British Touring Car independent class racer Mat Jackson is delighted to be only seven points off the overall championship lead after the opening six races.

Jackson, who is driving the BMW 320si that Andy Priaulx won last year's world title in under the banner of BMW Dealer Team UK, was on pole for the season-opener and then won race two at Rockingham at the weekend to leave himself as clear contender for the crown.

"We had a lot to come away happy about," said Jackson. "We won race two and we're looking like we're as quick as the Vauxhalls on similar ballast levels, so it all looks good."

The only negative so far this season for the 26-year-old Briton was his retirement from Rockingham's very wet final race, after he slid off into the gravel after making contact with Colin Turkington's Team RAC BMW while battling for the lead.

"It's not going to get me down," added Jackson, who would have been sitting at the top of the championship now had he finished the race.

"The BMW was probably stronger than I thought it would be in wet conditions. It was tricky with rear-wheel-drive in those conditions, but it was controllable. We have a lot of positives now to take to Donington (for the next round)."

As well as lying second in the overall standings, Jackson leads the independent's championship by 11 points from Adam Jones.

Matt Neal broke a 13-month winless spell with a sensational wet-weather victory in the final British Touring Car Championship race of the day at Rockingham.

The 2005 and 2006 champion only ran in the lower reaches of the top 10 early on, but following a mid-race safety car period he looked imperious and dived down the inside of Colin Turkington at Tarzan on lap 16 to take a lead he would not lose.

Tom Chilton, who had battled with Turkington for the lead earlier in the race, finished second in his Team Halfords Honda while Adam Jones completed the podium in his Team Air-Cool SEAT.

Chilton's chances of victory ended three laps from the end when he tried to take the lead from Turkington at Deene on lap 14. He tapped the BMW twice and briefly made it ahead, before understeering off at the next corner and falling behind Neal and Mat Jackson.

Jackson then attacked Turkington for the lead, only to slide into the gravel and out of the race after a slight brush with the RAC BMW at Tarzan.

Gordon Shedden and Jones both passed Turkington in the closing stages, as did Fabrizio Giovanardi, who ended the race fifth and increased his championship lead over Jackson to seven points.

Sixth place went to Jason Plato, who passed long-time leader Turkington right on the finish line to cap a good recovery drive after he was earlier given a 30-second stop/go penalty for his mechanics changing his tyres on the grid after the three-minute board had been hung out.

Plato's cause was helped by a safety car period caused by his team-mate Darren Turner getting bogged down in the gravel at the Pif Paf after earlier going off at the Brook chicane.

He was not the only crasher, though as Tom Onslow-Cole, Michael Doyle and John George also ended their races in various parts of the scenery.

The top 10 was completed by Rob Collard, Mike Jordan and Erkut Kizilirmak, who picked up the first point of the season for Arkas Racing.

Pos Driver Car Time
1. Matt Neal Vauxhall 31:06.261
2. Tom Chilton Honda + 4.914
3. Adam Jones SEAT + 5.785
4. Gordon Shedden Honda + 7.694
5. Fabrizio Giovanardi Vauxhall + 8.147
6. Jason Plato SEAT + 9.706
7. Colin Turkington BMW + 9.718
8. Rob Collard BMW + 11.102
9. Mike Jordan Honda + 17.999
10. Erkut Kizilirmak Vauxhall + 19.094
11. Stephen Jelley BMW + 21.404
12. Martyn Bell Vauxhall + 58.593
13. Steven Kane BMW + 1 lap
14. Harry Vaulkhard Chevrolet + 1 lap
15. Jason Hughes Honda + 1 lap

Retirements:

Driver Car Laps
Mat Jackson BMW 13
Michael Doyle Honda 11
Stuart Oliver Lexus 8
Darren Turner SEAT 6
John George Honda 6
Andrew Jordan Honda 4
Tom Onslow-Cole Vauxhall 1
Alan Taylor Honda 0

Mat Jackson took his first British Touring Car Championship win of the season in brilliant fashion at Rockingham this afternoon.

