Giovanardi wants historic third title

The Vauxhall driver joined the ranks of back-to-back champions in 2008, but no-one has ever managed a consecutive hat-trick of BTCC crowns in the modern, single-class, era. The Italian would also be the first foreign driver to achieve the feat.

Giovanardi said he was focused more on his chance of a third title than on beating particular rivals this year.

"When the new season starts I don't want to think about one driver or another driver, I have respect for everyone," he said during an interview at Autosport International.

"I have the motivation to win a third title consecutively because nobody has done that in the past so it's a challenge for me. Obviously the other drivers can try to stop me... (which will be) hard work!"

The last man to pull off three straight titles was Andy Rouse in 1983 to 1985, when the BTCC was a multi-class category. Win Percy and Bill McGovern also have three consecutive championships to their names.

Giovanardi took only five race victories in 2008 compared to main rival Jason Plato's total of eight wins, but Giovanardi's consistent results allowed him to defend the points advantage he had built up early on, while Plato eventually fell to third in the standings.

"We won in the end I think because we understood the strategy in advance," Giovanardi added.

"We met a really strong driver and car in Jason and SEAT and it was a completely different approach to 2007. We knew we could not maybe compete for wins every race but we can beat them if we think about points, which is what we did."