Race three report

Sun 14th June 2009 Fabrizio Giovanardi pulled off a sensational overtaking manoeuvre around the outside of James Thompson to take victory in a rain-soaked race three at Croft this afternoon.

The race was punctuated by three safety car periods as the track proved challenging after the heavens opened ahead of the final race. At the start of the race, it was polesitter Paul O’Neill who led away from the line, from Thompson and Giovanardi.

There was no time for the race to get into a rhythm as the safety car was out at the end of the first lap to allow for the recovery of Adam Jones’ Cartridge World SEAT, which had hit the barriers on the outside of Clervaux as the pack jostled for position.

Two laps behind the safety car followed ahead of the restart, which O’Neill managed from the front and defended the attack of Thompson. It was another single lap of racing though, this time after Martin Johnson and James Nash clashed at Clervaux.

The Lacetti and the Astra Coupe were recovered quickly, but the heavy rain continued and the safety car stayed on track for five laps.

Fabrizio Giovanardi had managed to pass Thompson on the previous racing lap and was quickly past Paul O’Neill into the lead after the Sunshine.co.uk Honda’s battery ran out of power and the fan-favourite rolled into retirement.

Giovanardi’s lead was shortlived when Thompson found a way back past the Vectra at Tower on lap ten. The impending battle for the lead was quickly put on hold when the third safety car was called into action for a third time after David Pinkney hurtled off into the barriers at Tower.

The Honda hit the tyres hard and suffered significant front end damage. Pinkney walked away from the crash, but the car took several laps to move to safety. When racing resumed, there were five laps left of an extended 18-lap race.

The rain was still falling when the race restarted for the final time and it was Thompson who led the pack. Giovanardi, who has demonstrated his skills in the wet on numerous occasions, wasted little time in putting Thompson under pressure. However, few would have predicted that the Italian would make his move where he did.

Giovanardi moved to the outside as the lead pair entered the Sunny In right-hander and held station on the outside right the way through Sunny Out, which handed him the inside line for the first part of the Complex, where the reigning champion completed his remarkable move.

That was that as far as the lead was concerned, as Giovanardi stayed on track to take his second win of the season. Thompson was rewarded for his efforts with second place, while Stephen Jelley completed a remarkable trio of podium finishes in third – an impressive feat for a driver that had never finished in the top three ahead of this weekend.

Andrew Jordan finished fourth, ahead of Jason Plato. The Racing Silverline driver’s route to the chequered flag included an altercation with Matt Neal for which he was subsequently reprimanded and his license endorsed.

Colin Turkington added sixth position to his earlier victories, which was enough to see him leave Croft with a healthy championship lead. Seventh went to Rob Collard, ahead of the recovering Matt Neal. Jonny Adam and Tom Chilton completed the top ten.

Fabrizio Giovanardi said, "I've waited a long time to win again. I think that our car was very good compared to the others in that race, but I had to move quickly as the race was very short. It was a nightmare out there - it was like a lake."

The BTCC now enters a seven-week break ahead of rounds 16, 17 and 18 of the championship at Snetterton over the weekend of 1st/2nd August.