BTCC 2000 - Knockhill - Race 2
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00:00For Honda's Gabriele Tarquini, this is a case of trying to win the race, take two.
00:04Remember in the first race, he got caught out by the dreaded first corner duffer stip
00:08and also caught out by a little bit of ant and he reads rear bumper as well.
00:11Well this time, he's in an ideal position because he's on pole.
00:14Now all he's got to do is make pole position stick.
00:18Now, talking of making things stick, it is an absolutely glorious day here today.
00:22The sun's out, the crowds are out in force and they are just loving the conditions.
00:26But Waddy, I don't know whether the tyres are going to love the conditions
00:29because it's hot as Texas out here.
00:31And remember, this is the 40 lap of the long race and they're not even planning to pit.
00:36Left front tyre is going to be the bogie tyre, but for Tarquini on pole position,
00:41he should have the easiest job of the afternoon.
00:43Alongside him, Alain Meunier in the first of the Fords.
00:47And on row two, we see James Thompson along with team mate,
00:50I'll say it again, team mate, Tom Christensen.
00:53Independent, Matt Neal on row three and Ricard Rydell alongside.
00:56And again, two Vauxhalls, this time Muller and Rademacher.
00:59Reid's back in row five with Jason Plato.
01:02Independent, Colin Blair and class B leader, Morrison on row six.
01:07Lemmer and Kay make up row seven in their Integra R Hondas.
01:11Revs are up again, Tarquini in pole position.
01:13Away well, there's Menuh right alongside him.
01:17Look at Rydell, jumps off the line. I don't know what he's on today.
01:19Another flying start from Rydell, but further down the pack.
01:22Tarquini holds on to the lead. Menuh is really looking closely at him.
01:26That's Rydell side by side with the second of the Hondas.
01:30On board with Christensen now. There is Rydell.
01:32He's just slithered past us and held on to that spot.
01:34One after the other, kicking up the dust.
01:36And it's Tarquini held on to the lead.
01:38Honda, Ford and Honda.
01:41Tarquini, Menuh, then it's Thompson, then Rydell.
01:44I think Christensen right in behind them.
01:47Thompson, I think, just running a little bit wide there over Clark
01:50as they go down the back straight for the first time.
01:52There's Rydell. He made an absolute blinder of a start from midfield.
01:55Matt Neal fading to the inside, seeing if he can pick up a place.
01:58There's Muller moving on to the back of Neal's car.
02:02Trying to pick up some spots. Anthony Reid further back in the back.
02:04And there's Colin Blair. He's pretty much in touch with people this weekend.
02:08Up and over the strike for the first time.
02:10And it's still Tarquini in the lead.
02:13Plenty of pace. There's Tom Christensen darting around,
02:16seeing if he can pick up position. And Plato's off.
02:19And that's done at the hairpin bend, Jason.
02:21Plato has either driven off or has been hunted off.
02:24Now you can see the damage on the left rear corner, of course.
02:27No doughnuts from a front-wheel drive turning car.
02:29Incredibly difficult to turn around.
02:31They've got a turning circle about three postcodes long, actually.
02:34He'll be backing and filling for half a lap,
02:36trying to get that thing facing the right way.
02:38Meantime, Tarquini's car is sure facing the right way.
02:40And I reckon he's opening up a little bit of a gap.
02:42Here's Rydell in fourth place.
02:44Now ahead of us is James Thompson.
02:51Hanging all the way down through those gears.
02:53Honda, Ford, Honda, Ford.
02:55Honda, and then Matt Neil in sixth position.
02:58The lead independent. And look, Tom Christensen starting to move up.
03:01Really quite close to Rydell.
03:06Christensen on the left-hand side of your screen, darting around.
03:09He's really on a charge this weekend.
03:11Well, certainly he did a great job in the sprint race.
03:13But further down the grid for this feature race,
03:15of course, the trouble is getting past.
03:17Now here are these two boys again, Lema and Morrison.
03:19And once again, Waddy.
03:21Morrison straight ahead on power up the hill.
03:24Yes, he knows, but this time he uses the car and the track to his advantage.
03:27He doesn't offer Lema the opportunity to run down the inside
03:30because he's on the inside of the track.
03:32Mark Lema fighting back, though. This ain't over yet.
03:34No, that was very close.
03:36Squirming as they go up and over the chicane.
