Fabrizio Giovanardi scored his ninth win of the season to keep his championship chances very much alive and kicking at Thruxton, but it was a tale of tyres as punctures hit several of the lead runners in the day’s opening race.

It looked for much of the race that Vauxhall would score a 1-2-3 as Tom Chilton and then Giovanardi led, with Alain Menu in third. But the last couple of laps saw a series of punctures, handing Plato a fortuitous second position and keeping him five points ahead in the battle for the championship.

Starting on pole position, Tom Chilton led away from the line, as Giovanardi and Menu slotted into second and third positions respectively. Fourth-placed Plato found himself defending from Matt Neal through the Complex on the opening lap, but it was Neal who dropped a position, losing out to Colin Turkington in the Team RAC BMW. Neal’s race worsened as he was passed by Darren Turner in the second SEAT Leon.

Lap four saw Chilton cede the lead to championship-chasing teammate Giovanardi. The order may have changed but the three Vectras looked to be very much in control out front. Behind the VX trio, Plato was sitting in fourth, tailed by Turner, acting as buffer ahead of the two Team Halfords Honda Civics.

The tail end of the top ten played host to a healthy battle between Colin Turkington, Mat Jackson, Mike Jordan and Matt Allison. Jordan’s race came to a premature end when he was hit by a suspension failure and puncture just after mid-distance, but not before he had traded blows with Jackson.

Jordan entered the final meeting with a three-point lead in the Independents’ championship, but his failure to finish, combined with Colin Turkington’s class win, hands the momentum right back to the Irishman.

At the front, Tom Chilton’s left front tyre was the first to let go on lap 14, sending the Vectra off-track as he exited the fast Church section of the circuit. More punctures followed for Matt Allison (Motorbase Performance), Darren Turner (SEAT Leon) and Alain Menu (Vauxhall Vectra).

Fortunately for Giovanardi, he was able to bring his Vectra home, taking the chequered flag ahead of rival Jason Plato. Realising his luck, Plato gave the Italian a cheeky wave as he pulled alongside the Vectra in parc ferme.

Gordon Shedden finished third after a relatively quiet race, while Menu crawled home in fourth. Colin Turkington was the top independent driver in fifth, ahead of Mat Jackson and Tom Coronel. Adam Jones and Tom Onslow-Cole rounded out the top ten. BTCC returnee Rob Collard finished 11th after a race-long battle with 12th placed Eoin Murray. Paul O’Neill finished in 13th position.

Fabrizio Giovanardi said, “I’m pleased because I’ve won, but I’m very sorry for my two teammates. I think I’m going to have to push very hard right to the finish.”

Jason Plato, still bandaged from his burns earlier in the week, said, “Adrenalin is a wonderful thing. I’ve got a little bit of discomfort, but there’s a job to be done. I’ve got to dig deep. I desperately want to win it. We had a feeling Vauxhall had played their trump card in qualifying. That was a good result…I’m feeling quite racy now.”

Going into the penultimate race of the season, Jason Plato leads the championship by five points from Fabrizio Giovanardi.