In what was the second of three races to be held at the circuit today, Jackson, 26, nipped by Fabrizio Giovanardi on lap 11 and won by an eventual 1.542 seconds.

At the start, it was Darren Turner who made the best of things as the SEAT driver grabbed the top spot from polesitter Gordon Shedden before the braking zone for the Deene hairpin.

Fabrizio Giovanardi made it by Shedden before the end of the lap, while Jackson's move on the Team Halfords Honda driver came at Tarzan on lap five.

Giovanardi began to pressure Turner hard. The Italian's Vauxhall was visibly much faster than the SEAT through the twisty infield section, but lacking in straightline speed to the diesel on the run down to Deene.

He eventually made it by for the lead on lap 10, barging his way past at Gracelands. The contact forced Turner onto the grass and also damaged his own rear wheels.

It was no surprise then to see him slide wide at Yentwood and allow Jackson - who had passed Turner at the same time as the Italian - to take a lead he was not to lose on lap 11.

Jackson's win, which was the third of his career, helped to close him to within one point of Giovanardi in the championship.

Fourth and fifth, in a top five that did not change after Jackson took the lead, were Shedden and Tom Onslow-Cole in the second Vauxhall.

Colin Turkington was an excellent sixth for Team RAC after starting 16th in his BMW, while Tom Chilton's Halfords Honda and Adam Jones's Team Air-Cool SEAT were next up, with Jones drawn on pole for the last race of the day under the reverse-grid rule.

Jason Plato had a bad race. After starting 11th, he was hit on lap one and pitted reporting damage to the right-rear of his SEAT. He was sent back out after a quick check by his mechanics and fought back from 22nd to ninth by the flag.

Stephen Jelley had been on course for sixth before he and Matt Neal made contact at the Brook chicane with four laps to go. The pair finished 15th and 11th respectively.

It was a far worse race for the Eurotech Honda team, with both Mike and Andrew Jordan retiring for the second time in a few hours.

Pos Driver Car Time
1. Mat Jackson BMW 28:51.807
2. Fabrizio Giovanardi Vauxhall +1.542
3. Darren Turner SEAT +8.863
4. Gordon Shedden Honda +9.462
5. Tom Onslow-Cole Vauxhall +10.590
6. Colin Turkington BMW +10.796
7. Tom Chilton Honda +11.759
8. Adam Jones SEAT +12.853
9. Jason Plato SEAT +13.183
10. Steven Kane BMW +18.187
11. Matt Neal Vauxhall +18.811
12. Rob Collard BMW +19.448
13. Harry Vaulkhard Chevrolet +26.251
14. Jason Hughes MG +26.526
15. Stephen Jelley BMW +26.683
16. John George Honda +29.903
17. Martyn Bell Vauxhall +41.008
18. Erkut Kizilirmak Vauxhall +43.913
19. Alan Taylor Honda +52.879

Not classified

Pos Driver Car Laps
Matt Allison Chevrolet 7
Michael Doyle Honda 6
Mike Jordan Honda 5
Andrew Jordan Honda 2
Stuart Oliver Lexus 0

Fastest lap: Giovanardi, 1:25.517 on lap 6

Gordon Shedden claimed the first British Touring Car Championship race of the day at Rockingham, leading all the way from pole position in his Honda to give Team Halfords their first win of the season.

The 29-year-old Scotsman had to drive defensively in the early laps to fend off the determined attack of Darren Turner, but pulled away as rain fell in the closing stages of the race and won by over three seconds from the SEAT driver.

Turner's race was made by a sensational move at Deene hairpin on the opening lap that saw him go around the outside of Matt Neal, Adam Jones and the fast-starting Colin Turkington.

He even thought about passing Shedden for the lead at the same corner on lap five after using the extra straightline speed afforded by his Leon's diesel engine to close right onto the tail of the Honda, but eventually settled for second.

Vauxhall driver Neal challenged Turner on numerous occasions at Deene, which was the favoured overtaking spot during the race, but braked too late on lap 13, sliding wide onto the grass and losing positions to Adam Jones and Tom Onslow-Cole.