03:38There's James Kaye in the third of the Class B cars.
03:41Now we're on board with Anthony Reid in P9.
03:43We're heading down the back straight towards the hairpin.
03:47Big lunge down the brakes.
03:49Huge pass.
03:50Very, very good pass. Well thought out.
03:52Even better executed.
03:53And just seemed to catch the field napping.
03:56Very strong start from Anthony Reid.
03:58Back at the leaders.
03:59Tarquini, Menuhin, Thompson. We can see that.
04:01Now there's Christensen. He's really on jumping beans this weekend.
04:04This car moving left and right.
04:06Trying to pick up position the whole time as he goes up and over the hill.
04:09And down into Duffers. There's Rydell.
04:12Great start from him. Picked up position.
04:14That helped a lot. And he's still very much in touch with this lead group.
04:17Fourth place.
04:19On board with Rydell now.
04:21Thompson up ahead.
04:26They really carry some speed through that right-hander.
04:28Yeah, Clark is very important because it leads onto the second quickest part of the track.
04:32That's where you saw Reid dive down the inside.
04:34But very difficult to do. You've got an advantage.
04:37Let's watch Reid this time.
04:40Unbelievable stuff. Deja vu.
04:42Great stuff from Anthony Reid.
04:44Slides down there like a greased piglet.
04:46Straight past yet another Vauxhall.
04:47Well, he makes it look so easy.
04:49Nobody's been passing here all afternoon.
04:50Suddenly, Reid pulls it out of the bag twice.
04:53Very forceful. Brilliant to watch.
04:55And there is the man coming over the crest of the hill with a pair of Vauxhalls now behind him.
04:59They're the boys that he's surprised.
05:01Remember, Jason Plato is way off in the distance having those problems on the opening lap.
05:05And as annoyed Ivan Muller, he is using kerbs and kerbs more.
05:09Trying to catch up that spot again.
05:10It's the counter-track Ivan Muller thrives on.
05:13Drive off the track more than you're honoured and keep the car pointing in some kind of direction.
05:17Preferably forward.
05:18Yeah, it's only sort of an approximation with all the black stuff, isn't it?
05:21But he's loosely heading in the right direction.
05:23And ahead of us is Anthony Reid.
05:26Who's trying to now come on to terms with Matt Neil, the lead independent.
05:33Very close in these opening laps there is Anthony Reid.
05:35Just not close enough to Matt Neil to try that manoeuvre again.
05:38No, it seemed too easy to me to get past Muller and Plato.
05:42Matt Neil, that little bit of extra speed at that part of track
05:44may be going to make it a bit more difficult now for Anthony Reid.
05:52On board with Reidy.
05:59Very physical track.
06:01Again, look, Reid runs wide, comes through McIntyre.
06:04That's the pressure on that left front tyre.
06:06You work it too hard early in the race, you can tyre the tyre out.
06:12Big right-hander coming up here.
06:18The track really just comes up at you, doesn't it?
06:21Most of the apexes you don't see, so you aim the car
06:24and you hope that when you hit the kerb, the launch that you get off it
06:27gets you back on track.
06:29Now Tarquini, here he is back at the front.
06:33Looks as though he's controlling the pace pretty comfortably.
06:36Tarquini really is in control.
06:38There's no real pressure from Menuh.
06:39Menuh's sitting there watching Tarquini.
06:41But it's really Tarquini's race at this time.
06:44At a racetrack which has become the boogie circuit for Tarquini.
06:47So let's hope it stays the right way up this afternoon.
06:50Had a huge accident, Tarquini, in an Alfa Romeo a few years ago here.
06:54One of the most spectacular crashes in touring cars.
06:57Every time they go over the top of that chicane, it feels like a crash.
07:00The car absolutely launching.
07:02They're riding with Menuh.
07:05There is Tarquini, the leader ahead of us.
07:06Now, maybe he's got to make sure he doesn't overcook it too early, hasn't he?
07:10And he looks like he's very comfortable in this position.
07:12He's not putting pressure onto Tarquini at the minute.
07:14Remember, no pit stops in this race.
07:16So he's got to conserve his tyres to give him the chance that towards the end,
07:20when he wants to launch an attack, he will be in good shape for so.
07:2440 laps this race.
