Fabrizio Giovanardi fought back from his poor start to the season at Brands Hatch three weeks ago, taking Pole for Sundays 1st race in the British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton. Teamate Matt Neal (above) despite carrying maximum championship success ballast as series leader, will be alongside the Italian on the front row.
Thruxton always has suited the VXR Vectras and today was no different as all three filled spots in the top four with the only interloper being Jason Plato in his Silverline Racing Cheverolet Lacetti who lines up in third... [read more]
Giovanardi (below) took only his second BTCC career pole the hard way, after a fair sized collision with Stephen Jelley in the second free practice session and with his car hastily repaired, he managed pole with just one flying lap. Quite a performance but will the lost set-up time count against him tomorrow as Thruxton is always marginal on tyres and finding a balance between ultimate speed and tyre wear is always an issue.
Matt Neal was very buoyant after lining up alongside the Italian, knowing full well that he is running heavy and determined to carry on with his great start to the season.
Pleasing his legions of British fans, Jason Plato (Below) managed to secure the extra backing needed for the rest of the season this week and showed great pace once again, taking the third spot from Andrew Jordan late in the session to prevent a Vauxhall 1-2-3. Certainly the RML Cheverolet has a strong engine which round Thruxton's wide open spaces should be an advantage.
Performance of the day was Paul O'Neil (below), who on his return to the series after a long lay off period, placed his Tech Speed Honda Integra on the 3rd row. Paul, the brother of Spice Girl Mel C., was solidly in the top ten in the second free practice and carried over that form magnificently in the afternoon. The Integra, although three years old, suits Thruxton very well due to its aerodynamic shape, and is the only coupe in the field. Back in 2005 at Thruxton, Dan Eaves, driving a Team Dynamics Integra became the only man ever to win all three races in one day.
Series returnee and twice BTCC Champion, James Thompson (below) who has replaced Gordon Shedden at Team Dynamics, will start Sunday's race from the 4th row after a reasonable showing in the Honda Civic. Thompson, who raced both Alfa Romeo and Honda's for N-Tecnology in the World Touring Car Championship for the last few years, is a very welcome returnee to the series and should have the Civic towards the front within a few rounds.
Adam Jones (Below) in his Seat Leon enjoyed a better qualifying session than at the opening rounds lining up in seventh place only 4 tenths away from the third place Vauxhall.
Quickest BMW was Colin Turkington (below) in fifth place for WSR. Colin ended both free practice sessions in second place but couldn't quite replicate that in the hotter afternoon qualifying. The BMW as always will have the advantage off the line and the BMW will be aiming for any gaps on the run to Allard.
Qualifying Result Top Ten:
01. Fabrizio Giovanardi
02. Matt Neal
03. Jason Plato
04. Andrew Jordan
05. Colin Turkington
06. Paul O'Neil
07. Adam Jones
08. James Thompson
09. Dan Eaves
10. Matt Jackson
Stay Tuned to CTD for all the race action from Thruxton!
Photo/Editorial: Neil Tozer
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