He was quickly past the sister Vauxhall of Onslow-Cole, and, revelling in the low-grip conditions at the end of the race, nailed Jones' Team Air-Cool SEAT at Deene on the last lap to rescue the final podium position.

Onslow-Cole was now going backwards and got into a bit of trouble with two laps to go as he received an accidental tap - which he was able to catch - from Mat Jackson's BMW after letting teammate Fabrizio Giovanardi by through the Pif-Paf.

Giovanardi finished just ahead of Jackson, enabling him to increase his championship lead to three points over his rival.

Onslow-Cole, who set a new lap record early on, came seventh with Tom Chilton's Team Halfords Honda next up.

Jason Plato - starting his 250th BTCC race - bogged down at the start and was then pushed onto the grass at Yentwood on the opening lap. He finished ninth ahead of Steven Kane's Motorbase BMW.

Turkington mysteriously slipped back to finish 16th by the flag in his Team RAC BMW while the BTC Racing squad had something to smile about as Stuart Oliver came 19th in their lone Lexus, giving them their first race finish of the season.

Pos Driver Car Time
1. Gordon Shedden Honda 23:28.251
2. Darren Turner SEAT + 3.024
3. Matt Neal Vauxhall + 3.575
4. Adam Jones SEAT + 5.004
5. Fabrizio Giovanardi Vauxhall + 9.078
6. Mat Jackson BMW + 9.779
7. Tom Onslow-Cole Vauxhall + 10.445
8. Tom Chilton Honda + 10.778
9. Jason Plato SEAT + 12.255
10. Steven Kane BMW + 15.323
11. Stephen Jelley BMW + 21.072
12. Matt Allison Chevrolet + 25.861
13. Rob Collard BMW + 30.678
14. Jason Hughes Honda + 39.407
15. John George Honda + 42.834
16. Colin Turkington BMW + 42.953
17. Erkut Kizilirmak Vauxhall + 56.563
18. Martyn Bell Vauxhall +1:06.982
19. Stuart Oliver Lexus +1:10.559
20. Michael Doyle Honda + 1 lap
21. Alan Taylor Honda + 1 lap

Retirements:

Driver Car Laps
Mike Jordan Honda 8
Harry Vaulkhard Chevrolet 3
Andrew Jordan Honda 2

Chris Stockton has been withdrawn from the Rockingham British Touring Car round following mechanical problems in qualifying.

The BTC Lexus driver was unable to take part in qualifying after the throttle body on his car collapsed and damaged vital internal engine parts during second practice on Saturday.

And, after a night spent trying to source the relevant replacement parts failed, the team officially withdrew his car from the rest of the weekend early on Sunday morning.

"It's really disappointing," team boss Bert Taylor told autosport.com. "After Brands Hatch where the two cars only did three racing laps between them, to now have this problem is not good at all.

"The strange thing is that we never had this problem in testing either."

Stockton's withdrawal means that the team are down to just Stuart Oliver's car for raceday, with Taylor targeting finishes rather than hard results for the Truck Racing convert.

Gordon Shedden hailed the progress Team Halfords have made with their Honda Civic after taking his first British Touring Car Championship pole position of the year at Rockingham today.

The 29-year-old Scotsman knocked Matt Neal's Vauxhall off the top spot in the final minute of the wet/dry session to take the sixth pole of his career and mark a major improvement in qualifying form over the season-opener at Brands Hatch.

"We had to work hard after Brands Hatch to get more of what I wanted from the car, and it seems that we've made a major breakthrough," he told autosport.com. "The car has just felt excellent all weekend, really hooked up, so let's hope it continues tomorrow.

"From my point of view the car is good, consistent too - I did two or three laps that would have put me on pole position, so that's great. It all looks good."

Despite his two tenths of a second margin over fellow front-row qualifier Matt Neal and even larger gaps to the factory SEATs in fourth and fifth, Shedden is wary of the threat posed by the trio in the first of three races tomorrow.

"I'm obviously in the best position, but that first corner is a long way away - further away than pretty much any other track in the UK," he added. "The SEAT diesels are going to have a big chance to use their power to make up ground to the hairpin. The BMWs too, so we could have 10 cars abreast even at the first corner.

