Clearly a man on a mission, Onslow-Cole battled ahead of Chilton on lap six but things went wrong for the VX Racing man when he tried to take the place back on the following lap. Looking up the inside of the
BMW at Carlube corner, Chilton made heavy contact with the tyres on the inside of the circuit and damaged the front of his car, managing to do little more than a lap before pulling off the circuit. Ahead of that battle, Giovanardi was now ahead of Plato, cutting back inside the SEAT at the Hairpin to go into fourth place.
Within two laps, Plato had lost further ground as he lost out to Onslow-Cole at Carlube which would lead to the biggest battle of the race – with a train of cars led by Giovanardi circulating together lap after lap. On lap 14, Plato tried to find a way past Onslow-Cole into the Hairpin but couldn't made the move stick while two laps later, the pair did the same again only for Onslow-Cole to edge back ahead on the run up the hill to the finish line.
That battle was deflecting somewhat from the fight for the lead, with Shedden having closed in on Turner as the race progressed. On lap 18, he went for the lead at the Hairpin but outbraked himself and made contact with the SEAT as the pair turned in. Although it allowed Shedden to take the lead, it also caused damage to the front left of his Honda Civic and he was forced to pull into the pits to retire to the disappointment of the home fans.
That left Turner comfortably clear of Turkington who in turn had a healthy advantage over the fight for what was now third – which was now headed by Giovanardi from Onslow-Cole, Plato, Jones and Jordan – the latter two having swapped positions. Behind them, Gavin Smith, John George, Martyn Bell and Alan Taylor were the only cars still running with both Kartworld MGs having also expired.
