Last time the British Touring Car Championship visited Thruxton (03 May) Volvo's Rickard Rydell qualified on pole position for both races. He did again last week.... The Volvo S40 is certainly doing something right at this circuit, even if the Nissans seem to have the best overall package. Next up on the grid is the very same Primeras. Leslie and Aiello took it in turns to start alongside Rydell. Radermecker, in the second Volvo qualified 5th and 4th for rounds 17 and 18 respectively. James Thompson proved to be quick as well, with Matt Neal not very far behind him. This still amazes me - an independent mixing it with the big-budget works teams.

As the lights went green for the sprint race Aiello surged past Rickard Rydell, making a bad start with too much wheel spin. James Thompson was flying in his Honda Accord and soon overtook David Leslie for third place. Vincent Radermecker followed Thompson through into 4th in the very impressive Volvo S40. Aiello might have hoped to pull away from Rickard Rydell, but the Volvo proved to be the Nissan's equal. The pair, separated by less than a second, pulled away from a dramatic fight for third place.

Thompson's initial speed seemed to evaporate, allowing Vincent Radermecker through to claim the third podium finish of his debut season in BTCC. Half way through the race, Leslie re-took his position from Thompson also. James ended up in only 7th place, beaten by Matt Neal in his Nissan Primera.

The surprise of the first race was Will Hoy. Although Hoy is a very experienced BTCC veteran, he is running in a privately funded Renault Laguna, which up until now did not feature above the bottom of the grid. Hoy was caught up in the middle of a battle between Jean-Christophe Boullion and Alain Menu (Ford Mondeo). He was overtaken by both, but recovered and passed the works Renault again and on the last corner of the race reclaimed 10th place from Menu. A fantastic drive from Will.

The feature race went altogether differently, even if a Nissan and Volvo headed the field. Rydell, still in pole position, made a better start, but the Nissans were as lightning off the line. Both Primeras and the Volvo S40 piled into the first corner. Rydell held his nerve though and his position. Leslie slotted in behind Aiello. Things looked steady for Rydell until his engine expired, handing the lead to Aiello.

Before this happened, James Thompson was nudged from behind by Matt Neal. This sent the Accord into a spin, collecting his team mate Peter Kox. Thompson was out, but Kox was able to continue to finish 9th. The safety car was deployed as things were cleaned up. When racing resumed, the pit-stop window was open. Laurent Aiello pitted on lap 14. The team did an excellent stop but, on leaving his garage, Aiello cut across the path of Radermecker's Volvo, incurring a drive-through penalty. Aiello then was found to speed on his drive-through penalty and so had to repeat the exercise. The Frenchman had to be content with 5th place.

David Leslie took the opportunity to decrease the gap between him and Aiello in the championship by soaring ahead into the lead. He finished 16 seconds ahead of second-placed Radermecker! Alain Menu filled the final podium place after a superb charge through the field. Will Hoy gained some more valuable points with a fine 8th place.

After a dismal weekend (12th place and an early retirement) John Cleland announced his retirement from BTCC at the end of the season. Read the full report on that here....

Designed & maintained by caint.com