JASON Plato came out on top in a thrilling battle with Tom Ingram to win the third race at Rockingham and stay in the fight for the British Touring Car Championship crown.

The Oxford driver went into the weekend leading the drivers’ standings by 11 points, but the advantage was quickly wiped out.

After being involved in an accident on the opening lap of the first race, his Team BMR RCIB Insurance trailed in 27th after losing three laps repairing the damage in the pits.

A seventh-placed finish in the second race saw Plato trail Gordon Shedden, who finished second and first in the opening races, by 20 points.

But Plato hit back in style, cutting the deficit to just six points thanks to a sensational wheel-to-wheel fight with Ingram to claim the 93rd win of his BTCC career.

Plato said: “It was a brilliant race to end the day – I loved every minute of the battle.

“That will go down as one of the best battles of the season – it was good, clean and really exciting. “After the bad luck we’ve had we needed to get a result – and now we’re back in the game.

“It’s been a really important weekend for us and we’ve shown our true spirit – six points to the championship lead is nothing.”

Drivers’ Standings: 1 G Shedden 286pts, 2 J Plato 280, 3 M Neal 259, 4 C Turkington 253, 5 A Jordan 240.

  • GEORGINA Polden finished ninth in the latest round of the HEL Performance British Motostar Championship at Oulton Park.