THE battle to become 2006 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Champion will come down to a three-way showdown between Matt Neal, Jason Plato and Colin Turkington on BTCC Finals Day at the Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire on October 15 following Sunday's three rounds at Brands Hatch in Kent.

Plato won the first two races for SEAT, while Fabrizio Giovanardi stood on the top step later in the day after giving Vauxhall its 101st win in the BTCC.

The third race saw championship leader Neal crash out in his Team Halfords Honda, allowing Plato and Team RAC MG driver Turkington to finish third and fourth and score the points they needed to take the title fight to the wire.

Defending champion Neal, who finished second in both races one and two, now leads Plato by the significantly decreased margin of 35 points, although remains the bookies' firm favourite to become the BTCC's first back-to-back champion since 1987. Turkington, 49 points behind Neal, is a big outsider as only a maximum of 52 will be on offer at Silverstone.

Having taken 26 points out of Neal, Oxford-based Plato added: "It's not down to me to win it; it's for Matt to throw away. OK, I've now got eight wins, but I've also had seven retirements and you don't win titles when that's happened. I also think our car might struggle compared to the Honda around Silverstone. All I can do is keep pushing as hard as possible, but I really don't think it's possible."

Neal, from Droitwich, said: "It's a disappointing end to the day because I'd have been on for at least a third place finish which would have made the championship a formality. It's not the end of the world, though. I've still got a healthy lead, but I'll definitely have to be on my toes at Silverstone. Right now, I'm looking forward to a beer."

Portadown's Turkington, who achieved the first podium finish for a car powered by bio-ethanol fuel when he took third in race one, remained open-minded.

He said: "It's a long shot, but I'm pleased that I'll at least go to Silverstone still in with a mathematical chance of winning it. My team's worked so hard during the season and it deserves that. If I can't win the title, I'd definitely like to regain back my second position from Jason."

Elsewhere, Neal and his Team Halfords squad have provisionally secured their second successive Independents Trophy Drivers' and Teams' titles. The Manufacturers' and outright Teams' championships will be decided at Silverstone, with SEAT leading Vauxhall by a decreased margin in the former and Team Halfords ahead of SEAT Sport UK in the latter.