"I've never won here, but I have a good chance with pole and no weight. Matt is really close though, Adam Jones is going well in the Leon, and the diesels will play a part tomorrow, too. I just have to get my head down and make a break for freedom."

Shedden dedicated his pole position to his friend, former BTCC racer David Leslie, who was killed in a plane crash two weeks ago along with three-time class champion Richard Lloyd and three others.

Adam Jones was delighted after qualifying a career-best third on the grid for race one of this weekend's British Touring Car round at Rockingham.

The Team Air-Cool SEAT driver overcame an engine problem in practice earlier in the day to put his Leon on the second row, ahead of the works cars of Jason Plato and Darren Turner.

"I really don't know where that came from," he told autosport.com. "It wasn't wet enough for wets or dry enough for slicks but I was determined not to get caught out. As soon as I went out on wets I came back in, put slicks on, and the car felt good."

Jones was surprised to be so high up the grid after a troubled practice session just a few hours before qualifying.

"We had an engine problem in qualifying and the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. I switched it off rather than waiting for it to blow, got a tow back, and the team put another engine in. The result is a credit to the team to get it prepared in such a short space of time."

He was especially pleased to out-qualify the works SEATs and hopes to keep them behind for as long as possible during the first race tomorrow morning.

"It's hard to keep up with them, I tried at one point but you just can't do it. It's great to be in front of them. They've had limited testing but that's more than I've had. Although I'm sure once they get their car sorted it will be difficult to beat them.

"At racing speed they'll be very fast so I have to make the best start I can and try to keep position. It depends how consistent we can be during the race because the tyres will be a big issue. The track wears them quite badly so you really have to manage them through the race."

Gordon Shedden stormed to pole position for round four of the British Touring Car Championship with a brilliant late effort in qualifying at Rockingham.

The Scotsman, who had set the pace in the first practice session of the day, repeated his form in the final minute with a stunning 1:24.327 in his Team Halfords Honda to knock Matt Neal off the top spot with what was the fastest BTCC lap ever recorded at the circuit.

A sharp burst of rain 20 minutes before qualifying doused the track and left most drivers starting the session on either wet, or a mixture of wet and dry rubber. I

t was Shedden's teammate Tom Chilton who began a raft of quick laps as he took the brave decision to switch to four slicks before anybody else.

The times tumbled with pole changing hands seven times before the end of the session as Shedden, on a dry circuit, grabbed the sixth pole of his career and his first of the season.

Two-time champion Neal (Vauxhall) ended up alongside him on the front row and just ahead of Adam Jones, who was a brilliant third fastest in his petrol-powered Team Air-Cool SEAT.

The diesel SEATs of works drivers Darren Turner and Jason Plato were next up with Turner doing especially well to qualify on the second row after his times for the first 22 minutes of the session were expunged due to a failed ride-height test.

Tom Onslow-Cole was sixth for Vauxhall with Chilton and Colin Turkington next up.

BMW Dealer UK's Mat Jackson and Vauxhall's reigning champion Fabrizio Giovanardi were only ninth and tenth, no doubt hampered by carrying 36 and 45 kilos of ballast due to their hugely successful weekends at Brands Hatch last time out.

Elventh on the grid was Steven Kane, the Motorbase BMW driver having to pull a quick lap out of the bag on his final effort after a his car failed to start on the flat patch, which saw all his earlier times disallowed. His teammate Rob Collard was also in trouble with the stewards as he suffered an identical penalty for failing a ride-height test.

Mike Jordan was 12th fastest despite missing the first 12 minutes of the session due to a gearbox issue, but there were problems for others too. Martyn Bell went off at the Deene hairpin and eventually stopped his Arkas Vauxhall coming out of the Tarzan hairpin, while Michael Doyle and Chris Stockton failed to make it out of the pits at all.

