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British Touring Car Championship
Croft - Race 3 Report - 29/6/14

By MJP Media | 29 June 2014

Andrew Jordan wins the final race of the day from Croft. Colin Turkington still heads the Drivers' Championship however Gordon Shedden is only 5 points behind as the BTCC starts its summer break.

Andrew Jordan with Gordon Shedden (left) and Rob Collard (right)

Shortly before the start of the final race of the day from Croft it was announced that Matt Neal had been excluded from the results of the second race for failing a ride height check and would have to start race three from the back of the grid. It was also announced that Jason Plato had received a 10 place grid penalty for his move in race two that sent Alain Menu off into the barriers. With Neal's penalty, the reverse grid for the final race saw Jack Goff in pole position for RCIB Insurance Racing with Fabrizio Giovanardi 2nd. Tom Ingram started on row 2 alongside Sam Tordoff with Mat Jackson and Andrew Jordan on row 3.

Jack Goff got a good start to the race in his Vauxhall Insignia as did Tom Ingram in the Speedworks Toyota Avensis, passing Fabrizio Giovanardi's Airwaves Racing Ford Focus ST. Giovanardi then took the lead as both Goff and Ingram fell off the track. Goff managed to keep going but for Ingram, the race was over. Giovanardi suffered extensive front end damage as he spun off the track. After an action-packed first lap, Andrew Jordan was now in the lead with Goff 2nd. Rob Collard was now running 3rd having started 7th on the grid.

Andrew Jordan in his Pirtek Racing Honda Civic

After a brief period under Safety Car conditions, racing resumed but the damage to Fabrizio Giovanardi's car meant he was unable to continue and he retired a couple of laps later. By now, Rob Collard was chasing Jack Goff for 2nd place but Goff was defending his position well. Meanwhile, Matt Neal was swiftly making his way up from the back of the field when contact between Warren Scott's Vauxhall Insignia, Rob Austin's Audi A4 and Neal's Honda Civic Tourer sent all three into the gravel trap with only Warren Scott managing to continue in the race.

Disaster struck Colin Turkington on lap 8 when he was forced to retire his eBay Motors BMW 125i M Sport with clutch problems while at the front of the field, Pirtek Racing's Andrew Jordan was extending his lead over Jack Goff who was coming under increasing pressure from Rob Collard. Goff lost 2 places on lap 11 after being passed by Collard and Mat Jackson. He lost another place to Gordon Shedden on lap 13, dropping to 5th place ahead of Adam Morgan in the WIX Racing Mercedes Benz A-Class.

Gordon Shedden chasing Mat Jackson for 3rd place

In the closing laps, Honda Yuasa Racing's Gordon Shedden was chasing Mat Jackson for 3rd place, eventually taking the position on the penultimate lap. The race victory went to reigning BTCC champion Andrew Jordan with Rob Collard 2nd, Gordon Shedden 3rd, Mat Jackson 4th, Adam Morgan 5th and Jack Goff 6th.

At the half way point in the 2014 BTCC season, Colin Turkington still leads the championship however Gordon Shedden is now only 5 points adrift with Andrew Jordan 3rd, Jason Plato 4th and Rob Collard 5th. The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship now takes its summer break and will return to action at Snetterton in Norfolk on the weekend of August 2nd and 3rd. If the second half of the season is anything like the first, we're in for some fantastic racing from Britain's premier motor sport series.

Touring Car content supplied by MJP Media