Photo: BTCC Media

Rockingham race 2: Fabrizio doubles up

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Fabrizio Giovanardi made it two out of two as he won the second of today’s (Sunday) Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at the Rockingham circuit in Northamptonshire.

As in race one, Italian Giovanardi led all the way in Vauxhall’s Vectra to again stand on top of the podium.

Taking second place, his first BTCC podium result, was 19-year-old Team RAC BMW driver Tom Onslow-Cole (Kingston). He twice swapped places with Vauxhall’s Tom Chilton (Reigate) before making the position his own on the final lap. Chilton finished third.

Notably, Team Halfords’ reigning champion Matt Neal’s (Droitwich) Honda Civic crashed out of the race in a collision with Colin Turkington’s (Portadown) Team RAC BMW.

Heading into this afternoon’s third race of three, SEAT’s Jason Plato (Oxford), fifth in race two, leads the standings with 55 points but is now only six clear of Giovanardi.

With the top ten reversed, TH Motorsport Honda Integra driver John George will start race three from pole position ahead of Jason Hughes, in Kartworld Racing’s bio-ethanol-powered MG ZS. Third and fourth will be Dave Pinkney (A-Tech Alfa Romeo 156) and Matt Allison (Motorbase SEAT Toledo). Next up will be Darren Turner and Jason Plato (SEAT Leons), Mat Jackson (MSport BMW), Chilton, Onslow-Cole and Giovanardi