The rain at Brands Hatch had actually stopped ahead of the second race, but with the track still damp, the teams were left with a decision to make about what tyres to fit on their cars.

Some opted for slicks, some for wets and others for a combination of the two. Polesitter Fabrizio Giovanardi was among those that went for slick tyres, but the Vectra had enough grip to get away from the line in the lead. Behind the leader, Tom Onslow-Cole made a quick start, before attempting to put his Team RAC BMW into a gap that just wasn’t big enough.

Coming past the pitlane exit, Onslow-Cole put the nose of his orange BMW between the SEAT of Darren Turner and that of his own teammate, Colin Turkington. Unfortunately this had the effect of turning the noses of both cars inwards and bringing all three grinding to a halt before they had even reached Paddock Hill Bend.

Darren Turner said, “I didn’t have a clue what was going on. All I knew as that I was wedged against the barrier. I thought I might be able to get it going again, but it actually did quite a lot of damage to the right hand side.”

There was still time for further drama on the opening lap, with championship leader Jason Plato clashing with Tom Chilton at Surtees. Chilton’s momentum carried him into the side of Plato before both cars slid sideways. The SEAT driver was able to recover and point his Leon back in the right direction, albeit well down the order, while Chilton speared into the tyre wall on the outside of the track. He was able to limp back to the pits, but that was the end of the Vauxhall driver’s race.

Seven laps behind the safety car followed, with Fabrizio Giovanardi leading from the fast-starting Chris Stockton in the wet-shod BTC Racing Lexus IS200. There was a brief resumption of race action, long enough for Matt Allison to lose the back end of his Motorbase Performance SEAT Toledo and slide backwards into the barrier on the inside of the run up to Druids.

Another three laps behind the safety car followed, taking the race to its 10th lap before it was able to get underway for a third time. Giovanardi continued to lead out front, now with Adam Jones in second for Team Air Cool and Chris Stockton down to third. Stockton’s run at the front was short-lived as his grooved tyres started to suffer on the drying track, dropping him down through the order.

After his earlier clash with Tom Chilton, Jason Plato completed his climb back up through the pack by passing Gordon Shedden for third and Adam Jones for second. Jones’ impressive run was ended when he was tapped from behind by Gordon Shedden going into Paddock Hill Bend. He was able to drive through the gravel but could only rejoin in sixth position.

At the end of the extended 27-lap race, there was a second win of the day for Fabrizio Giovanardi, with championship rival Jason Plato just behind him in second. Gordon Shedden made it onto the podium to provide Team Halfords with some consolation for the destruction of Matt Neal’s Civic in the first race. Mat Jackson finished fourth after starting from the pitlane, with Mike Jordan in fifth. Jones was sixth ahead of teammate Gavin Smith. Jason Hughes crossed the line in eighth for Kartworld Racing, Colin Turkington was ninth, with Erkut Kizilirmak in tenth. Eleventh placed Richard Marsh was the last finisher.

After his eighth win of the season, Giovanardi said, “Two wins is fantastic for everybody. For me and for the team. The end of the championship will be very tough, I think.”