Welcome to BTCCPages.com!

Search BTCCPages.com

BTCC 2012 Index

Giovanardi wins season opener at Thruxton

BTCC News | Sun 4th April 2010

Fabrizio Giovanardi scored a sensational victory for Uniq Racing with Triple Eight in the first round of the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – just days after confirming he would race in the series this year.

Tweet

By Matt Lamprell

Giovanardi started second on the grid and followed Honda Racing Team's Gordon Shedden away from the line. Unfortunately for Shedden, he was one of several drivers to suffer a front-left puncture, which caused him to crash out on lap eight.

The start of the race saw the top three unchanged, but Jason Plato made an early move on Andrew Jordan, who dropped to seventh from fourth on the grid. Tom Onslow-Cole was fifth at the end of the lap, ahead of Mat Jackson and Jordan.

The top four quickly moved away at the front as Onslow-Cole held up Jackson and Jordan behind. Paul O'Neill and Rob Collard were next up and there was contact between them as they headed through the Complex on lap three. Collard made his move and tapped the back of O'Neill, who then moved back across. The end result was retirement for Collard, with damage to the front-right corner of the WSR BMW.

Lap seven brought a climax to the Onslow-Cole, Jackson, Jordan battle. Jackson made his move on Onslow-Cole at the Complex, passing on the inside. The Focus ran wide on the outside and as he recovered, Onslow-Cole hit the side of Jordan's Vectra, dropping him to 12th.

By lap eight, Shedden's lead was a second and a half, but he had clearly worked his tyres too hard and he made heavy contact with the tyre wall after suffering a front-left puncture.

Shedden's misfortune handed the lead to Giovanardi, ahead of Neal and Plato, but within a couple of laps, a miserable race for the Honda Racing Team was complete – Matt Neal also picking up a puncture and making a forced pitstop.

There were further punctures before the end of the race, with Matt Hamilton, Tom Chilton and Tom Onslow-Cole all suffering.

At the front, Giovanardi slowed his pace over the course of the final few laps, nursing his tyres to the end of the race. Behind him, Plato was content to finish second. Third position went to Mat Jackson in the first of the Airwaves BMW cars.

Paul O'Neill finished fourth for Team Sunshine.co.uk, but was closing rapidly on Jackson in the closing stages. Tom Boardman crossed the line fifth, ahead of BTCC debutants Phil Glew and Alex MacDowall. David Pinkney finished eighth, ahead of John George. WSR's Andy Neate just fought off Martin Johnson in a run to the line for the final points-paying position.

Neal, Onslow-Cole and Jordan were the only other classified finishers.

Fabrizio Giovanardi said: "We have to be happy with that. I didn't know until last week that I would be here, so Triple Eight have done a great job to get the car ready. We could have gone faster, but we knew there was a risk [with the tyres]."

Jason Plato said: "The main job today is to get my Chevrolet Cruze to the end of the race. It's all very well looking quick for the first half of the race, until you end up in the wall. Dunlop do miracles to get the tyres to work around here, especially with the way we take the kerbs. The tyres can last – you just have to be a bit conservative with your setup."

Post your comments below OR Click here to discuss in our forum