Pos Driver Team Time
1. Gordon Shedden Honda 1:24.327
2. Matt Neal Vauxhall 1:24.554 +0.227
3. Adam Jones SEAT 1:24.654 +0.327
4. Darren Turner SEAT 1:24.662 +0.335
5. Jason Plato SEAT 1:24.760 +0.433
6. Tom Onslow-Cole Vauxhall 1:24.770 +0.443
7. Colin Turkington BMW 1:24.804 +0.477
8. Tom Chilton Honda 1:24.869 +0.542
9. Mat Jackson BMW 1:24.981 +0.654
10. Fabrizio Giovanardi Vauxhall 1:25.019 +0.692
11. Steven Kane BMW 1:25.091 +0.764
12. Mike Jordan Honda 1:25.104 +0.777
13. Stephen Jelley BMW 1:25.405 +1.078
14. Matt Allison Chevrolet 1:25.441 +1.114
15. Andrew Jordan Honda 1:25.732 +1.405
16. Rob Collard BMW 1:26.172 +1.845
17. Harry Vaulkhard Chevrolet 1:26.459 +2.132
18. John George Honda 1:26.485 +2.158
19. Jason Hughes Honda 1:26.648 +2.321
20. Martyn Bell Vauxhall 1:27.211 +2.884
21. Erkut Kizilirmak Vauxhall 1:27.596 +3.269
22. Alan Taylor Honda 1:27.827 +3.500
23. Stuart Oliver Lexus 1:29.377 +5.050

Jason Plato put SEAT at the top of the timesheets in the second British Touring Car Championship free practice session at Rockingham today.

The 40-year-old former champion went quickest in 1:24.712 with 10 minutes of the session left - a time that was two tenths of a second under the pole position mark of Fabrizio Giovanardi last year.

The Leon TDIs of Plato and Darren Turner were the only cars to reach 100mph over the start/finish line, showing that the straightline speed advantage afforded by their diesel powerplants will make them extremely competitive this weekend.

Colin Turkington's second place, only 0.052 seconds of the pace in his Team RAC BMW, was a good achievement as the Ulsterman had spent the opening 10 minutes of the session in the pits as his car was worked on.

In a totally dry session Tom Onslow-Cole was Vauxhall's best performer in fourth place, while Matt Neal followed him closely.

Tom Chilton's Team Halfords Honda and Steven Kane's Motorbase BMW were next up, although the latter twice went straight on at the Deene hairpin and continued around the oval part of the circuit before re-joining the track.

Gordon Shedden, who set the pace in the first session, was only eighth quickest in his Halfords Honda while Mat Jackson and Mike Jordan completed the top 10.

Reigning champion Fabrizio Giovanardi was only 12th fastest in his Vauxhall - exactly one second off the pace.

Alan Taylor managed seven laps in his Robertshaw Honda after suffering gear selection problems in the opening session.

Martyn Bell only managed one lap in his Arkas Vauxhall, though and Adam Jones pulled his Team Air-Cool SEAT off the track exiting the Tarzan hairpin mid-way through the session too with an apparent technical problem.

Pos Driver Car Gap
1. Jason Plato SEAT 1:24.712
2. Colin Turkington BMW +0.052
3. Darren Turner SEAT +0.073
4. Tom Onslow-Cole Vauxhall +0.235
5. Matt Neal Vauxhall +0.255
6. Tom Chilton Honda +0.398
7. Steven Kane BMW +0.432
8. Gordon Shedden Honda +0.455
9. Mat Jackson BMW +0.459
10. Mike Jordan Honda +0.676
11. Stephen Jelley BMW +0.871
12. Fabrizio Giovanardi Vauxhall +1.000
13. Matt Allison Chevrolet +1.214
14. Andrew Jordan Honda +1.251
15. Harry Vaulkhard Chevrolet +1.555
16. Adam Jones SEAT +1.638
17. Jason Hughes MG +1.767
18. Rob Collard BMW +1.930
19. John George Honda +2.067
20. Erkut Kizilirmak Vauxhall +2.469
21. Chris Stockton Lexus +2.507
22. Alan Taylor Honda +3.506
23. Michael Doyle Honda +3.995
24. Stuart Oliver Lexus +4.972
25. Martyn Bell Vauxhall +9.665

Gordon Shedden proved that Team Halfords will be front-runners at Rockingham this weekend as he topped the opening British Touring Car Championship practice session at the circuit.

