It"s official: this...

It"s official: this year’s Auto Express- backed Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship will go down to the wire at Thruxton, Hants, in October.

The season-long duel between Jason Plato and Fabrizio Giovanardi remains on a knife edge following Sunday’s rounds at Knockhill, Fife.

Three tense battles produced victories for Darren Turner and Gordon Shedden. SEAT ace Turner took the first two races, but the biggest cheers were saved for Team Halfords’ Shed-den, who achieved a dream win in front of his home Scottish crowd.

Plato and Giovanardi took turns to take points out of each other, with the SEAT star twice getting the upper hand over his Italian rival to extend his slim advantage from four points to nine. However, with a maximum of 52 on offer at Thruxton, Giovanardi still has a strong chance of lifting the title, particularly as his Vauxhall should be better suited to the high-speed circuit.

“It’s going to be a very close finish,” said Plato. “I won the title in 2001 in a similar set of circumstances – up against one of the best touring car drivers in the world [Yvan Muller] – and know what will be required.”

Giovanardi, with seven European and national touring car titles to his name, is equally excited at the prospect of a last-gasp shoot-out. He said: “I feel very confident as the Vectra is strong around there and Vauxhall has had many, many wins at Thruxton before. Jason is a great driver and I know he will push to his maximum. But I will also be pushing hard.”