07:27Now, he's carrying weight, but the Ford doesn't look too shabby going back up that hill.
07:32Ford is such an improved car this year.
07:35Big improvement in engine performance and in chassis performance.
07:38And Menuh, the fittest driver out there by a country mile.
07:42Tarquini will be very pleased that he's actually driving around.
07:45Remember, off in the first lap, right at that last set of corners we were looking at.
07:49Only a lap ago, this is Jason Plato.
07:53Working his way back up through the field, just passing Mark Lemmon.
08:01Now, here's what happened to Jason Plato.
08:05Well, very clearly, that is Colin Blair hits the back of Jason Plato.
08:08So I think Mr. Blair will not have to count on Mr. Plato's votes in the future.
08:14Colin Blair, the independent new to racing this year.
08:17Making new friends.
08:19Here's the view from Jason's car.
08:24And the dust and the bog that followed.
08:27Bad luck for Jason Plato. Good unfortunate for Colin Blair as well.
08:29This is his local circuit. He's a Scot and his lap times are much improved here.
08:33He's very much in touch with the works leaders.
08:36But a little bit too much in touch at that moment.
08:39And really, that's the penalty Jason Plato played for having such a lowly grid position.
08:43You've got to deal with the back markers.
08:45And this time it didn't.
08:47Tom Christian's dealing with the back of Rydell's Ford.
08:49Rydell is right beside us.
08:51Oh, dear me. Right beside us. Right in front of us.
08:53As we go down into Dufferin.
08:55Talking about a ringside seat.
08:57The back of Rydell's car moving from one side to the other.
08:59Christian's really bringing on the pressure.
09:01It's hard to imagine that only a few hours ago Rickard Rydell won very comfortably the sprint race.
09:05Now under extreme pressure from Christiansen.
09:08As you say, Waddy, it's all to do with where you start.
09:11Rydell did not start from the front row.
09:13It's a very difficult circuit to pass.
09:15Going past some of the back markers.
09:17Now making the run down into the hairpin bend.
09:19If Christiansen hopes to do something, it'll have to be done here.
09:22Here's our man at the moment at the front.
09:24Tarquini just sliding down the inside of Mark Lemmer into the hairpin.
09:27Mark moving aside to give plenty of room for him.
09:30Then moving to the right-hand side of the track.
09:32Back up the hill.
09:33I think that actually favoured Tarquini a little bit.
09:35Menu seems to have dropped back.
09:36Now let's have another go at this.
09:38On board with Christiansen.
09:39Rydell's to our right.
09:40We can just see his shadow.
09:41We've got a really nasty right-hand turn here called Duffer Stip.
09:44Where are you, Rickard?
09:45Where are you?
09:46Oh, there you are.
09:47Just holds us off once again.
09:49As close as you like.
09:50There's not a fag paper between.
09:52Christiansen clearly capable of lapping quicker than Rickard Rydell in this race.
09:56But just can't get track position to get the job done.
10:00Can you get the job done, Rickard?
10:02Rickard is right here.
10:03Tarquini up inside.
10:04Morrison at Clark.
10:05Morrison moving wide just to let him through.
10:07Kicks up a bit of dust in the process.
10:10Doing a very good job.
10:11The Class B runners very much in a pitched battle of their own for points.
10:15Their championship is extremely close.
10:17We've got to watch these guys coming through.
10:19All working well.
10:20Now these three have really started to open up a gap on the rest of the field.
10:23As you can see, that was Rydell just coming around the hairpin.
10:27As we look at Tarquini, then Menu, then Thompson.
10:29Clearly ahead of the field.
10:31James will be powerfully motivated in this race
10:33because he was none too pleased after race one when Christiansen got past him.
10:37I think James maybe spat the dummy and the rattle and everything else.
10:41And to have his teammate leading and Thompson back in third place
10:45with a Ford in between.
10:46Not a good day for James's return.
10:49Fuel pressure's on the map.
10:50HSP 2.
10:53Do you understand any of that?
10:54He said fuel pressure.
10:55P2, pump 2.
10:58Well, it never rains but it pours.
11:00James Thompson reporting back to his pit crew
11:02that he's got a fuel pressure problem.
11:04Well, that's just compounding his aggravation this afternoon.
11:07It sometimes is called paranoia.
11:09Well, frustrating though it might be,
11:11James Thompson is having a very strong return.
