OXFORD driver Jason Plato and rival Matt Neal picked up £1,000 fines after clashing in the latest round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Rockingham, near Corby.

The pair were also given three penalty points on their competition licences and handed a six-place grid penalty, suspended for the balance of the 2011 season, for on and off-track incidents during qualifying.

It’s the second time Plato has been fined after crossing swords with Neal this season.

He also picked up a £500 penalty following a controversial clash with Neal at the first bend at Snetterton that sent the Honda driver into a spin.

Plato went on to win the race, and was allowed to keep the victory, but he also had three penalty points applied to his competition licence.

Meanwhile, Plato believes the championship is still Honda drivers Neal and Gordon Shedden’s to lose – despite closing the gap in the standings.

Starting from pole position in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze, reigning champion Plato led from flagfall in race one to record his sixth win of the season.

Following fourth and fifth place finishes in the other two races won by Shedden and James Nash, Plato is now third in the standings.

He is 24 points behind joint leaders Neal and teammate Shedden as the championship heads for Brands Hatch next weekend.

Plato said: “We probably got more out of the day than we anticipated which is extremely pleasing.

“But although I think we can be strong again at Brands Hatch, I still don’t see how we’ll be able to match the turbocharged cars at Silverstone.

“We’ll of course give it everything, but it’s really for the Honda drivers to lose now.”

Standings: 1= M Neal, G Shedden 204pts, 3 J Plato 180, 4 M Jackson 159, 5 J Nash 158, 6 A Jordan 124.