Getting a run along the Revett Straight, he went side-by-side with Plato through the left-hander at the end of the straight which gave the BMW the inside line for the right-hander that completes the corner. However, contact as the BMW was squeezed towards the tyres on the inside of the bend saw the two cars run slightly wide and gave Giovanardi the chance to go past both. However, as Plato fought back and got ahead of Jackson, the SEAT and the Vauxhall found themselves going for the same piece of tarmac with the result that both ended up on the grass on the inside of the Bomb Hole. Coming back onto the track, they forced Jackson wide to take avoiding action, with Neal suddenly finding himself in second place after driving through the middle of the melee he found in front of himself. Giovanardi was now third with Plato fourth, while Jackson had been the big loser and rather than move up to second as he hoped, the impressive rookie was now seventh.
With those positions staying the same to the finish, Giovanardi had now closed the gap down to 14 points before the return to
Brands Hatch.
For the second time it was Turkington who took pole around the tight Indy circuit at the Kent venue although it was a close run thing with Darren Turner just 0.002secs behind in second. Plato had managed to qualify in third while Giovanardi was fifth, just ahead of
Mat Jackson's
BMW. However, the opening lap of Sunday's first race would prove to be the most dramatic of the season…
At the start, Jackson blasted away from sixth on the grid to fight Turner for third place into Paddock Hill Bend, trying to run his BMW around the outside of the SEAT through the right-hander. However, as soon as Jackson touched the kerb, he was powerless to stop the car going into a spin which sent him back across the front of the field.
