TITLE RACE INTENSIFIES AS GIOVANARDI & PLATO SHARE WINS
AT THRUXTON
Vauxhall’s Fabrizio Giovanardi and SEAT’s Jason
Plato (Oxford) again shared the victories in today’s
three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at
Thruxton in Hampshire – the fastest track on the BTCC
calendar. Just as at Rockingham a fortnight ago, Giovanardi
won twice and he has now slashed the gap to championship leader
Plato from 18 points to just nine as the BTCC prepares for
its next meeting, at the Croft circuit in North Yorkshire
on 3 June.
Plato’s victory in today’s third, his 36th in
the BTCC, moves him into second equal on the championship’s
all-time winners’ chart with former team-mates Alain
Menu and Yvan Muller. But just as in 2001 when he beat Frenchman
Muller to the title, Plato, himself one of the world’s
top touring car drivers, knows that a second crown will again
require him to eclipse another class act, this time Italian
ace Giovanardi.
Plato said: “I’m actually quite pleased with
my results today – a second, a sixth from the back of
the field and a win on what we know is a circuit that is better
suited to the Vauxhalls. Our SEAT Leon will be a stronger
at Croft which is a twistier circuit, but Fabrizio is a class
act and this is turning into one heck of a fight. It’s
noticeable that Finals Day will be here at Thruxton in October
– it would be nice to have the title sewn up before
then…”
Giovanardi, with seven Italian, Spanish and European touring
car titles to his name, is confident of his chances. He added:
“Jason and I both now have four wins this season and
if I hadn’t had a bad couple of opening rounds at Brands
Hatch I would probably be in front. But as a team we are performing
superbly at the moment and I’m really pleased with the
development of the Vectra. We have it working well with or
without success ballast through the corners, on the straights,
on a single qualifying lap and over a long race distance.
But we have to keep pushing because everyone will have made
more improvements for Croft.”
Giovanardi and team-mate Tom Chilton (Reigate) who took three
strong finishes today have helped Vauxhall extend its lead
over SEAT in the Manufacturers’ championship. Similarly,
Vauxhall’s VX Racing squad has moved further ahead of
SEAT Sport UK in the Teams’ standings. Meanwhile, Mike
Jordan (Sutton Coldfield), who came close to victory today
in his Eurotech/John Guest-Speedfit Honda Integra, was twice
the top-scoring privateer to move to the head of the Independents
drivers’ table. BMW outfit Team RAC is now the leading
Independent team.
BTCC points after Thruxton, rds7, 8 & 9 (provisional):
Drivers:
1. Jason PLATO, 107 points
2. Fabrizio GIOVANARDI, 98
3. Tom CHILTON, 68
4. Matt NEAL, 66
5. Colin TURKINGTON, 44
6. Darren TURNER, 40
7. Mike JORDAN, 38
8. Mat JACKSON, 35
9. Tom ONSLOW-COLE, 34
10. Gordon SHEDDEN, 32
Manufacturers:
1. Vauxhall, 209 points
2. SEAT, 164
Teams:
1. VX Racing, 158 points
2. SEAT Sport UK, 139
3. Team Halfords, 96
4. Team RAC, 76
5. Eurotech/John Guest-Speedfit, 38
6. Jacksons MSport, 34
For full championship points, visit the official BTCC website
http://www.btcc.net/.
Race reports…
Round 7, 16 laps (37.696 miles)
Weather/Track: Overcast/Dry
GIOVANARDI TAKES CLEAR VICTORY
Starting from his first BTCC pole position, Giovanardi took
advantage of his rivals’ fighting behind to achieve
his third win in four races. But the Italian was fortunate
as he explained: “In the final five laps my car’s
water temperature was really high and as soon as I crossed
the line I pulled off the circuit. I don’t know if I
could have completed another lap.”
On a circuit notoriously tough on tyres, Plato, even in a
car laden with maximum success ballast, used his experienced
to come through from seventh on the grid and then pass his
team-mate Darren Turner and Jordan on the final lap to take
the runners-up spot. Jordan, having fought through from fifth
to second, was being cruelly slowed by a punctured tyre and
dropped to tenth by the finish.
