Skip advert
Advertisement

BTCC Rockingham report

Turkington leads but Plato and Giovanardi can still win title after penultimate round

The end of the 2009 British Touring Cars season is just one round away after a dramatic ninth trio of races took place at Rockingham.

The sun was beating down as monster trucks, dirt bikes and a spitfire entertained the crowds, but all the real excitement was on track as the battle for this year’s drivers’ title nears its climax.

Advertisement - Article continues below

And it’s Team RAC’s Northern Irish driver Colin Turkington who remains the championship leader, but experienced Touring Car pilots Jason Plato and Fabrizio Giovanardi are breathing down his neck and still able to catch up.

It was Turkington’s teammate, Stephen Jelley, who grabbed the headlines at Rockingham, though. He triumphed in races one and three, picking up his first two BTCC wins and becoming the 2009 season’s eighth different race victor at the same time.

He finished ahead of Chevrolet drivers Plato (2nd) and Mat Jackson (3rd) in race one, the pair then moving up a place each to do a race two 1-2. Giovanardi completed the day’s second podium to make his move on Turkington’s title bid.

Race three saw his advantage relinquished, though, finishing 11th (compared to Turkington’s 4th) after clashes with ex-F1 driver Johnny Herbert left his Vauxhall Vectra wounded.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Advertisement - Article continues below

The Italian launched a verbal attack on Herbert afterwards – ‘I was clawing back the points in the first two races and in the third it was looking good, but then Herbert ruined it all. He’s a guest driver, he’s not involved in the championship, so I don’t know why he had to smash into me, many times. After that, my car was completely destroyed. It is frustrating when it happens like that, but when you lose out like that to unprofessional driving it makes it all the more difficult.’

Advertisement - Article continues below

Turkington had survived an altercation with Plato’s Lacetti to finish just outside the top three and go into the final three races at Brands Hatch with the BTCC championship his to lose – ‘For a moment in race three it looked like I’d be leaving Rockingham no longer the leader – it was a bit of a heart-in-mouth moment in the incident with Jason as the outcome could have been very different. But this time a bit of luck was with me while it was Jason’s and Fabrizio’s turn to suffer a bit of misfortune. So now this is it – just the final hurdle to clear but it’s a very high hurdle. Jason and Fabrizio are world class drivers so I’ll need to be at the top of my game to keep them where they are.’

October 4 2009 sees the BTCC season reach a doubtless dramatic climax, and you can bag yourself VIP tickets to attend. Click here to enter our competition.

Rockingham ResultsRace 11    Stephen Jelley                BMW 320si2    Jason Plato                    Chevrolet Lacetti3    Mat Jackson                   Chevrolet Lacetti

Race 21    Jason Plato                    Chevrolet Lacetti2    Mat Jackson                   Chevrolet Lacetti3    Fabrizio Giovanardi         Vauxhall Vectra

Race 31    Stephen Jelley               BMW 320si2    Andrew Jordan               Vauxhall Vectra3    Tom Chilton                   Ford Focus ST

Drivers’ Standings after Rockingham (Round 9)1    Colin Turkington               249 points2    Fabrizio Giovanardi           2363    Jason Plato                      2214    Mat Jackson                     1655    Matt Neal                         153

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

If F1 had no rules: the car with five outright hillclimb records – car pictures of the week
Gould GR59
Features

If F1 had no rules: the car with five outright hillclimb records – car pictures of the week

In issue 336 of evo Magazine, we had an audience with the Gould GR59, a dominant hillclimb car with five records to its name. These are our favourite …
23 Aug 2025
Aston Martin Vantage (2006) Fast Fleet test – living with a £30k V8 Aston
evo Fast Fleet Aston Martin Vantage
Long term tests

Aston Martin Vantage (2006) Fast Fleet test – living with a £30k V8 Aston

How much does an early V8 Vantage really cost to run? We’re starting to find out
21 Aug 2025
The origins of the Jaguar F-type with the men that made it happen
F Type podcast
Features

The origins of the Jaguar F-type with the men that made it happen

The Jaguar F-type was a sports car 40 years in the making. We reunite the team that made it a reality, which includes our very own co-founder and edit…
22 Aug 2025