11:14He's been off sick, as we know,
11:15and he did qualify in third place for this race.
11:17And he's still very much in touch with this man.
11:19LM Menu is in second.
11:21And sort of moving into the distance a little bit now
11:23is this man, Tarquini, in third.
11:25Thompson looks as though he's lining him up
11:27and talking about lining him up.
11:29He's jumping beans himself.
11:30Christiansen's really trying to get past Ricard Rydell.
11:33He's had too much sleep.
11:34Christiansen has.
11:35He's really alive.
11:36He's got that Honda dancing around all over the racetrack.
11:39Ricard Rydell, the phlegmatic Swede.
11:41Nothing really seems to get into his head
11:43except that he can see ahead of him.
11:45Well, on board now with Christiansen.
11:47Ahead of us, our dancer.
11:48Well, on board now with Christiansen.
11:50Ahead of us, our dance partner, Rydell.
11:54A little sashay out through the back of the circuit.
11:56Christiansen's tight, but so is Rydell.
11:58No one runs wide there.
12:00Ricard Rydell, an extremely neat driver.
12:02He reminds me of a Labrador.
12:04Takes a lot of rider, but when you do,
12:06he'll go ballistic.
12:07You're only saying that because he used to drive a Volvo.
12:09Okay, Rydell holds the inside line.
12:12Christiansen runs to the outside.
12:14Now the inside.
12:15Now Rydell moves back across the left-hand side of the track.
12:18Side by side.
12:19I reckon Christiansen's had a good run out of that corner.
12:21Over the strike.
12:23Rydell on the left.
12:24Christiansen, he's made it stick.
12:25Great stuff.
12:26Good job.
12:27Great overtaking by the Dane.
12:28Down the inside.
12:29Takes the pace away from Ricard Rydell.
12:31Now Matt Neil's got a similar problem that Rydell had,
12:34and he's got the problem with Reid, Rydell's teammate.
12:36Reid just slides through on the inside.
12:39Reid slides through.
12:41Muller barges through.
12:42Just trying to bludgeon his way past Matt Neil.
12:44Matt Neil just shut the door again,
12:46but had to back out of it.
12:48I mean, what fantastic racing here.
12:50Matt Neil's had lots of contact from lots of people from behind today,
12:53and he's held on to it every single time.
12:55Won't be a single straight panel left on that Nissan.
12:59Now back on board with James Thompson,
13:02and he's starting to get in touch with Menu.
13:04Starts to look like Menu's beginning to struggle
13:07as he comes out of the hairpin bend.
13:08Watch Thompson.
13:09Can he pick up the slipstream?
13:10Can he get the draft?
13:11Gets one voxel through.
13:13The other one's right in the tail
13:14and trying to do the same thing.
13:16Matt Neil under big pressure now.
13:18One eye on the guy that's just passed him,
13:20another on his rear-vision mirror,
13:22and you can see he's driving defensively.
13:23Matt Neil is on the inside of the circuit
13:25because he knows Rademacher is right on his bootlid
13:27trying to work a way past.
13:29Matt moving to the right-hand side of the track again
13:31to stop Rademacher getting down the inside
13:33and passing him,
13:34having half a look back at Muller's car.
13:37Down through the gears, getting in close.
13:41Looks quite sprightly out of the corner,
13:43but Rademacher in the red voxel there
13:46with his headlights ablaze
13:48is very much in touch and on a charge.
13:50For the Nissan, all day's been quick
13:52in the two important parts of the racetrack,
13:54and here we are at one of those two.
13:57Down into Duffus.
14:00Now here is where Matt Neil ran wide a lap ago.
14:03Not this time he's in tight,
14:05but Rademacher's in tighter.
14:08Trying to throw a tow rope onto the back of Matt Neil's car
14:10and get past.
14:11He can see that Matt Neil's struggling
14:13and wants to keep up with his teammate
14:14because Rademacher was right with Muller
14:16right up to that moment.
14:17Muller can just pull away ever so easily from Matt Neil.
14:20Rademacher now faced with a problem
14:22that was really offered up as a freebie to Muller.
14:25And we just saw in the background there
14:27Blair in the white Nissan, the Independent.
14:29He's still pretty much in touch with these works cars,
14:31having a good day in spite of his
14:33new acquaintanceship with Jason Plato
14:36in the opening lap.