Turner took third ahead of Colin Turkington’s Team
RAC BMW 320si E90, reigning champion Matt Neal’s Team
Halfords Honda Civic and Chilton who, while lying second early
on, set the race’s fastest lap before fading with tyre
wear problems.
The Motorbase SEAT Toledo of Matt Allison was a career-best
equalling seventh, while Jason Hughes, although out of the
race, drove a strong race from near the back of the 24-car
grid to finish 12th in his bio-ethanol-powered Kartworld MG
ZS. Notably, Mat Jackson’s Jacksons MSport BMW 320si
E90 and Gordon Shedden’s Team Halfords Honda retired
on the opening lap with accident damage after colliding together.
Result:
1. Fabrizio Giovanardi (ITA), VX Racing/Vauxhall Vectra, 21m41.754s
2. Jason Plato (GBR), SEAT Sport UK/SEAT Leon, +4.358s
3. Darren Turner (GBR), SEAT Sport UK/SEAT Leon, +4.972s
FASTEST LAP: Tom Chilton (GBR), VX Racing/Vauxhall Vectra,
1m19.106s (107.20mph)
Round 8, 18 laps (42.408 miles)
Weather/Track: Sunny/Dry
GIOVANARDI MAKES IT A DOUBLE
Giovanardi, his car carrying maximum success ballast, made
it two wins out of two races to move within a point of championship
leader Plato who finished a recovering sixth after serving
a drive-through penalty in the pit lane.
The opening stages were led by a fast-starting Turkington
before Giovanardi burst past into first position. Giovanardi
looked to be safe, but in the closing stages he came under
pressure from a fast-closing Neal who had overtaken Chilton
for second.
Jordan made up for his race one disappointment in fourth,
followed by a fading Turkington and Plato. The latter’s
penalty, due to a grid rules infringement, dropped him to
last position, but after making up several places a safety
car period then enabled him to get within striking distance
of the mid-field bunch.
The safety car was required following a spectacular, high-speed
accident at the chicane involving Turner, Allison and his
team-mate Gareth Howell as they fought for fourth place. Allison’s
and Turner’s cars crunched into the barriers and Howell,
who would retire later with damage to his SEAT, was later
fined and had penalty points put on his competition licence
for his part in the incident.
Result:
1. Fabrizio Giovanardi (ITA), VX Racing/Vauxhall Vectra, 25m41.800s
2. Matt Neal (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Civic, +0.285s
3. Tom Chilton (GBR), VX Racing/Vauxhall Vectra, +4.357s
FASTEST LAP: Giovanardi, 1m19.791s (106.26mph)
Round 9, 16 laps (37.696 miles)
Weather/Track: Overcast/Dry
PLATO REDRESSES THE BALANCE
Drawn to start from pole position after finishing a points-scoring
tenth in race two was Luton Town football club chairman Dave
Pinkney in his A-Tech team’s Alfa Romeo 156 and for
the first five laps the 50-year-old led. But as his car started
to suffer from worsening tyre wear – he would eventually
fade to a distant 13th – Plato was able to sweep by
for a vital victory.
Shedden, a winner at Thruxton in 2006, and the spirited Jordan
finished second and third for their first podium results this
season. Jordan’s result moved him to the top of the
Independents drivers’ standings, his task made easier
by previous leader Jackson’s failure to score in any
of the three races.
Fourth, again with a fully-ballasted car and having started
back in tenth, was the sensational Giovanardi. Neal and Turner,
the latter up from 20th after his race two crash, completed
the top six. Of note, Hughes took a fine ninth having also
achieved the position in race two.
Result:
1. Jason Plato (GBR), SEAT Sport UK/SEAT Leon, 21m45.119s
2. Gordon Shedden (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Civic, +1.413s
3. Mike Jordan (GBR), Eurotech-John Guest-Speedfit/Honda Integra,
+4.966s
FASTEST LAP: Plato, 1m19.690s (106.42mph)
|
