Airwaves BMW lead in the wet at Brands Hatch Picture: Peter Still

by Luke Cawdell

Kent-based team Airwaves BMW secured a double podium finish during the final race of the British Touring Car Championship round at Brands Hatch.

Mat Jackson started 11th on the grid for race three but managed to take the win, while team-mate for the Wrotham team Steven Kane finished 1.7 seconds further back in third place. Matt Neal claimed second position.

Team boss Oliver Collins said: "We had a very tough weekend, but this is the perfect ending to repay everyone’s efforts in the team. Both Mat and Steven drove a fantastic race in very difficult conditions.

"It was great to have such a good result in front of a lot of our sponsors and supporters with it being our local round."

A wet day at Brands saw plenty of cars end up in the gravel, and the opening race saw two safety car periods, as Team Aon’s Tom Chilton took the win on Sunday.

The 25-year-old led from lights to flag ahead of Gordon Shedden (Honda) and team-mate Tom Onslow-Cole.

Chilton looked to have also won race two, but he was excluded after the finish of the race because his Ford Focus failed post-race techinical checks. That saw Onslow-Cole promoted from second to first.

He finished just 0.009s ahead of the Honda Racing Civic of Gordon Shedden in second place - technically the closest ever victory in BTCC history.
Silverline Chevrolet’s rookie Alex MacDowall was moved up to the final podium position.

Results;

Race one: 1. Tom Chilton (Team Aon Ford Focus), 18 laps, 2. Gordon Shedden (Honda Racing Team Honda Civic), +5.783s,
3. Tom Onslow-Cole (Team Aon Ford Focus), +8.935s.
Race two: 1. Tom Onslow-Cole (Team Aon Ford Focus), 18 laps, 2. Gordon Shedden (Honda Racing Team Honda Civic), +0.009s, 3. Alex MacDowall (Silverline Chevrolet Cruze), +0.785s.
Race three: 1. Mat Jackson (Airwaves BMW 320si), 18 laps, 2. Matt Neal (Honda Racing Team Honda Civic), +0.469s, 3. Steven Kane (Airwaves BMW 320si), +1.708s.