Fresh from his first win of the season, Giovanardi then took a first pole at
Thruxton as the high-speed Hampshire venue played host to round three and he converted it into victory in the opening race – although only just after an engine warning light came on on the Vectra in the closing stages. Indeed, the Italian was forced to park the car shortly after crossing the line ahead of Plato and Turner. That was only after a last lap puncture for Mike Jordan however that dropped him from a fine second place down to tenth - one point being little reward for a battling drive.
As was the case at Rockingham, Giovanardi doubled up in race two and was able to close the gap in the points to Plato after the SEAT ace could only finish sixth. That came after he was given a drive-through penalty for having a mechanic on the grid after the allowed time when his car didn't want to start prior to the race, although a heavy accident involving his team-mate Turner and Motorbase's Matt Allison led to a Safety Car period that allowed Plato catch up with the pack. Behind Giovanardi, it was Neal and Chilton who completed the podium ahead of Jordan and Turkington – the RAC man having led early on before the tyres on his
BMW went away from him and he slipped back.
In race three, Plato ensured he would remain on top of the standings as he took victory after chasing down and passing early leader Dave Pinkney – the Luton Town Chairman having been given pole thanks to the reverse grid rules. Gordon Shedden and Jordan completed the podium ahead of Giovanardi – with the Italian having now closed the gap at the top of the standings to nine points heading to
Croft.
The annual trip to the North East saw a number of firsts, which included Shedden putting the Civic on top of the grid for the first time in qualifying as the Scot edged out Turkington and Turner for top spot. Title rivals Giovanardi and Plato could only manage fifth and eighth which set up an interesting weekend of racing as Croft celebrated ten years on the BTCC calendar.
