MotorSportVoice - 2008 - BTCC

With an eventful round at Thruxton seeing the championship tighten up, the North Yorkshire circuit of Croft provided the setting for Round Five of the British Touring Car Championship. Jason Plato had sounded out his intentions to hunt down championship leader Farbrizio Giovanardi, in a role reversal from this point last year.

The qualifying session proved to substantiate Plato’s intentions, as he claimed third spot on the grid, with the Italian Giovanardi only managing a lowly twelfth. Plato’s SEAT Sport team mate, Darren Turner, took the pole position, despite a last gasp lunge from Gordon Shedden, who took second at the death after struggling for the majority of the session.

The first race saw championship challenger Jason Plato suffer in the freak weather conditions. As heavy rain fell upon the North Yorkshire circuit, Plato left the track on his way out from the pits to the grid, and ended up starting from the back of the grid. Mat Jackson enjoyed a good start, as Gordon Shedden passed Darren Turner for first as the pack reached the first turn. Things got worse for Turner as Jackson made contact, forcing him into a slide and pushing him further down the pack. Motorbase driver Steven Kane spun on the slippery track, but rejoined. Turner slipped back further as he made an excursion to the cornfield. Gordon Shedden was leading from Mat Jackson, but Jackson was pushing hard. Further back in the field, Tom Onslow-Cole passed Tom Chilton, as Giovanardi had moved up to eighth. Jackson managed to pass Shedden, on the run from Tower to the Jim Clark Esses. Stephen Jelley went off the track and hit the wall, and as the marshals were tending to his stricken car, Alan Taylor lost control and collided with Jelley’s car, causing the marshals to sustain some injuries. Race control elected to end the race at this point, and the red flag was displayed around the circuit. The marshals who were injured were later said to be suffering from minor injuries. The restart of the race saw Jackson pass Shedden again, as Giovanardi got past Rob Collard. The conditions had deteriorated in the stoppage, and the track was more like a river than a racing circuit. Mat Jackson went deep into the cornfield where Turner had gone earlier, Tom Chilton soon joined him and then Tom Onslow-Cole also made the excursion. Jackson and Onslow-Cole rejoined but Chilton’s car was stuck in the gravel, and he was forced to retire. Colin Turkington was pushing Gordon Shedden into the final corner, and Shedden went wide, allowing Turkington through. As the pack crossed the line, they were picked up by the safety car, which had been deployed in the reality that conditions were atrocious on track. Soon into the safety car period, the race was red flagged again, this time a result was called, and the race was over. Despite a mere two laps of the restart, the race was declared with Turkington as the winner, Matt Neal in second and Gordon Shedden in third. It was some time before the organisers announced the points, and in the event there was some uncertainty over there would be any, half or full points would be awarded. The decision was announced with full points, and the classified results showed Turkington having won and claimed full points after a two-lap race.

Racing was halted at Croft immediately after the first BTCC race had ended early, due to treacherous weather conditions. It was sometime before the support races and the BTCC got underway again.

The second race started on a damp track, with Colin Turkington starting from pole position. Turkington got away well, Gordon Shedden passed Matt Neal and Rob Collard passed Fabrizio Giovanardi, and almost made it passed Neal as well. John George had a massive spin, which only luck saved there being a bigger incident, as the following cars negotiated their way around the ailing independent driver. Fresh from his points scoring outing, young Scotsman Michael Doyle made an excursion to the crops that so many BTCC racers had found refuge in so far this weekend. Matt Neal set Gordon Shedden up to make a pass, and as he did, the pair made contact. Shedden speared off into the wall at speed, and the safety car was immediately deployed. It was a somewhat hasty, but understandable decision, as Shedden got the car started and moved it to a safe location. The safety car was called in after one lap. As the fifth lap started, the race distance was increased to sixteen laps due to the safety car intervention. In an interview after the incident, Shedden stated that “…it didn’t need to happen…” and that “…there was room for two cars…”, Matt Neal later stated that under steering out of the bend caused the contact and that it was not intentional in anyway. Turkington managed the restart well, as Chris Stockton followed in the tradition of the day, and visited the cornfield. Andrew Jordan slid wide and spun, but his phenomenal car control was demonstrated as he gathered it and rejoined the race. Mat Jackson was now in ninth place after starting from eighteenth, and he was pushing former BTCC champion Jason Plato. He eventually passed Plato, and then set his sights on Adam Jones, but unlike the others that Jackson had passed, Jones put up a fight and held off Jackson for a number of laps, but the inevitable happened, and Jackson made his move stick. Steven Kane overtook Giovanardi, as Jackson’s relentless pursuit or the race leaders continued as he successfully passed Mike Jordan and Giovanardi. Mike Jordan and Fabrizio Giovanardi were enjoying an intense battle, and Jordan emerged in front. Jackson moved further up the field with a pass on Steven Kane and Matt Neal to take him to second place. Giovanardi retook his position from Mike Jordan, and then got passed Steven Kane again. The final lap saw Jackson give his all to try and take the race win, and he was nearly gifted it, as with only a few corners to go a mistake from the race leader Turkington, saw his Team RAC BMW get sideways, but he gathered it well and took the race win. The driving by Mat Jackson to come from so far back to almost take the race win was nothing short of brilliant. Jackson has been involved in some contentious incidents over the past two seasons, involving contact with others, but his performance in the second race was clean and perfect.

As per usual, the winner of the second race draws the number to determine the number of grid places that are reversed for the final race of the round. Colin Turkington drew number seven, which meant the front three would be Mike Jordan, Adam Jones and Fabrizio Giovanardi.

The track was nearly completely dry for the final race, with a dry racing line and damp patches of the line. Off the start, Rob Collard jumped into first place, showing the fine starting credentials of the rear wheel drive BMW. Mat Jackson jumped up as well, but Jordan managed to regain the position off him, as Jackson took a trip into the gravel. Fabrizio Giovanardi took second and then soon passed Rob Collard for first. John George had a massive shunt, which saw him hit the wall and do significant damage to the front of his Honda Integra; the safety car was deployed whilst his car was tended to. As the pack was rounding the last corner to be picked up by the safety car, Jason Plato tried to pass Colin Turkington, and the resultant wheel-to-wheel contact caused Plato’s car to go slightly airborne, and seemingly damage the steering alignment from thereon in. The safety car was called in on lap six, and Giovanardi restarted well. Mat Jackson’s lunge pass attempt on Darren Turner, saw the unfortunate SEAT Sport driver retire in the gravel, but Jackson continued. Rob Collard ran wide and lost places. Matt Neal and Mike Jordan were battling, as Jordan ran wide and allowed Neal through. Soon afterwards, Jordan again ran wide. Giovanardi was clear in front as the final lap began. A mistake from Tom Onslow-Cole allowed Gordon Shedden to pass him for sixth, but it was the 2007 champion, Fabrizio Giovanardi who took the win. Adam Jones, Matt Neal, Tom Chilton and Mat Jackson followed him.

It was a weekend to forget for SEAT who had shown so much promise, but luck was clearly not with them.

The BTCC now enjoys its mid-season break, with a six-week gap to the next round at the Norfolk circuit of Snetterton, from the 11th to 13th July 2008.