14:37He was right there actually into that hairpin
14:40We just saw Blair coming around it now.
14:42That's where he gave Plato a nudge
14:44till the start of this race.
14:45Now putting this scrap into context
14:47there's Anthony Reid.
14:48He's in P6.
14:49Muller, P7.
14:50Neil, P8.
14:51Rademacher, P9.
14:52And they are as close as that.
14:53You can see them.
14:55Back down the hill.
14:56Tom and Blair, P10.
14:58Now Rademacher still really putting Matt Neil
15:01under a lot of pressure.
15:02Well, Matt Neil was able to run a lot quicker
15:04in Race 1, but not in Race 2.
15:06Hey, that's Christensen.
15:07Big trouble for him.
15:08That was Anthony Reid just passing him.
15:09Broken driveshaft.
15:10Coming in.
15:14Hey, go speed.
15:17Broken driveshaft.
15:18Come in easy.
15:20When a driveshaft goes,
15:21that's the end of your day.
15:22A fine fifth in the sprint race.
15:23Nothing in the future.
15:27Limping back to the pits.
15:28He's got to get round this hairpin.
15:32Well, they're just taking the wheels off.
15:33They know what the problem is,
15:34but they want to make sure
15:35and see, confirm
15:37what they suspect.
15:39Yeah, there's the signal.
15:40All over for Christensen.
15:41What a disappointment here
15:42in the feature race.
15:44Yeah, hard luck, Tom.
15:45But we have two Hondas
15:46still in the top three.
15:48James Thompson in P3
15:49and remember Gabriele Tarquini.
15:50You can just see him up
15:51in the distance.
15:52He is leading, so
15:53Honda is still having
15:54a very strong day.
15:55Important thing for Menuh is
15:56he doesn't actually need
15:57to win here in this race
15:58this afternoon.
15:59He's into points gathering.
16:01He can beat Tarquini in speed,
16:02but he wants to take
16:0312 points for second place.
16:05On board with the lead
16:06and now this is Tarquini.
16:07That's Mark Lemmer ahead
16:08of us coming down
16:09into Duffer's Dip.
16:11Well, excuse me.
16:13Tarquini deciding to pass
16:14Mark Lemmer through
16:15the front right door.
16:17Well, that message was
16:18sent loud and clear
16:19to Mark Lemmer.
16:20And he lets Menuh through
16:21without any difficulties
16:22whatsoever now.
16:24Yeah, no wonder.
16:25Menuh and James Thompson
16:26both getting through
16:27past Mark Lemmer,
16:28the Class B runner.
16:30Now, here's our first,
16:31second and third place cars.
16:32There's Tarquini.
16:34Menuh is right behind them
16:35and Thompson still with them.
16:36One, two, three.
16:37That close.
16:38This far into the race.
16:39But Menuh's going to
16:40have to do something soon.
16:41Well, I thought Menuh
16:42was maybe going to try
16:43and save the car
16:44to have a last lap
16:45or a last run
16:46at Tarquini.
16:47But Tarquini's car,
16:48to me, looks the better
16:49of the two.
16:50Menuh is beginning
16:51to struggle that little bit
16:52particularly here
16:53on the exit up
16:54onto the fastest
16:55part of the circuit.
16:56Yeah, Tarquini looks
16:57as though he's taking
16:58it pretty easy, doesn't he?
16:59He's not using the curbs.
17:00P1, we know that.
17:01He's running a pretty
17:02conservative line,
17:03not being defensive.
17:05Pretty much where he was.
17:06And the thing is,
17:07he's not putting
17:08too much energy
17:09into those tyres.
17:10Ricciard was very
17:11good at the start
17:12and obviously passed me.
17:13But I decided
17:14it was a long race
17:15to be very,
17:16very careful
17:17to the car.
17:18And I had to
17:19push hard
17:20just to pass him,
17:21but I was just
17:22basically cruising
17:23until I passed him,
17:24until I used
17:25the three laps
17:26passing him.
17:27And then after,
17:28I was really
17:29just driving
17:30really carefully
17:31and I was closing
17:32on the front
17:33because I knew
17:34I knew it was
17:35going to be
17:36very, very
17:37very good at the end
17:38but unfortunately
17:39the right-hand side
17:40the driveshaft
17:41failed
17:42which is quite
17:43unusual on the Honda
17:44so
17:45it's pretty
17:46disappointing
17:47but
17:48at first
17:49the lap of the race
17:50it gives absolutely
17:51no points
17:52but it gives
17:53a little bit
17:54of confidence.
