Oxford's Jason Plato survived a dramatic crash unscathed at Snetterton on Sunday but his BTCC title hopes took a dent.

Plato started well, finishing second behind MG KX Momentum Racing team-mate Sam Tordoff in the opening race.

And Plato built up a lead of more than a second after the opening lap in the second race, before grinding to a halt with engine problems.

But worse was to come in the final race, as he crashed out in dramatic fashion.

Beginning the race aggressively, Plato fought his way through the order in the opening lap, but then spun his car wildly before striking the barrier and being tipped into a spectacular barrel roll.

Remarkably, he emerged unharmed, but dropped to fifth in the standings after a poor weekend, finding himself 50 points behind leader Matt Neal.

Banbury racer Will Bratt crashed out immediately following the restart after contact with Ollie Jackson and Dan Welch.

It capped a disappointing day for Bratt. He failed to finish the first race before coming 16th in the second, leaving him 18th in the standings.

Speaking after his crash in the third race, Plato admitted he was disappointed with the day’s events.

“I had a good start and everything was going well,” he said.

“Everything was bunched and someone went off in the leading train, I had to get out of the throttle and whether that sent me sideways or whether Will just touched me I don’t know.

“It is just one of those things.”

SNETTERTON RESULTS

Race 1: 1 S Tordoff (MG KX Momentum Racing) 12 laps, 2 J Plato (MG KX Momentum Racing) +2.514, 3 G Shedden (Honda Yuasa Racing) +3.564.

Race 2: 1 A Jordan (Pirtek Racing) 14 laps, 2 M Neal (Honda Yuasa Racing) +2.770, 3 A Smith (Airwaves Racing) +3.467.

Race 3: 1 G Shedden 15 laps, 2 M Jackson (Airwaves Racing) +3.090, 3 A Smith +10.656.

Championship standings: 1 M Neal 256pts, 2 A Jordan 247, 3 G Shedden 234, 4 C Turkington (eBay Motors) 219, 5 J Plato 206, 6 S Tordoff 182.