Giovanardi beats Plato in race one
Fabrizio Giovanardi has won the first of today's three British Touring Car Championship races at Thruxton, bringing the gap to Jason Plato in the drivers' title down to five points
Plato, who started from fourth place, came home behind Giovanardi after getting past Vauxhall guest driver Alain Menu, who had a puncture, on the last lap.
In a drama-filled encounter, early race leader and pole-sitter Tom Chilton retired with a puncture - while Plato's SEAT teammate Darren Turner also had a tyre deflate, dropping him to the back of the field. The results meant that the drivers', teams' and manufacturers' titles are all still open..
Team Dynamics' Gordon Shedden came third, while Menu hung on to fourth.
Classified:
Pos Driver Car Time
1. Fabrizio Giovanardi Vauxhall 21:33.994
2. Jason Plato SEAT + 1.004
3. Gordon Shedden Honda + 5.204
4. Alain Menu Vauxhall + 5.662
5. Matt Neal Honda + 6.329
6. Colin Turkington BMW + 6.744
7. Mat Jackson BMW + 7.024
8. Tom Coronel SEAT + 13.417
9. Adam Jones SEAT + 18.206
10. Tom Onslow-Cole BMW + 18.555
11. Rob Collard SEAT + 24.479
12. Eoin Murray Alfa Romeo + 24.645
13. Paul O'Neill SEAT + 28.462
14. Jason Hughes MG + 33.962
15. Erkut Kizilirmak Vauxhall + 43.730
16. John George Honda + 49.223
17. Alan Taylor Honda + 55.717
18. Darren Turner SEAT +1:05.481
19. Fiona Leggate MG +1:11.838
Not classified/retirements:
Driver Car Laps
Matt Allison SEAT 15
Tom Chilton Vauxhall 13
Mike Jordan Honda 9
David Pinkney Alfa Romeo 7
Martyn Bell BMW 5
Rick Kerry BMW 5
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