BRITAIN'S most popular car racing championship has reached a crucial stage and on Saturday and Sunday the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads to Norfolk's Snetterton circuit, which always provides some of the fastest, closest action in the series.

BRITAIN'S most popular car racing championship has reached a crucial stage and on Saturday and Sunday the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads to Norfolk's Snetterton circuit, which always provides some of the fastest, closest action in the series.

This year's championship has been a fierce battle ever since it began at Brands Hatch in April, and the last round at Donington was no exception.

SEAT's Jason Plato started the weekend trailing Vauxhall's Fabrizio Giovanardi by a single point in the title race, but former Felixstowe resident Plato fought back with two wins in the wet.

His second win was a storming drive where he came from ninth on the grid to win while Giovanardi, without a functioning windscreen wiper, crashed because he couldn't see where he was going.

With seven different winners in the series already this year, plus the fact that Snetterton has one of the longest straights on any track in the country, fans can expect drivers to be slipstreaming and overtaking each other throughout an action-packed day.

Ipswich-based Rick Kerru will be on his home circuit, racing in his diesel-powered BMW, the first to appear in the championship.

Also keen to do well on East Anglian soil will be Norwich's Matt Allison, who achieved a career-best finish of sixth place at Donington.

As well as three races for the touring cars, spectators will get the chance to watch sports car action from the Porsche Carrera Cup, F1 stars of the future in Formula Renault and Formula BMW, plus more panel-denting antics from the SEAT Cupra, Renault Clio and Heritage Grand Touring Car Championships.

Tickets cost £27 on the gate; children aged 12 and under get in free to the race, paddock and the pit lane walkabout where they can meet all the drivers.