Colin Turkington has become the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Champion following a nail-biting finale to the season at Brands Hatch today.

Jason Plato finished the race in first to become only the second driver in history to win all three races in a day. But second place for Turkington, who has led the series since mid-season, was enough for him to clinch his first BTCC Drivers’ title.

Plato has finished second in the standings ahead of Fabrizio Giovanardi who is third.

This was the BTCC at its dramatic, unpredictable, exciting, thrill-a-minute best. Initially, Giovanardi's VX Racing team-mate Matt Neal led as a topsy-turvy opening lap enabled Turkington and Giovanardi, starting sixth and seventh, to complete it right behind him.

As predicted, Neal then tried slowing down Turkington so as to enable Giovanardi - who had to pass the Team RAC BMW driver - to attack. But the pressure on Turkington lessened as Giovanardi came under attack from Plato, revelling in his Racing Silverline Chevrolet's handling.

This enabled Turkington to concentrate on passing Neal for the lead - which he did in a robust move at Druids Hill Bend. Neal ran wide on the exit and suddenly a flood of cars came past his Vectra.

The came Plato's chance to take the lead as Giovanardi was forced to back out of an attempted moved on Turkington exiting Clark Curve. This cost the Italian momentum along the start-finish straight he was easy prey for Plato. But now Plato found himself on the outside of Turkington into Graham Hill Bend and so, in a brave move, he jinked around the outside of the BMW to take first place on the run up to Druids.

From there, he was never headed as he romped clear for his third win of the day, the 52nd of his career.

Giovanardi then attempted the same move on Turkington a lap later and again was rebuffed. And again he was overtaken, this time by Tom Chilton who had been in excellent form all day in his Team Aon Ford Focus. And this is how it stayed to the line - Plato, Turkington, Chilton and Giovanardi.

The recovering Neal - his car bearing the scars of a first-lap clash which put Jonathan Adam's Airwaves BMW into a spin - was fifth. The result means he has won back fourth place in the final standings from Mat Jackson who, in terrific form of late, this time suffered a disastrous with no points all day. He had been sixth going onto the final lap - enough for him to keep hold of fourth in the championship - but would finish 11th after being knocked off the track by Anthony Reid's Team RAC BMW at Graham Hill Bend.

Reid finished in seventh, right behind team-mate Stephen Jelley in sixth. Adam, who rejoined after his lap one spin, came back through the order for eighth but it had been a torrid race for the local Airwaves crew, Robert Collard having been eliminated in a crash into the barriers on the opening lap after tangling with Chilton. Ninth was Gordon Shedden but the Scot could and should have been higher in his Club SEAT Leon. However, having set the race's fastest lap, he was then forced to limp home after scraping panels with Jackson and then clipping the barriers at Druids.

David Pinkney completed the points scorers in tenth in his Team Dynamics Honda Civic. There was a strong 12th for 19-year-old Matt Hamilton, the youngest driver on the grid, who finished 13th in his TH/Inten Honda Civic with a fastest lap time only a second slower than that of race-winner Plato.

Completing the finishers in 14th, a lap down, was Dynamics' Johnny Herbert but the former F1 star had lost huge time on the opening lap in a collision with Andrew Jordan that forced out the VXR driver and him to make a pit stop for repairs.