Oxford's Jason Plato still has high hopes of winning the Dunlop MSA British Touring Cars Championship, despite a disappointing weekend’s racing at Silverstone.

It saw nearest rival Tom Onslow-Cole (Team Aon) close the gap on Plato to 14 points, with Honda Racing Team’s Matt Neal a further nine-points behind in third.

Onslow-Cole’s teammate Tom Chilton won the opener at Silverstone, while Plato, who took the title in 2001, had to be content with third place.

Chilton took the honours in the next race, with Plato trailing in fourth.

But it got worse for Plato in race three as a tangle with old rival, Neal, sent him into a spin at the first corner, as he came home in ninth.

Plato said: “I’m really pleased with our guys and with the car.

“We needed to use this weekend to stretch our legs and maximise our championship lead – and that's something we accomplished over Neal in the Honda.”

With nine races to go, there are still 156 points up for grabs with 14th placed and former double champion Fabrizio Giovanardi still in with a mathematical chance of taking the championship.

The action now switches to the Knockhill circuit in Fife for rounds 22, 23 and 24 on Sunday, September 5.

Standings: 1 J Plato 171pts, 2 T Onslow-Cole 157, 3 M Neal 148, 4 G Shedden 138, 5 T Chilton 127, 6 S Kane 118, 7 M Jackson 112, 8 P O'Neill 104, 9 R Collard 101, 10 A Jordan 64, 11 A MacDowall 47, 12 T Boardman 43, 13 J Nash 41, 14 F Giovanardi 38.