VX Racing rides the storm for victory

Mon 15th June 2009 VX Racing took victory in the final race of today’s HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship round at Croft Circuit, with Fabrizio Giovanardi taking his second win of the season. The British weather played a major part in the fortunes of the VX Racing team, with dry and hot conditions for the first two races not favouring the Vauxhalls, but late afternoon rain giving the drivers the grip levels they needed to run up front. Reigning champion, Giovanardi finished fifth in both of the earlier races, while Matt Neal had two sixth places and an eighth, and 20-year-old driver, Andrew Jordan finished with three points-scoring results - fourth, seventh and eighth places.

The grid for the first race, in warm, dry conditions, saw Jordan alongside Neal in seventh and eighth places, with Giovanardi further back in 13th position. At the green flag the BMWs used their rear wheel drive traction to power off the grid, with Jordan and Neal slipping back one position each. Giovanardi made up a place, the start of a storming charge through the field. A technical infringement penalty for Adam Jones promoted Jordan and Neal back up to seventh and eighth place respectively on the second lap while Giovanardi was already up to ninth place behind team mate, Neal. Over the course of the next two laps the Italian driver then overtook his two team mates, and with a retirement for Mat Jackson, the VX Racing team were led by Giovanardi in sixth place, Jordan in seventh and Neal in eighth.

As the race reached the halfway point Neal passed Jordan, with Adam Jones also sliding past the 20-year-old, to push him back to ninth place. Giovanardi was continuing his charge, taking Harry Vaulkhard for fifth place and then starting to hunt down Rob Collard, while Neal was seventh and Jordan was lying in ninth. A red flag brought out for a dramatic crash with the cars of Vaulkhard and Tom Chilton on the last lap stopped the race, with Giovanardi claiming a superb fifth place finish, Neal taking sixth and Jordan in eighth, the starting order for the second race.

Giovanardi said of his race, “The car was much better, but I had contact with James Thompson at the start, which knocked my steering out of alignment, so I had to cope with that throughout the race. I struggled with tyre wear as well and by the end of the race there was nothing left of them. I reckon I could have been on the podium if I hadn’t had contact, but it was a good start to my day.”

The second race had dry, slightly cooler conditions, but with the BMWs ahead on the grid, it was always going to be difficult for the VX Racing Vauxhalls to make up ground. At the start Giovanardi held position, but Neal was passed by Jonathan Adam, losing a place. Neal retrieved the place when Adam was forced to retire with engine problems and the three Vauxhalls toured in formation, led by Giovanardi in fifth, with Neal in sixth and Jordan bringing up the rear in seventh. Rob Collard in third place was hounded by Jason Plato in fourth, with the Vauxhalls hard on his heels and when Plato passed Collard for third, Giovanardi began to push Collard hard, while defending from team mate Neal. However the Italian was unable to get past on the tight Croft track, but held Neal at bay, with the three Vauxhalls finishing one behind the other at the chequered flag, with Giovanardi fifth, Neal sixth and Jordan seventh.

The reverse grid for the third race placed Jordan in fourth for the start, ahead of Neal in fifth and Giovanardi in sixth place. After the second race the weather turned and by the time of the third race, there was heavy rain for the start. At the green flag Giovanardi showed his prowess, powering through to third place, with Jordan dropping to fifth place. Neal suffered an uncharacteristic slow start off the line, which put him down to ninth place at the end of the first lap. An incident soon brought out the safety car as the rain continued to fall. At the restart Giovanardi stole second place from James Thompson and then passed a slowing Paul O’Neill to take the lead, while Jordan moved up to fourth place Only one lap later the safety car was deployed for a second time for another incident, returning to green flag racing after a few laps. Neal continued to struggle further back with rain spray hindering his progress. At the front Thompson was challenging Giovanardi, pushing his way past his rival and then benefiting from another safety car period, to retain the lead for the next few laps.

With five laps remaining the race was restarted for a third time, but the experienced Giovanardi needed less than one lap to make his move on Thompson. The two wily BTCC veterans raced side by side through a series of corners, until Giovanardi held the upper hand and took the lead. Once through he pulled away from the field to take a well deserved victory. Jordan maintained fourth to the chequered flag, but Neal, having improved to fifth place, was denied a points finish after Plato barged past him aggressively, pushing him into a slide. Neal recovered, but had dropped to tenth and with only two laps remaining the most he could do was take eighth at the chequered flag.

Giovanardi was delighted with his victory saying, “I have had to wait a while to win again, but my car was very quick in this race. We had a dry set up, but once I knew I had grip I knew the car would be okay and I could push hard. I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t get back ahead of James (Thompson) with the second safety car and knew I only needed one lap to do it, so I was relieved when we started racing again”.

Neal reflected on his weekend, “I guess you have to have bad ones to appreciate the good ones. My car felt better and better as the weekend went on, but it wasn’t the track for us. I don’t think losing the championship lead is a concern as we still have plenty of races to come and circuits which are more suited to our car. I wasn’t happy to be punted off by Jason (Plato) and it’s not the first time as it happened at Donington; it’s just disappointing for the boys who work so hard when we don’t get the results we deserve.”

Jordan commented of his fortunes, “It’s been tough here today. In the first race we had a really bad handling car in the heat and struggled with understeer. For the second race we made some changes and ran in convoy with the other two at their pace which was pleasing. In the final race, I was worried about aquaplaning off, so I didn’t push hard enough early on. Then on the last lap of the race I got the fastest lap. The car felt good but I suppose knowing when to push the car is all part of the learning process.”