Jason Plato has taken his second HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship race win of the day at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk.

Plato followed up his win this morning with another victory in race two in his SEAT Leon TDI. The result has moved him up to second in the championship standings.

Finishing second was Colin Turkington’s Team RAC BMW 320si and third Fabrizio Giovanardi’s Vauxhall Vectra VXR. Giovanardi set the race’s fastest lap as he fought his way back through from 14th after an earlier spin.

Giovanardi’s drive was that of a true champion. He’d been flipped around in a brush with Tom Chilton’s Team Halfords Honda which then made a pit stop with a punctured tyre. From there the Italian was on a mission.

Two places were made a lap later when Harry Vaulkhard’s Robertshaw Chevrolet Lacetti and Andrew Jordan’s John Guest Honda Integra collided at the Esses and again at the Bombhole. On the next lap, Giovanardi made another couple of places as team-mate Tom Onslow-Cole and Mike Jordan’s John Guest Honda tangled at Sear ahead of him. This also appeared to delay Adam Jones’s Team Air Cool SEAT Leon and along the Revett Straight Giovanardi made another position.

Come lap 13 Giovanardi had made his way past sixth-placed Steven Kane’s Motorbase BMW 320si just as the safety car was sent out on track so debris could be cleared.

At the re-start, Darren Turner’s Leon TDI, which had been in second, slowed with a punctured tyre, this promoting Giovanardi to fifth which then became fourth as he outfoxed Kane’s team-mate Robert Collard exiting Coram.

And soon after he was up to third when Gordon Shedden’s Team Halfords Honda, which had inherited second from Turner, ran off the track at Coram and fell down the order.

The top six was completed by Collard, Vauxhall’s Matt Neal and Kane. Neal, like Giovanardi had also needed to recover from half-spin after a coming-together with Kane earlier in the race.

As a result, Giovanardi continues to lead the standings but by the reduced margin of 28 points over Plato heading into this afternoon’s third race which is scheduled to start at 5.40pm. Neal, deposed by Plato, is now third, three points behind.

Starting race three from pole position on a reversed grid will be Gordon Shedden’s Team Halfords Honda Civic.