John Cleland's final visit to Knockhill as a BTCC regular may have been an emotional occasion for him and the 20,000 or so spectators that had turned out to see his swansong at the Fife circuit, but sadly there were no fairytale endings with Cleland on the 6th row for the feature race and 7th row for the sprint. Up at the sharp end of the grid there where a few suprises with the feature race pole claimed by Menu in the Mondeo with old team-mate Plato alongside in the Laguna. Thompson was back in 9th with a lot of work to do though the Honda challenge was strengthened by the appearance of Gabriele Tarquini, parachuted in from his German STW commitments. Tarquini showed his quality, out-qualifying his team-mates in both sessions.

In the sprint race Aiello converted his pole position to take his 8th win of the season. His win must have been sweetened further by the misfortune of his championship rivals. Leslie had an off-track excursion on the first lap and rejoined at the back before fighting his way back to 9th. For Thompson it was even worse, a clash with team-mate Kox resulting in 2/3 of the Honda entry pitting - Thompson finished a lap adrift. It wasn't all bad news for Honda with Tarquini claiming 2nd place 6 seconds adrift from Aiello. The improving Mondeos diced for the final step of the podium with Menu getting the better of Reid on lap 6.

Further down the road came Boullion and Rydell, the Volvo driver unable to repeat his Thruxton podium at this circuit. Meanwhile, Muller having somehow catapulted his Vectra from the 14th grid slot to 6th by the end of lap 1 was passed by Neal (mixing with the works boys yet again), Cleland and Leslie who was fighting hard to get back into the points after his 1st lap incident. The class win for Neal was enough to secure the Michelin Cup for Independents with 6 rounds still to go.

If, after the sprint race Aiello had thought that this was the week-end where he broke away from his rivals, he would be disappointed by the feature race. Again the pole sitter got away but this time it was Menu. Aiello was stuck behind the very wide Laguna of Plato. Jason had worked hard for his grid position and was determined to hang onto it in the race. A train of cars followed including Boullion in the second Laguna and Leslie, trying to stay out of trouble.

The absence of pitstops in the feature race meant that a good setup for tyre wear was crucial and Plato was soon struggling. Aiello, keen not to let Menu disappear over the horizon and fighting a rearguard action against Boullion became impatient. After 36 laps Aiello employed some hard-man tactics and Plato was punted off into the scenery. However, Aiello then made a mistake to drop to 6th and was subsequently excluded for his antics with Plato. Behind them Boullion too was losing grip with his Laguna allowing Kox to guide his Honda into 2nd.

James Thompson's weekend went from bad to worse. A clash with Matt Neal on the first lap saw both men out. It would now seem that only a minor miracle can save Thompson. Not so for Leslie who kept his head down and snapped up the final step on the podium when lack of grip forced Boullion wide. His sensible drive has kept his championship chances very much alive. Kox kept the Honda flag flying with his 2nd place while Tarquini managed 6th, despite 2 drive through penalties. Menu, must now be looking forward to Brands where he should be right on the pace.

The weekend must have been enjoyable for Nissan and their sponsors despite Aiello's indiscretion; Nissan claimed the Manufacturers Championship, a Nissan won the Michelin Cup and now the prospect of the drivers' championship for either of their men. The statistics look pretty convincing with 55% of the laps led, 12 race wins but maybe more significant, 25 podium finishes. Honda are bravely fighting on and after Tarquini's successful outing he may appear again at Brands. With Ford coming on strong the remaining races promise plenty of action. Nissan must be hoping that winning against such a field will be noted and punters will rush out to buy the new Primera. Next year with the news that Volvo and Renault will withdraw, things will be looking a little leaner for the BTCC...

Alex B

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