POINTS PODIUMS AND VICTORY FOR JACKSON

BMW Dealer Team UK enjoyed one of its most profitable meetings of the season today as Accident Exchange-backed driver Mat Jackson put in two outstanding performances scoring a victory and a second place finish at the penultimate round of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Silverstone circuit.

The third race of the day yielded Jackson's third victory of the season as the 27-year-old drove a faultless race from 13th on the grid in an incident-free 22-lap race.

From the off, Jackson worked his way steadily through the field and by lap ten was sitting in fourth place behind fellow BMW driver Colin Turkington who spun off in the wet conditions, Jackson moved up to third and defended his position from a determined Adam Jones who briefly passed him. However, by lap 12 Jackson reclaimed third place and moved ahead of Tom Onslow-Cole a lap later. He held station for two laps before stamping his authority on the field overtaking race leader Jason Plato on the outside at Becketts as the superior handling of the BMW on the drying track paid dividends; Jackson pulled away from the pack and claimed his third victory of the season with a resounding 3.2s lead.

In race one Jackson demonstrated his and the BMW320si's superiority at the rain-soaked circuit as he stormed to a fantastic second place finish from a lowly 14th place on the grid.

As the rains arrived and the lights went out Jackson executed an inch-perfect start to the 22-lap race and gained a staggering eight places on the opening lap. A lap later he overtook Turkington at Brooklands and with a couple of early retirements, the 27-year-old was in fourth behind Mat Neal by lap three. Jackson enjoyed a phenomenal turn of pace in his rear-wheel drive BMW and set the fastest lap of the day, 1:08.144s at the 1.63-mile track. He was undeterred in his quest for third place and his battle with Neal ultimately paid off as he gained the advantage passing him at Woodcote. With Darren Turner now firmly in his sights Jackson started to close down on the second-place driver. In a bid to pass, he went wide at Luffied however; he regained his composure and ultimately went ahead at Copse. With five laps remaining Jackson was 1.5s behind race leader Jason Plato, he dug deep and found the extra second finishing a mere five tenths behind, as he claimed a stunning second place in torrential conditions.

A frantic start to race two resulted in Jackson, who started from the second row, racing ahead of pole sitter Jason Plato at Copse however his lead was short lived as Plato reclaimed the advantage. As in race one the wet weather called for the deployment of the safety car for six laps. Once the action recommenced Jackson was forced to defend his position from a hard-charging Fabrizio Giovanardi, who pushed Jackson wide as he muscled his way past resulting in Jackson losing three places. His misfortune continued on lap ten as Adam Jones attempted to pass on the outside at Luffield and tapped his front wheel sending the Henley-in-Arden-based driver into a spin and promptly collected by Tom Chilton; which resulted in Jackson sustaining substantial front-end damage. Jackson returned to the fray in 15th, finishing the race in an unlucky 13th place.

Jackson commented: "What a fantastic result for everyone in the team; to get a second and a win, it was just a shame about the second race. I knew the final race was going to be a tough one but as the track dried it hurt the front-wheel drive cars more while the rear-wheel drive of the BMW came into its own. I am looking forward to Brands now, it's a good track for us and hopefully we can clinch that third place in the championship once and for all."

Team Principal Tony Jackson commented, "The team has endured the biggest roller coaster ride of the season this weekend, from poor qualifying and damaged cars to podium places and victory. The team has worked relentlessly and its combined efforts has paid off by giving us the results that we came here for."

Race One Result
1. J Plato (SEAT)
2. M Jackson (BMW)
3. D Turner (SEAT)
4. C Turkington (BMW)
5. F Giovanardi (Vauxhall)
6. M Neal (Vauxhall)
7. S Jelley (BMW)
8. A Jones (SEAT)
9. A Jordan (Honda)
10. T Onslow Cole (Vauxhall)

Race Two Result
1. F Giovanadi (Vauxhall)
2. C Turkington (BMW)
3. A Jones (SEAT)
4. M Neal (Vauxhall)
5. S Kane (BMW)
6. T Onslow Cole (Vauxhall)
7. J Plato (SEAT)
8. G Shedden (Honda)
9. R Collard (BMW)
10. M Jordan (Honda)

13. M Jackson (BMW)

Race Three Result
1. M Jackson (BMW)
2. A Jones (SEAT)
3. F Giovanardi (Vauxhall)
4. C Turkington (BMW)
5. J Plato (SEAT)
6. T Onslow-Cole (Vauxhall)
7. R Collard (BMW)
8. M Doyle (BMW)
9. T Chilton (Vauxhall)
10. S Jelley (BMW)

Championship Standings - Top Ten
F Giovanardi 261
J Plato 217
C Turkington 188
M Jackson 185
M Neal 165
T Onslow Cole 155
G Shedden 140
D Turner 129
A Jones 119
T Chilton 83