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Tom Onslow-Cole has won both
opening HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at the Thruxton circuit
in Hampshire today – twice profiteering when drivers ahead of him suffered
punctured tyres.
Vauxhall driver Onslow-Cole, who had
qualified on pole position, won the first race when early leader Gordon
Shedden’s Team Halfords Honda picked up a puncture and needed to make a pit stop
for a tyre change.
Finishing second was Colin Turkington’s Team RAC BMW
320si and third Jason Plato’s SEAT Leon TDI. But Plato was later disqualified
after his car failed a post-race ride height check – this handing the final
podium position to his arch rival, Vauxhall’s Fabrizio Giovanardi.
There
was then high drama in race two. Turkington led from the start but was overtaken
for the lead by Giovanardi’s Vectra VXR.
Giovanardi, the reigning champion,
looked certain to win and extend his championship lead over nearest rival Plato
who was fighting his way back through the field, but with just one corner to
go the Italian's car also suffered a puncture and ran off the track at high
speed.
The
following Onslow-Cole, who this weekend is celebrating his 21st
birthday, swept past to make it two wins out of two races. A dejected Giovanardi
managed to crawl across the line in tenth.
As a
result Onslow-Cole has suddenly leapt up to second in the standings behind
Giovanardi with this afternoon’s third race at 4.40pm still to
go.
Meanwhile, Turkington again took the runner-up spot in race two ahead
of Vauxhall’s Matt Neal.
Result,
Thruxton BTCC race 1 (provisional):
1. Tom
Onslow-Cole (GBR), VX Racing/Vauxhall Vectra VXR, 18 laps in
21m34.274s
2.
Colin Turkington (GBR), Team RAC/BMW 320si, +2.937s
3. Fabrizio Giovanardi
(GBR), VX Racing/Vauxhall Vectra VXR, +4.262s
Fastest
lap: Onslow-Cole, 1m18.883s (107.52mph)
Result, Thruxton BTCC race 2 (provisional):
1.
Tom Onslow-Cole (GBR), VX Racing/Vauxhall Vectra VXR, 19 laps in
27m58.042s
2.
Colin Turkington (GBR), Team RAC/BMW 320si, +0.518s
3. Matt Neal (GBR), VX
Racing/Vauxhall Vectra VXR, +0.854s
Fastest lap:
Giovanardi, 1m19.007s (107.35mph)
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