The 29-year-old Scotsman hit the front with three minutes of the half-hour session to go in his Honda Civic with a time of 1:25.223, which proved enough to keep him there.

Shedden's time in the damp, but steadily drying, session was 0.165 seconds quicker than two-time champion Matt Neal, who shot up the order in his Vauxhall on his final flying lap.

The session began on a damp circuit, but dried out steadily as time wore on. It looked like Jason Plato would end up on top in his diesel-powered SEAT despite only covering a handful of laps, but he was knocked down from first to third in the final few minutes.

Colin Turkington was the best BMW driver in fourth place in his Team RAC-run version, one place ahead of Mat Jackson's BMW Dealer UK-run version and two up on champion Fabrizio Giovanardi, who also had a spell at the front in his Vauxhall.

Darren Turner, Stephen Jelley (who only arrived back in the UK a few hours earlier after an overnight flight from Dubai), Tom Chilton and Matt Allison completed the top 10.

The braking zone into the Deene hairpin proved tricky as most of the field had a lock-up at some point in the session. The worst affected was Michael Doyle, who went straight on at the turn with three laps to go and was forced to turn his In-Tune Racing Honda around before re-joining.

John George also went off, losing the back end of his TH Honda through the long left-hander at Gracelands and running off-track as he caught the slide.

There were technical problems for Steven Kane, who stopped his Motorbase BMW at Gracelands, and for Alan Taylor, who only completed one installation lap in his Robertshaw Honda and spent the rest of the session in the pits.

Pos Driver Car Time
1. Gordon Shedden Honda 1:25.223
2. Matt Neal Vauxhall 1:25.388 + 0.165
3. Jason Plato SEAT 1:25.435 + 0.212
4. Colin Turkington BMW 1:25.495 + 0.272
5. Mat Jackson BMW 1:25.503 + 0.280
6. Fabrizio Giovanardi Vauxhall 1:25.535 + 0.312
7. Darren Turner SEAT 1:25.547 + 0.324
8. Stephen Jelley BMW 1:25.752 + 0.529
9. Tom Chilton Honda 1:25.923 + 0.700
10. Matt Allison Chevrolet 1:26.064 + 0.841
11. Tom Onslow-Cole Vauxhall 1:26.155 + 0.932
12. Andrew Jordan Honda 1:26.175 + 0.952
13. Adam Jones SEAT 1:26.246 + 1.023
14. Mike Jordan Honda 1:26.268 + 1.045
15. Harry Vaulkhard Chevrolet 1:26.361 + 1.138
16. Rob Collard BMW 1:26.466 + 1.243
17. Steven Kane BMW 1:26.678 + 1.455
18. Jason Hughes Honda 1:27.139 + 1.916
19. John George Honda 1:27.194 + 1.971
20. Martyn Bell Vauxhall 1:28.577 + 3.354
21. Michael Doyle Honda 1:28.579 + 3.356
22. Erkut Kizilirmak Vauxhall 1:28.946 + 3.723
23. Chris Stockton Lexus 1:29.441 + 4.218
24. Stuart Oliver Lexus 1:29.498 + 4.275
25. Alan Taylor Honda

Team 48 Motorsport have announced they will also miss the second round of the BTCC at Rockingham this weekend.

The team had already missed the season opener at Brands Hatch due to delays on the build of their second Alfa Romeo 156.

Team principal and former England footballer Luther Blissett said there was still work to do before they are ready to start racing.

"Whilst we are pleased on the progress made since the opening race weekend, we are mindful of the fact that there are still issues that need fine tuning before we take to the track," said Blissett.

"Throughout my career as a professional footballer, the requirement for attention to detail remained of paramount importance. It's customary that, without taking care of the small things in life, the big things will never happen.

"Preparation is key and applies to any sport, particularly when it comes to a competition like the BTCC."

Team 48 are now aiming to make their debut at Donington Park on May 3.