Race three report

Sun 4th October 2009 It was a thriller of a race that decided the outcome of the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch this afternoon.

Jason Plato became only the second driver ever to win three BTCC races in a day, but even that wasn’t enough to prevent Colin Turkington from being crowned champion. The Team RAC driver finished second behind Plato in the race, but the positions were reversed in the championship, with Turkington ending the year on 275 points, ahead of Plato on 270 and Fabrizio Giovanardi on 266.

The race started with VX Racing’s Matt Neal on pole position, with Paul O’Neill alongiside him for Team Sunshine.co.uk. Neal made a clean start, but O’Neill was slower off the line. Tom Chilton trailed the Vectra through Paddock Hill Bend, but Turkington and Giovanardi were through to second and third respectively by the time they exited the Druids hairpin.

Chilton was behind the championship protagonists, along with Airwaves BMW’s Rob Collard and Tom Chilton. Matt Neal’s exit from Druids was slow, which backed the pack up behind him. Collard passed Chilton heading down Graham Hill, only for the Team Aon Focus to tag the back of the BMW along the Cooper straight. Collard was fired into the tyre barrier and out of the race.

Just a few metres further down the road, the race got even worse for Airwaves BMW when Jonny Adam was knocked off the track by Matt Neal at Surtees.

For the third time in as many races, the safety car was deployed at the end of the first lap while Collard’s BMW was recovered. By the time the pack had settled down across the line, Neal was leading from Turkington and Giovanardi, who were jostling for position. Tom Chilton was running fourth and Tom Onslow-Cole fifth.

At the restart on lap four, Giovanardi was pushing Turkington hard, but he was forced to defend from Chilton at the same time. Giovanardi made a move at Westfield on the following lap, but ended up losing third position to Chilton. At the same time, Plato was making progress through the pack and was up to fifth from eighth on the grid.

By the mid-point of the race, the top five were all running together, with Turkington challenging Neal for the lead and Giovanardi back in front of Chilton, taking Plato through with him.

Neal ran wide at Druids on lap nine and Turkington dived to the inside. There was contact between the pair, but Turkington was through into the lead. Neal struggled to find grip and was also passed by Giovanardi and Plato.

With eight laps remaining, it was now Turkington leading from Giovanardi and Plato. The Racing Silverline driver went around the outside of both them to take the lead of the race at Paddock. Giovanardi was trying desperately to find a way past Turkington and almost ended up on the pit entry road as he tried to take the inside line onto the straight at the end of lap 10. That reduced the Italian’s momentum and not only did he fail to pass Turkington, but he also found himself behind Chilton again.

That was the end of the major drama and effectively decided the outcome of the title. Plato was on course for victory for the third time today, but Turkington would be champion if he remained in second.

Giovanardi was spectacular as he gave it everything in the closing stages of the race, but the Vectra’s tyres were past their best and he just couldn’t reel in Chilton ahead of him. Indeed, Chilton went on to challenge Turkington, looming large in his mirrors on the final lap.

Plato opened up a gap at the front and went on to take the chequered flag. An emotional Turkington crossed the line in second, with Chilton third. Giovanardi finished fourth to clinch the Manufacturers/Constructors title for Vauxhall/VX Racing. Matt Neal was fifth, with Stephen Jelley seventh and a recovering Jonny Adam eighth. Gordon Shedden and David Pinkney were ninth and tenth respectively.

Following the race, there were jubilant scenes on the podium as Turkington celebrated his maiden BTCC title. There was an unusual visitor to the podium when Dick Bennetts stood in for Turkington on the race podium while his driver was being interviewed live on ITV4. He was showered in champagne by Plato and Chilton as they celebrated in front of the cameras.

The 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship draws to a close with Colin Turkington crowned champion. He also took the Independents’ title for the third consecutive season. Vauxhall/VX Racing are the Manufacturer/Constructor champions, VX Racing the Teams’ champions and Team RAC the Independent Teams’ champions.