Rydell finally takes '99 victory

Reigning champion Rickard Rydell has promised much in recent races , and atCroft, he finally delivered. The Volvo S40 driver took his first win of theseason in the 30-lap Feature race, round 14 of the Auto Trader BritishTouring Car Championship.Second was James Thompson, the Honda Accord driver backing up his earlierwin. Third went to the Nissan Primera of championship leader LaurentAiello.Away from the start Thompson led from pole, followed by Rydell, Aiello andDavid Leslie in the second Nissan. Matt Neal was fifth, the leading Independentin his Nissan Primera.The top five stayed in close company over the opening laps, until Nissandecided to bring Aiello in for his pit-stop on lap 7, in an effort to gethim clear of traffic. Rydell followed two laps later, his team turning himround incredibly quickly.That proved to be the decisive move of the race; Thompson and Lesliestopped on lap 11, rejoining behind Rydell and Aiello respectively.Thompson spent the remainder of the race within a second of the Volvo,often taking a speculative look down the inside into the hairpin.But in the end, he settled for second place, aware that a move which tookboth himself and Rydell out would simply hand the win to Aiello.Leslie shadowed Aiello for the second part of the race, looking capable ofgoing quicker but holding station. In turn, Neal tracked the two worksNissans home for fifth.As with the first race, there were a number of cars travelling in closecompany, but precious few overtaking moves. While the sunny weather waswelcomed by the large crowd, maybe rain would have made for more excitingracing...Feature race result: