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BTCC Event 8 Knockhill

Gordon Shedden, Matt Neal and Jason Plato shared the wins in today’s highly-unpredictable three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at the spectacular Knockhill circuit in Fife.

Plato’s victory in the third in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze means he has stretched his championship lead over Neal as the UK’s favourite motor racing series now heads south for its penultimate three races of 2010 at the Donington Park circuit in Leicestershire on Sunday 19 September.

Honda Racing Team driver Shedden’s victory on his home track in race one was just what the crowd wanted, but he was lucky to survive two sideways moments on the opening lap as (pictured above) Plato’s young team-mate Alex MacDowall, who’d started from pole position, attacked him before settling for a best-ever second position. Third was Airwaves BMW’s Steven Kane.

It was Neal’s turn to taste the victory champagne in race two as he overtook the sister Civic of Shedden on the opening lap to lead his Scottish team-mate across the line for a Honda 1-2 ahead of Plato who took third after a robust move on Kane in the closing laps.

Plato then took the spoils in race three after eventually figuring a way past Tom Onslow-Cole’s Team Aon Ford Focus which, having led from the reversed grid pole position, took second spot ahead of a fast-closing Neal in third. Notably, behind, both Shedden and another of the chief title protagonists, Aon’s Tom Chilton, suffered spins and could only come home in ninth and tenth positions.

As a result, Plato leaves Scotland with an increased 20-point advantage over Neal who has moved five points clear of third-placed Onslow-Cole. Shedden is a further nine points behind with Chilton a distant fifth, another 26 adrift with a maximum of 104 still available from Donington and Brands Hatch’s (10 October) final six races.

Oxford-based Plato, the 2001 Champion, said: “We’ve been there or thereabouts today but it’s been thirsty work and to grab a win in the final race of the day is a big bonus for our championship. Donington should suit our car better than here but I’m not counting my chickens… I’ve lost this thing far more times than I’ve won it.”

Worcestershire’s Neal, Champion in 2005 and 2006, commented: “I’ve taken the biggest points score of anyone here today and it was important to capitalise on what we knew would be a great circuit for the Civic. Gordon had a rough time in race three but I wouldn't rule him out at all either. I get the feeling, though, it’ll be the turn of the Fords at Donington – their LPG-turbo engines might have the beating of us on the long straights and the uphill sections there.”

New Malden racer Onslow-Cole, still only 23 and who now finds himself embroiled in a title battle against two giants of the series in Plato and Neal, added: “It’s been a very tough weekend – I was playing catch-up after some issues in free practice yesterday and then I woke up ill this morning! But still we’ve picked up a healthy dose of points. I hope what Matt says comes true and it swings back our way at Donington!”

Meanwhile, Shedden’s and Neal’s results at Knockhill have taken Honda/Dynamics past Arena/Ford to the head of the Manufacturers/Constructors standings by the slender margin of just two points. The Honda Racing Team, though, has significantly increased its HiQ Teams Championship lead over Team Aon from four to 31 points. Onslow-Cole has now egded 22 points clear of Kane at the top of the Independent Drivers’ table and Team Aon is also edging nearer the Independent Teams’ title, its lead over Airwaves BMW having gone out from 16 to 21 points.

Pre-Italian GP interview with Tonio Liuzzi

Tonio discusses his Force India race debut at Monza one year ago and how he has progressed since that weekend. He also gives his thoughts about racing in front of his home crowd and his hopes for the rest of the season and beyond.

Auto Mundial 36-10

As the car industry continues to implode it's small-car city here on Auto Mundial, but though small may mean beautiful it doesn't necessarily mean boring - or cheap.

We're staying in the jewellery department next, two more tiny cars you need a magnifying glass to mend - but in the future, of course, cars will never break. But first up, the headlines.

In the show this week:-

NEWS

FIAT 500 ABARTH

FIAT PUNTO EVO ABARTH

HYUNDAI ACCENT

MINI COOPER S

MAZDA 2

WTCC Oschersleben - HLTS International Sound and Commentaries

Alain Menu and Andy Priaulx won one race apiece in Oschersleben today. The Swiss driver gave Chevrolet their first victory on the German track, while the Briton scored his sixth win of the season and moved further ahead in the Drivers' Championship. In the two latest meetings, Priaulx has recovered 38 points from the leader Yvan Muller, reducing his gap to 11, and now he has also jumped ahead of Gabriele Tarquini (who has scored only 2 points in the three latest races) in second position.
The first race was a Chevrolet show. Rob Huff and Menu took control from the beginning, but the former was later black-flagged for hitting the poleman Augusto Farfus at the start. This enabled Menu to claim his first victory of the year from Farfus and Muller.
In Race 2, Priaulx dashed ahead of the SEAT pair of Michelisz and Nykjær and kissed goodbye to the rest of the field on his way to a solo flight. Farfus and Muller finished far behind him in second and third after Monteiro was given a drive-through for hitting both Nykjær and Michelisz.

Motorsport Mundial 36-10

On Motorsport Mundial there is breath taking motorcycle road racing from the Ulster Grand Prix in Northern Ireland, we take to the skies over the Euro Speedway Lautzitz in Germany with the Air race and also in Germany DTM and the FIA European Truck racing championhsip are at the Nurburgring.

Fiesta World Tour - Leg 1 - Part 2 - VNR

Firearms, Boots and Dirty Cars as Canvases

As the Ford Fiesta World Tour continues on the journey through the States, and we can confirm that The Wild West is still wild!

As the team pull into Scottsdale, Arizona, during Ford Fiesta World Tour 2010, they get word there’s automatic gunfire coming into El Paso, Texas from across the border. This is worrying, as El Paso is the next stop in this round-the-world jaunt. Good thing, then that they have a rendezvous with some serious weaponry at Scottsdale Gun Club. The fine folks there have offered to let them loose on the range...!

In this second news release, catch up with the team as they continue on leg 1 of their journey around the globe in the Mexican-built 2011 Ford Fiestas.

Auto Mundial 35-10

We've a brace of BMW's to start us off this week and we'll be totally honest and say most of us can't afford either of them, nor could we get the best performance out of them.

Honda's Insight - a hybrid but hardly a planet-saver, and then two top-of-the-range cars from Hyundai which hint at a new level of luxury, even a new brand. But it's news time first.

In the show this week:-

NEWS

BMW M3 GT2 ART CAR

BMW M3 GTS

HONDA INSIGHT

HYUNDAI VERA CRUZ

HYUNDAI AZERA

IRC Barum - HLTS with International Sound and Commentaries

Freddy Loix has become the most successful driver in the history of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge by taking a record-breaking sixth win and his third in as many starts this season after a dramatic climax to Barum Czech Rally Zlin today (Sunday) when the lead changed hands three times on the final four stages.

Juho Hanninen claimed second to maintain his title advantage while third place for local hero Pavel Valousek not only ensured a Skoda Fabia one-two-three but also enabled the Czech firm to clinch the 2010 IRC manufacturers' crown for the first time with three rounds remaining.

Motorsport Mundial 35-10

This week on Motorsport Mundial we've got high speed action from Northern Ireland at the Ulster Grand Prix, but we start in the Isle of man with the British Rally Championship.

Fiesta World Tour - Leg 1 - Part 1 - VNR

A 60-day, 21-country, 15,000-mile circumnavigation of the globe has kicked off on Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles.   Between now and mid October, the 'Fiesta World Tour 2010' will cross the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Middle East, China, Southeast Asia and finally Australia -- on the other side of the Pacific from the Baywatch beaches of L.A. where the tour started.

Regular VNRs will be available for download via the Dystribute network.