Race three report

Sun 20th September 2009 The third and final race of the day at Rockingham delivered plenty of excitement as Stephen Jelley doubled his BTCC win tally, just hours after taking his first victory.

There were multiple twists and turns in the championship race during the 18 laps, but in the end, Colin Turkington heads to the final round at Brands Hatch with his lead in tact and increased to 13 points.

The reverse grid had put Tom Chilton on pole in his Team Aon Ford Focus and he led Andrew Jordan and Stephen Jelley away from the line. There was some shuffling in the pack through Deene on the opening lap and James Nash emerged in third, ahead of Jelley, Turkington and Mat Jackson.

Jackson’s hopes of a ninth consecutive podium finish took a knock on lap two when he received an uncharacteristic tap to the rear from Giovanardi at Deene. The Racing Silverline Chevrolet dropped to the back of the pack, but there were to be repercussions for Giovanardi, too.

The safety car was out on track at the end of lap four after David Pinkney landed in the gravel at Pif-Paf. Two laps later and Turkington passed Nash for fourth heading into Deene after the restart. Both Matt Neal (VX Racing) and Rob Collard (Airwaves BMW) slowed on lap six, bringing their weekend to an early close. There was also a spin for Anthony Reid at Pif-Paf.

At the front, Tom Chilton was defending from Andrew Jordan, but the Vauxhall took the lead at Deene on lap eight, after a gentle tap to the rear of the Ford. Chilton soon had his mirrors full of Jelley’s BMW and the Team RAC driver was through to second within a couple of laps.

Within those few laps, there was an opportunity for Jelley to cede his position to championship-chasing teammate Colin Turkington, but Jelley’s earlier win had clearly given him the taste for victory and he continued to pursue Chilton. Chilton’s race deteriorated as he was passed by not just Jelley, but also Turkington and Plato.

Meanwhile, Fabrizio Giovanardi appeared to be feeling the effects of his earlier contact with Jackson. The Italian’s Vectra was down on pace and he lost out to Plato at Deene, dropping him to seventh.

At the front, Jelley was now up with Jordan and putting the Vauxhall driver under pressure. The race one winner took the lead at Deene on lap 12, but then ran wide at Gracelands. That allowed Jordan to close back up, but also brought Plato and Turkington into play. It was almost six fighting for the lead at this point, as Giovanardi and Johnny Herbert soon closed in.

The championship battle looked set to play out on track on lap 13. Plato challenged Turkington at Tarzan, almost turning the BMW around. What followed was a dramatic few moments as the lead pack headed along the straight into the final chicane.

The end result of it all was that Jelley and Jordan remained out front, with Chilton finding his way back through to third. Plato picked up damage and pitted, while Johnny Herbert was in the thick of things, challenging Giovanardi through the chicane. Turkington recovered from his contact with Plato to capitalise and emerged in fourth, while Herbert ended up in fifth.

The big loser in the melee was Giovanardi. He was now eighth behind Mat Jackson and Jonny Adam and the Vectra was clearly struggling to find speed. It was a real reversal for Giovanardi, going from being a couple of places ahead of Turkington to being several behind – and there was worse to come.

The last couple of laps were a little calmer, with Jelley and Jordan out front. Chilton was third, being caught by Turkington, but there weren’t enough laps left and the Team RAC driver was left to settle for fourth. Fifth went to Mat Jackson, ahead of Jonny Adam and Johnny Herbert. Gordon Shedden was eighth, ahead of Tom Onslow-Cole in ninth. Martin Johnson was the final point-scorer, passing Giovanardi on the exit from the final corner.

Stephen Jelley said, “It’s been awesome. It all seemed to be kicking off behind me. There was lots of banging and barging so I was just pleased to be ahead of it all. The car has been quick all day and Team RAC have really done a great job.”

Colin Turkington holds a 13-point advantage over Fabrizio Giovanardi ahead of the final three races of the season at Brands Hatch in two weeks time.