Race one report: Giovanardi leads Vauxhall podium sweep

Sun 26th April 2009 Fabrizio Giovanardi scored a lights-to-flag victory in round six of the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton, leading home a 1-2-3 for VX Racing.

The Italian took his first victory of the year after starting from pole position and never looked in danger of losing the lead, with teammate Matt Neal behind him throughout the race. Andrew Jordan put in a strong showing in the third of the Vectras to complete the first podium sweep for Vauxhall since Brands Hatch in 2004.

Race winner Fabrizio Giovanardi said, “It’s started the right way. A 1-2-3 for Vauxhall is the best result we can have. We have to try and win as many races as possible now. My teammate carried 45kg of ballast and finished second, so I’m confident for the next race. I’m always worried about the tyres here, as I had two blow-ups last year, so I was light on the steering wheel to avoid blowing up.”

At the start of the race, the three Vectras quickly assumed their formation, with Jordan getting ahead of Jason Plato, who started third, at the Complex on the opening lap. Plato put Jordan under pressure through the first few corners, but the Vauxhall driver was able to stay ahead, and before long, Plato was concentrating on Colin Turkington, whose Team RAC BMW was filling his mirrors.

Sunshine.co.uk with Techspeed driver Paul O’Neill held on to his impressive sixth position away from the line and settled into a race rhythm with no trouble. At the bottom of the top ten, both Airwaves BMWs made strong starts, but Collard was soon under pressure from Adam Jones. Jones was the only Cartridge World Carbon Zero Racing SEAT Leon in the race after Dan Eaves spun out on the green flag lap, breaking the steering rack on his car.

Collard managed to fend off Jones until lap four, when the SEAT driver found a way past at the chicane, to move up to ninth position. Next up on the back of Collard was Stephen Jelley’s Team RAC BMW.

Meanwhile, Jelley’s teammate, Colin Turkington was pressuring Jason Plato for fourth position. Turkington took the place on lap seven, with Plato seeming to slow. The Silverline Racing driver pitted at the end of the lap to change both front tyres after picking up a vibration on the Chevrolet Lacetti. John George was another pit visitor, with a front left puncture and bodywork damage. Liam McMillan also pulled off the track on the same lap.

Midway through the 16 lap race, Adam Jones continued his progress through the pack, passing Jonny Adam to go seventh. His next target was former champion James Thompson and with the aid of a gentle tap, he was past at the Complex on lap ten.

The safety car was on track at the end of lap 11 to allow debris to be cleared from the track. At the restart two laps later, there was no trouble for the leading Vauxhalls, although Andy Jordan was briefly challenged by fourth-placed Colin Turkington. Paul O’Neill’s fifth position looked under threat from Adam Jones, but the Honda Integra proved it still has the pace to run at the front as O’Neill edged away again.

Behind Jones, there were four cars fighting for seventh position, led by James Thompson. Collard, Jelley and Mat Jackson were all running close behind. Collard attempted a pass on Thompson around the outside of the chicane on the penultimate lap but could not make it stick. This in turn allowed Stephen Jelley to get a run on Collard along the straight to take eighth position.

On the run up to the chicane on the final lap, Jelley passed Thompson going up the hill. He then pulled across ahead of Thompson into the chicane, while Collard again tried around the outside. As they went through the right hander of the chicane, Collard turned right and Jelley edged left, with Thompson right behind him. Contact was almost inevitable and Collard ended up beached in the middle of the chicane, facing the wrong way. Jelley held the position, going on to cross the line seventh.

At the front, there was no stopping Giovanardi, who took the chequered flag and victory in round four. He was trailed home by teammates Matt Neal and Andrew Jordan. Colin Turkington was the leading independent driver in fourth, ahead of Paul O’Neill in fifth. Adam Jones finished sixth, ahead of Jelley, Jackson and Vaulkhard. Jason Plato recovered from his earlier troubles to finish the race in tenth position. James Thompson was 11th, with Jonathan Adam 12th. Rob Collard was classified 18th.