01:15there's plenty to play for in this championship. This could be an absolutely crucial phase.
01:19Let's have a look at today's timetable for you. In a moment we'll be bringing you highlights from race one,
01:23then we'll be bringing you race two live, then at four o'clock we'll be live again for the last round of the day,
01:29so there's plenty of action to look forward to.
01:32And talking of action, you couldn't have got much more than we had at Brandt Hatch last time out.
01:36It was a last lap charge to the flag. Let's take a look back at that.
01:45Oh, and Plato's sideways, and Muller comes through! He's run wide, he's in trouble!
01:53Rob Huff is going to win his first British Touring Car Race!
02:05Wonderful, wonderful racing!
02:11Halfway through the season, Ivan Muller and James Thompson had a seemingly unassailable lead in the championship,
02:16but after 11 races without a win between them, the rest of the field has closed the gap.
02:21So, do the two frontrunners have any regrets about their tactics so far this season?
02:28Yeah, you know, there is no point to regret anything,
02:31it's just to see if we've done some mistakes to try to not do it anymore.
02:36No, but in general, I think, on the way we did, it wasn't too bad.
02:44Do you think that you could have made better use of that reverse grid, like SEAT has?
02:51I think it's been very easy for them, in the respect that nobody,
02:54they're the only people who've played the rules that way,
02:56because everybody else has been locked into a title battle.
02:59You know, Matt Neal, Anthony, myself, Ivan, we've been going for the title,
03:06so really we can't afford to sacrifice a race.
03:09No, I think there is fewer races in the same race.
03:11For sure there is a race between Jimmy and myself for the championship,
03:15but the problem is there is some guys who come between
03:19and invite us to have a good battle, or a fair battle,
03:26so that will disturb, probably, the championship.
03:30To be where we are with, you know, five DNFs, I'm pretty pleased, really.
03:34Third in the championship, it's possible, it'll be very tough to get that,
03:39and even though mathematically a win is on, it's not going to happen.
03:43And it was never our game plan.
03:45The guys at the front of the championship are all class drivers,
03:49and they've been in the series for many years now,
03:51so it's going to be a very tough five- or six-way fight for the championship lead.
03:55I'd like to think that we still have an outside chance,
03:59because mathematically we can win the championship,
04:01particularly with 105 points up for grabs.
04:03The reliability of the Voxels, Jimmy and Ivan know what it takes.
04:08They know they've got to just pick up the points,
04:10they're not going to stick their necks on the line.
04:11Yeah, they've got to beat each other, but they're going to be one and two.
04:14To be honest with you, looking at it, I always thought it was going to be between me and Ivan.
04:18I'm not saying that in an arrogant fashion.
04:21I think if you look at the team and you look at the continuity,
04:25you know, we're going to come out of the blocks quickly like we did,
04:28and we've managed to sustain it with reliability and everything's been good.
04:34So I always thought it was going to be between me and the wily Frenchman.
04:42So James Thompson is very much part of the championship's two-horse race,
04:46but who is going to get the best start of the day?
04:48Find out after the break.
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08:13You come first every time.
08:15Welcome back to Snetterton.
08:24We're at the end of the long straight, approaching the S's.
08:26And when you catch sight of the touring cars, they'll be doing 140 miles an hour and definitely
08:31trying to overtake into this tight second gear right-hander.
08:34There's lots of action always here, and it's a favourite place to overtake.
08:38Coming up in 20 minutes, there'll be live action from round 26.
08:42But first, let's have a look what happened in the first race of the day.
08:46Let's hope they can keep it clean as we get all set for the start of round 25 of the Green
08:52Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship.
08:54Away we go.
08:55It's a good start from Polman Thompson.
08:57Thompson initially away well.
08:59Ivan Buller has to slot into second place behind him.
09:02Then it's the Honda, a Tom Chilton, a black car, and Matt Neal on the inside.
09:06Matt Neal holds on to third.
09:08Chilton is in fourth place.
09:09The two MGs trying to get up there as well.
09:12And everybody's got off the start line safely, I think, this time.
09:15And through riches cleanly.
09:17And Jason Plato has started from pit lane.
09:19No question, if Jase Thompson was a drag racing expert, we'd say he had the best reaction time.
09:24I watched his car jump off the grid as soon as those lights went out.
09:28He got the initial drag.
09:30A perfect start for him.
09:31Muller probably okay in second.
09:33Matt Neal in third.
09:34Positions as per the grid.
09:35Down the inside.
09:36Carl Brees trying to make a move there.
09:38I hope they don't run out of space.
09:40Sometimes he can get a bit tight coming through the S's.
09:43Thompson still leads from Ivan Muller.
09:45In third place is Matt Neal.
09:47Then Tom Chilton.
09:48It's Anthony Reid and Colin Turkington then in the two MGs.
09:51With Dan Eves running seventh.
09:53Rob Collard in eighth.
09:54Luke Hines in ninth.
09:55And Rob Huff is in tenth place.
09:57Good start, that from Rob Huff.
09:58We're riding with Matt Neal.
09:59In the dice for second.
10:01As they come through Russell Chicane.
10:03That's the slowest corner on the circuit.
10:05About 50 miles an hour through there.
10:06Huff.
10:07I'm sure that's Rob Huff that's off.
10:09And he had gone up to tenth place.
10:11But now he's lost all of that ground.
10:13Well, that's a disaster.
10:14He had a really good start.
10:15Here we see a replay.
10:16We're coming round Corham.
10:17Oh, and he's had a touch from James Kay.
10:20Got out onto the marbles.
10:21Absolutely no chance.
10:22And very lucky if he doesn't have a big disaster for him.
10:25It's going to be very difficult to get back into the top ten.
10:28Well, a little light touch.
10:29But they're doing 100 miles an hour there.
