Race three report

Sun 17th May 2009 A downpour between races two and three ensured the teams had a tyre dilemma ahead of the final race of the day. The rain stopped before they took to the grid, but the track was wet enough for all except James Thompson and Adam Jones to start on grooved tyres. The Team Dynamics and Cartridge World drivers opted for slick tyres on the front and wet tyres on the rear.

With the top ten finishers from race two reversed to form the grid, Harry Vaulkhard started from pole position, with Rob Collard alongside him on the front row. Putting the BMW’s rear-wheel drive power to good use, Collard was ahead by the time he reached Redgate. He was followed into the first corner by Airwaves BMW teammate Jonathan Adam, up to second from fourth on the grid. Adam lost out to Vaulkhard heading through the Craner Curves, but regained the spot going through the chicane for the first time.

The second lap of the race began with Adam spinning at Redgate after a clash with Vaulkhard. Racing Silverline driver Mat Jackson also ended up off the track. With the commotion behind him, Collard was left to cruise off into the distance and by the end of lap two he had opened up a lap of four and a half seconds over Vaulkhard.

Fabrizio Giovanardi was up to third position, despite starting eighth, after passing Jason Plato at Mcleans on lap three. On the same lap, Colin Turkington passed Matt Neal to move up to fifth.

Now running third, Giovanardi’s attention turned to second-placed Vaulkhard. The VX Racing driver eased past on lap four, but for the next few laps he was unable to open up a gap. Vaulkhard stayed on the tail of the Vauxhall and eventually made an attempt to reclaim the position on lap 13. Giovanardi was knocked sideways after the pair made contact at the old hairpin, but managed to recover, only for Vaulkhard’s next passing attempt to spin him around and drop him down the order. It was a move that also cost Vaulkhard any chance of finishing the race on the podium.

All the time that Giovanardi and Vaulkhard were squabbling over second, Rob Collard was sitting pretty out at the front. With four laps remaining, his lead was just over five seconds. After Giovanardi was sent spinning out, Colin Turkington was up to second. However, the main threat looked to be coming from James Thompson, who making rapid progress through the pack as his slick tyres started to come into their own. The Team Dynamics driver was into the top ten, but there just weren’t enough laps left for him to work his way up the order.

Collard continued to cruise out front and even in the last couple of laps Turkington and Plato fought over second, preventing them from making serious in-roads into his lead.

At the chequered flag, Collard won for the second time this year, 1.2 seconds ahead of Colin Turkington. Jason Plato made his first visit of the day to the podium, finishing third for Racing Silverline. His teammate Mat Jackson crossed the line fourth, ahead of reigning champion Fabrizio Giovanardi, whose frustrating start to the season continues. James Thompson’s slick running ended with him just pipping Harry Vaulkhard for sixth position. Matt Neal was eighth, ahead of Tom Chilton in ninth – picking up his first points of the season. David Pinkney completed the top ten.

At the end of the weekend, Matt Neal continues to lead the drivers’ championship, ahead of Colin Turkington. Giovanardi and Collard are tied for third, while Plato is fifth.