Fabrizio Giovanardi takes the fight

VX Racing’s Fabrizio Giovanardi takes the fight for 2007 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Driver’s Championship (BTCC) to the final race weekend of the season following a strong performance at the Scottish circuit of Knockhill.

An exceptional drive from the Italian in race one saw him overtake title-rival Plato for fourth position but his efforts were thwarted when BMW’s Tom Onslow-Cole tried an over-ambitious manoeuvre coming into Carlube, sending the Vauxhall Vectra into a spin.

Masterful Giovanardi kept his Vauxhall Vectra on track but his championship rival, Plato, passed him. Plato’s team-mate Darren Turner took the chequered flag to score his first of two wins today. VX Racing’s Tom Chilton retired due to damage caused by an incident with Mike Jordan’s Honda Integra.

Onslow-Cole was later disqualified from the race, meaning Giovanardi scored one more point.

A determined Giovanardi made two places off the start in race two and began to set his sights on SEAT’s Plato in third position. Giovanardi pulled out all the stops in his Vauxhall Vectra to pass the SEAT driver into the first corner on lap 11. Plato finished in fifth place behind Gordon Shedden who kept the pressure on Giovanardi for third place until the last lap.

Tom Chilton, meanwhile, narrowly missed out on a championship point, finishing in 11th place. Race one winner Turner bought his SEAT home in first place once again.

The final race of the day saw the VX Racing team aiming for another podium. Starting in sixth position on the grid Giovanardi expertly took fifth place from Adam Jones’ SEAT Toledo going into lap six. Giovanardi then challenged Jordan’s Honda Integra for fourth place and, despite carrying substantial “success ballast”, finished fifth.

A troubled weekend for team-mate Tom Chilton ended with a retirement in race three following accident damage to his Vauxhall Vectra just three laps from the end of the race.

Knockhill local Gordon Shedden achieved an emotional win, with fellow Honda Civic driver Matt Neal taking the second step on the podium. Giovanardi’s title rival Plato could not catch Neal for second and finished in third position.

The all three of the BTCC titles will now be decided when the championship returns to Thruxton on the 14th October for the final three rounds of the season. With 51 points in the drivers championship left to fight for Giovanardi is confident that he will be able to overcome Plato’s nine point lead. Though SEAT was strong at Knockhill, VX Racing’s Vauxhall Vectra is well-suited to Thruxton and it is expected that the team will be able to fight-back during the next weekend.

Fabrizio Giovanardi #5
“I was having such a good first race and I don’t know why Onslow-Cole just ruined it. I am aiming for the championship and he isn’t, so I don’t know what he was doing.

“Race two was really hard but the Vectra was a really good car today. I had to push a lot to keep Gordon (Shedden) behind me, it was a tough, but clean, fight.

“There are 51 points up for grabs at Thruxton and I’m confident we can fight back. Thruxton has always been a good circuit for Vauxhall and we have won the most races there.”

Tom Chilton #7
“The incident in the first race basically spoilt my second race. In the final race I slowed down for yellow flags but lost grip and hit a tyre barrier. The accident damaged my car and I retired.

“I have had a disappointing weekend but hope that I can score more points at Thruxton to support VX Racing’s title chase.”