10:30So a light touch can have pretty devastating consequences.
10:34In fact, I think he's got away with it fairly well.
10:37He is still running.
10:38But it's James Thompson that leads from Ivan Muller and Matt Neal.
10:41Now, Matt Neal carrying a bit more weight than those guys around him.
10:44Danny, meanwhile, was making a move on Colin Turkington as they headed down in there.
10:49We're on board with Tom Chilton.
10:50Chilton running in fourth position.
10:52If Plato can get alongside, it is possible to break round the outside.
10:56Oh, he's done it beautifully before they even got to the corner.
10:59Gives his rival racing route that sensible driving.
11:02He can now block if he needs to into the bomb hole.
11:05He has done that.
11:05He's got that position.
11:06And now Watson Smith's got his hands full of Hodges.
11:10This is the race for third place.
11:11He's dragged on the inside into the bomb hole.
11:13Oh, you never go through there.
11:15But Tom does.
11:16He's gone down the inside.
11:17And Tom Chilton has moved into third place, passing Ivan Muller.
11:21Yeah, and with a big oversteer there in the middle of Coram at 100 miles an hour.
11:25We can see he's driving on the maximum.
11:27That was good to move over.
11:28He passed.
11:29Oh, no, don't start doing that, Tom.
11:31As soon as you get the car sliding over, you're like that.
11:34You'll slow out the corner.
11:35But a very brave move down the inside of the bomb hole.
11:38And Muller sensibly, and perhaps he obligated to give him room, bearing in mind his championship position.
11:44Yes, he couldn't afford to be fired off there.
11:46And it all narrows up here.
11:48Tim, talk us through it.
11:49Looks like Muller's run a little bit wide from the S's.
11:51He knows Chilton's up the inside.
11:52He knows he's going to force his way through.
11:54So he doesn't turn in on him, goes through the corner side by side.
11:58Jason Plato is still some two seconds behind James Kaye.
12:02He's running out of time to close up that gap and take 10th place.
12:06And, of course, if he finishes 11th, he'll start in 11th place for race two, will Plato.
12:11So he'll have to do it all over again, work his way through the order as much as possible.
12:16But this is the one we're watching.
12:17Ivan Muller, fourth.
12:18Oh, and contact between Watson Smith and Stefan Hodgett.
12:21Oh, he nearly goes over.
12:22That was on the approach to the bomb hole.
12:25Well, I suppose Watson Smith would say that was payback to Stefan Hodgett for trying to put him in the pit wall at Brands Hatch.
12:31But we didn't see the start of that.
12:33But that could have been very dangerous.
12:35The car so near to digging in and rolling over could have been a huge accident.
12:40There's race leader James Thompson.
12:41Matt Neill in the orange Honda running in a clear second place.
12:44Chilton in third.
12:45But what about fourth place?
12:47Turkington now with a chance of taking the inside line into the S's.
12:51Muller still battling, but how hard is he prepared to fight it?
12:55He still has the inside line.
12:56No.
12:57Turkington's taken it.
12:58Well, that was some desperately late breaking.
13:00It looked like they were going to go around the first part of the corner side by side.
13:03Oh, there's dirt on the track there.
13:05They both caught it.
13:06Well, has Muller got a chance back up the inside in the corner?
13:10No, I don't think so.
13:11Yes.
13:11Good driving by both of them, particularly Turkington, to break that lane and get in front.
13:15But here comes James Thompson to take his fourth victory in the season.
13:19His first win since Silverstone in May.
13:22It's been a long time since Voxel have won a race.
13:25But finally they've done it.
13:27Matt Neill's finished in second already.
13:29Here comes this pair racing still for fourth place.
13:32But Turkington it is who takes fourth.
13:35Ivan Muller finishes in fifth place.
13:37Now, Danny finishes in sixth.
13:39Then it's Rob Collard.
13:40Look at these guys.
13:42Trying to be tenth.
13:43Oh, all across the line together.
13:46And let's just check the timing as it comes through.
13:48James Kaye there, I think, ended up finishing in ninth.
13:52Luke Hines dropped back to finish in tenth.
13:54And Jason just missed out.
13:56He finished in eleventh.
13:58It didn't quite work for him.
14:00It didn't quite work, but a great drive from Plato, nevertheless, from the back.
14:04And he'll be disappointed, but he will lose some weight now.
14:06And start with a lighter car for race two.
14:09But an excellent result for Thompson.
14:12Just what he wanted.
14:13Pole, fastest lap, a comfortable race win.
14:16A car that is handling excellently.
14:18He's put his rival Muller under pressure.
14:21I told you he was looking cool at the start of this meeting.
14:23And he's looking even happier now.
14:25Yeah, but don't forget, he starts race two from tenth place.
14:28He starts it with maximum ballast.
14:30And he will have his work cut out when it comes to race number two of the day here at Snetterton.
14:35But what a perfect start to the day for him.
14:38Pole position and just stormed away after a perfect getaway.
14:42Great to see.
14:43And you can just see the delight emanating from that car, can't you?
14:46Fist waving in the air.
14:48James Thompson then wins the first race of the day from Matt Neill in the Honda.
14:51Tom Chilton making it a 2-3 for Honda.
14:54Colin Turkington grabbing fourth.
14:56And Ivan Muller having to settle for fifth in the end.
14:58Dan Eves finished in sixth ahead of Rob Collard.
15:00Anthony Reid dropped back a bit there to finish in eighth place.
15:03But James Kaye and Luke Hines finished ninth and tenth.
15:07And they will therefore start on the first row for the second race of the day.
15:11So, James Thompson took top honours in race one.
15:15Now, join me after the break where I'll be on the grid talking to James ready for race two.
15:19Sponsored by Green Flag Motoring Assistance.
15:27The Breakdown Specialists.
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