Turner doubled up in race two as he held off the challenge of Turkington for victory while Giovanardi had to fend off a charging Gordon Shedden for third. Plato was fifth as the see-saw battle for the title swung back towards the Italian.
Shedden gave the Scottish fans reason to cheer with a race three win ahead of team-mate
Matt Neal – in a car put together from scratch in just two weeks following the
Brands Hatch incident – while Plato took a vital third place with Giovanardi in fifth. It left the gap at nine points going into the season finale at
Thruxton, while there was still a four-way fight going on for the Independents' title.
For the season finale, both Vauxhall and SEAT brought in a third car to try and clinch the title, with former champion Alain Menu taking control of the third Vectra and WTCC Independents' champion Tom Coronel slotting in at SEAT.
Before the weekend even arrived though, it looked like the title could have been decided after Plato picked up burns to his hands, neck and face in an incident while filming for the television show
Fifth Gear. Nothing though was going to stop his quest for a second title and he duly took his place in the Leon – bandages and all – for the final three races of the season.
Qualifying saw things go Vauxhalls way as Chilton led Giovanardi and Menu to a 1-2-3 while Plato took a fine fourth place for the first race of Finals Day.
With others hitting problems with tyres at the quickest circuit on the calendar, Giovanardi took victory while Plato was able to secure second place after both Chilton and Menu suffered punctures. It meant that five points was the gap going into race two – and Giovanardi was on his own after the problems for his team-mates left them down the order for the second race.
