Silverstone 1: Larini inherits victory

Volvo's Rickard Rydell bust through to lead from the second row of the grid as the Alfas of Giovanardi and Larini bogged down, with Jorg Muller's BMW grabbing second from Tom Ferrier's Alfa. Ferrier spun off at Becketts, taking out the BMWs of Peter Kox and Jordi Gene.

Giovanardi grabbed second from Jorg Muller at Woodcote and chased down Rydell. He lost time with a slide at Priory when poised to pounce on lap 3, while Dirk Muller passed team-mate Jorg Muller for third at Abbey.

It didn't take long for Giovanardi to catch Rydell again and he slipped past as Rydell missed a gear on the exit of Abbey, dropping him to fifth. Giovanardi wasn't allowed to cruise home, however, as Dirk Muller went on the offensive - quite literally.

Muller lunged for the lead at Abbey, punting himself and Giovanardi up in the air and allowing Larini to sneak past to become the race's third and final leader. Giovanardi just held second, well clear of Jorg Muller, who had a rejuvenated Rydell to cope with on the final lap, with Dirk Muller coming home fifth.


1 Nicola Larini, Nordauto Alfa Romeo 156, 10 laps
2 Fabrizio Giovanardi, Nordauto Alfa Romeo 156, +1.259s
3 Jorg Muller, Schnitzer BMW 320, +2.463s
4 Rickard Rydell, Prodrive Volvo S60, +2.689s
5 Dirk Muller, Schnitzer BMW 320I, +3.335s
6 Paolo Ruberti, AGS Alfa Romeo, +11.330s