Race three report

Sun 16th August 2009 Round 21 of the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship brought the Knockhill action to a breathtaking close this afternoon. The BTCC was at its very best as Mat Jackson won and Fabrizio Giovanardi further closed the points gap to championship leader Colin Turkington.

The reverse grid put James Thompson on pole for the third race of the day and as the drivers lined up on the grid there was the threat of a rain shower, but that ultimately failed to materialise.

At the start, Thompson shot off into the lead in his final BTCC race of 2009. Behind the Team Dynamics driver, the action began almost immediately as Matt Neal challenged Paul O’Neill for second. Neal had his nose in front as they descended through the SEAT Curves for the first time but O’Neill fought back and they ran wide together Scotsman, which allowed Colin Turkington through into second.

Neal and O’Neill were still together at the Real Radio hairpin, but Neal was the stronger and finally put his stamp on third spot. Further down the order, Rob Collard and Gordon Shedden were running together and they were side-by-side over the start-finish line before Shedden ended up going straight on at the first corner. With the Cartridge World SEAT beached in the gravel, the safety car was called upon and James Thompson’s three-second lead was wiped out in an instant.

Airwaves BMW driver Jonny Adam’s weekend came to damp end during the safety car period when his car’s fire extinguisher released its contents all over him. He was forced to retire as a result.

When racing resumed, Matt Neal clearly had desires on second position as he was soon on the rear bumper of Colin Turkington. However, he was forced to defend from Mat Jackson at the same time. Just behind them, Fabrizio Giovanardi passed Stephen Jelley to move up to fifth.

Neal spent the next couple of laps glued to the back of Turkington before he made his move at Carlube on lap 10. It was a move that also allowed Mat Jackson to pass the BMW, although Turkington and Jackson ran side-by-side along the straight before Turkington gave way heading into the SEAT curves.

James Thompson’s lead soon looked to be under threat as Matt Neal closed on the Honda run by his father’s team. Meanwhile, Jason Plato’s charge from the back of the grid saw him climb to seventh by the end of lap 12.

As Neal continued to challenge Thompson, the championship battle between Giovanardi and Turkington was playing out on the track as the Vauxhall driver challenged the RAC man for fourth. The reigning champion closed right up at the hairpin but there was no rash move and he bided his time for the next couple of laps.

Back at the front, Neal’s pressure on Thompson paid off when he took the lead at Carlube on lap 17. It was a short-lived lead though, because Neal ran wide onto the grass after a tap from the recovering Thompson. The end result was that Mat Jackson passed them both to take the lead of the race.

With eight laps of 27 remaining, there was still plenty more to come. With Jackson leading, there were two main points of focus – the relative positions of championship contenders Giovanardi and Turkington, and the charge from the back row of the grid by Jason Plato.

Giovanardi found himself up to third when he passed Thompson at the hairpin, while the erstwhile race leader immediately lost another position when Plato passed him onto the straight

Plato’s pace was blistering and Giovanardi ceded third without too much of a fight – his focus clearly more on outscoring Turkington, who was sixth at this point. Turkington was still making progress though. He closed up on the tail of Thompson at the hairpin on lap 21, but couldn’t make the move stick until the following lap.

That left Jackson leading from Neal, Plato, Giovanardi and Turkington. If Mat Jackson was looking comfortable at the front, Matt Neal’s second position was increasingly under threat from the rapid Plato. Almost as soon as the Chevrolet was on the tail of the Vauxhall, Plato had claimed second, taking the position on the inside at the hairpin.

There were three laps remaining at this point and that was to be the end of Plato’s progress – but impressive is the word as he came through from 17th and last on the grid to finish second.

There was still time for more drama in the Giovanardi vs Turkington championship battle. Running fourth and fifth respectively, it was Turkington who looked to have the greater pace in the closing stages. So quick was Turkington that there was a gentle tap as he trailed the Italian through the hairpin on lap 25. While both have much to fight for, it is their relative positions that are so important as they continue to pull away at the top of the points standings.

Turkington made sure Giovanardi worked hard right the way through to the final lap and he was right behind the Vectra to the very last corner. Turkington’s challenge was to end fruitless though, and there was worse to come for him. Matt Neal was running third, but slowed heading into the hairpin for the last time. He took to the inside line, allowing Giovanardi to go around the outside and take the final podium position. So well worked was the manoeuvre that Neal was able to keep himself between his teammate and Turkington and thus maximise Giovanardi’s points advantage.

At the end of what will go down as one of the most exciting races of the season, victory went to Mat Jackson, leading home a 1-2 for Racing Silverline, with Jason Plato in second. Giovanardi was third, Neal fourth and Turkington fifth. James Thompson bowed out of the 2009 BTCC with a sixth-place finish, ahead of Andrew Jordan in seventh and Tom Chilton in eighth. Paul O’Neill and Stephen Jelley rounded out the top ten.

Racewinner Mat Jackson said, “What a result for the team. We’ve had three good races and it’s great to get a 1-2. It was like being in a wasps’ nest out there – someone was going to get ejected. Fortunately I managed to get the break and I got some half-decent laps in. To come here and put all of our bad luck behind us is great.”

Fabrizio Giovanardi said, “I was struggling with the tyres towards the end. Luckily we had enough speed to get third though. It was a great team job and that’s what we have to do.”

Colin Turkington said, “I was running strong at the beginning, but I got outmanoeuvred and I lost out early on. It’s not a disaster. Fifth is good, but Fabrizio got a few more on me. I’m still nine points up the road though and it’s still good to be ahead. It’s been a while since we had a win now though, so it would be good to get one next time out.”