Fabrizio Giovanardi has further closed the gap to
Jason Plato after securing victory in the 22nd round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at
Brands Hatch.
In a race that saw one of the biggest accidents the championship has seen in recent seasons, the Italian came home ahead of title rival Plato and the second SEAT of Darren Turner – although only 13 cars were running at the finish from the 24 that had lined up on the grid little more than an hour earlier.
At the first start,
Mat Jackson blasted away from sixth on the grid to fight Darren Turner for third place into Paddock Hill Bend, trying to run his BMW around the outside of the SEAT through the right-hander. However, as soon as Jackson touched the kerb, he was powerless to stop the car going into a spin which sent him back across the front of the field.
For a split second it looked like everyone would avoid the white BMW, but defending champion
Matt Neal could do nothing to avoid hitting Jackson's spinning car and came to a virtual halt on the circuit. With the spray kicked up by the leading cars, the field behind were unsighted about what lay ahead, and the A-Tech Alfa Romeo of Dave Pinkney slammed into the rear of the Honda at full race speed – spearing left across the circuit and wiping out a number of other cars.
When the dust settled, no fewer than eleven cars were left parked on the circuit, with the Motorbase Performance SEAT of Tom Ferrier and the Kartworld MG of Fiona Leggate up against the barrier on the inside after running into Jackson's
BMW. Eoin Murray and Martyn Bell were both past the stricken Honda of Neal but in the wall, while behind the blocked track, Jason Hughes, John George, Rick Kerry and Richard Marsh had been caught up in the incident.
