4) 2007 – Giovanardi from under Plato’s nose
The 2007 championship was a story of two drivers – Fabrizio Giovanardi and Jason Plato. Plato had led the way all season, but the SEAT driver soon came under fire from Vauxhall’s Giovanardi in the now up-to-speed Vectra who closed the gap to just nine points.
Plato was also hindered not just by the penalty ballast around Thruxton’s power-friendly layout, but also further by burns suffered in a fire during a road test of a Caparo T1 for TV show Fifth Gear.
Plato fought on grimly however, qualifying a row behind second place starter Giovanardi for the first race. The scenario was strong for Vauxhall with pole-sitter Tom Chilton and super-sub addition Alain Menu making it a sweep for the Vectras at the front.
Race one went to plan for the Triple Eight squad, until the closing laps when punctures suddenly hit several cars down the field, the most dramatic being Chilton and Menu who both suffered, Giovanardi not so as he won to grab the advantage while Plato salvaged second.
Race two was a fierce contest between the pair, Matt Neal’s Halfords Honda Civic joining the fight as the two title rivals got physical with each other at times. Plato tried a lunge on the Vauxhall at the complex which ended in contact, both taking to the grass and returning with Giovanardi still ahead. Giovanardi won that race also, and Plato had to fight back in the final race showdown.
A mega start from the Italian gave Plato a problem however, and he was forced to fight his way by Menu on a messy first lap while Giovanardi was seemingly waved through by Neal, who it transpired would become his team-mate the following season.
Neal also allowed Chilton through without much of a fight, but Plato’s task was harder. He eventually bumped Neal wide in his bid to close back to his title rival, receiving a touch of his own at the end of the lap where he spent the final few laps trying to force his way by Chilton to get to the rear bumper of his rival after a spin for second place man Colin Turkington distracted the opposition at the chicane.
His last ditch attempts would be invalid however, and he was to be left a gutted but valiant loser as Giovanardi drove a fine race to second place when it mattered to seal a maiden title in just his second season in BTCC by a mere three points.