17:55He should be
17:56well encouraged
17:57with that.
17:58Thanks for the
17:59entertainment, Tom.
18:00A great afternoon.
18:01Now, this is
18:02still pretty entertaining.
18:03Coming too late
18:04for Menu.
18:05Yes, you can see
18:06Thompson looking
18:07a lot more threatening
18:08than he's done
18:09at any point
18:10so far in the race
18:11and Tarquini
18:12really out of contact
18:13now with Menu.
18:14Yeah, Menu
18:15was driving defensively.
18:16He's now having
18:17to do a covering line
18:18so
18:19chances of him
18:20actually getting up
18:21and having a push
18:22seem to be fading.
18:23Menu
18:24looking like
18:25he's struggling
18:26a little bit there.
18:27Yeah, runs wide
18:28on the exit
18:29of McIntyre
18:30and having to
18:31deal with a
18:32very loose Alain Menu.
18:33His car's sliding
18:34all over the place now.
18:35Look at that
18:36turn into
18:37Clark Corner.
18:38The car looks
18:39very lively.
18:40Yeah, there's a little bit
18:41of oversteer.
18:42Menu really, I think,
18:43trying to compensate
18:44for what's going wrong
18:45with his left front.
18:46He's trying to put
18:47all the weight of the car
18:48on the rear wheel
18:49to help the car
18:50turn in.
18:51Now, you can see
18:52that plus 20
18:53on the windscreen
18:54of Alain Menu's car.
18:55That's telling us,
18:56reminding us
18:57he's carrying
18:5820 kilos
18:59of success ballast.
19:00There's no such sign
19:01that he is ballast-free.
19:02That gives him
19:03a real advantage.
19:04Well, Christiansen
19:05was able to do the job
19:06on Rydell
19:07on this part of track.
19:08Thompson's got to do the same
19:09very shortly.
19:10Puffer's down
19:11into McIntyre's
19:12puffer.
19:13Smoke from Menu.
19:14He's run wide.
19:15Run terribly wide
19:16and James Thompson
19:17has slipped through.
19:18Yeah, locked up
19:19the left front
19:20turning into McIntyre's.
19:21He didn't need
19:22a second invitation.
19:23He just dived through.
19:24Well, we could see
19:25he was struggling.
19:26Looked as though
19:27he was slowing.
19:28Matt Neal,
19:29he's been struggling
19:30a bit for grip too
19:31by the looks
19:32but this battle
19:33with Rademacher
19:34is still going on.
19:35And that is where
19:36Rademacher gets so close.
19:37Lap after lap
19:38down the bottom of the hill.
19:39On board with Matt now.
19:40Very agricultural
19:41approach through there.
19:42He's having to use
19:43all the kerbs
19:44launching the car
19:45trying to keep
19:46Rademacher at bay.
19:47And it looks to me
19:48like Matt's reinventing
19:49the line
19:50around this
19:51long hill circuit.
19:52I've never seen
19:53anybody use these ones.
19:54Very, very
19:55wide over the top
19:56of Clark Corner.
19:57Struggling for grip.
19:58Rademacher looks
19:59as though he's having
20:00the better of the grip.
20:01This is down into the hairpin.
20:02A passing opportunity.
20:03Rademacher runs
20:04a little bit deeper
20:05to see if he can
20:06improve his exit
20:07back up the hill
20:08using all of the kerbs
20:09to try to get past.
20:10And that's a car off.
20:11That's a Ford.
20:12That's Menuh.
20:13Alain Menuh is off.
20:14There's been a little bit
20:15of contact.
20:16The bonnet's damaged.
20:17He's OK
20:18trying to snowplough
20:19his way out
20:20of the kitty litter.
20:21I'm stuck.
20:22That's it.
20:23I'm getting out.
20:24Stuck indeed.
20:25Yeah, went into the gravel
20:26fairly heavily.
20:27Damaged the front of the car
20:28very badly.
20:29The car just buried itself
20:30and Menuh's day's over.
20:31Well, you have to say
20:32the clues for that
20:33happening were there.
20:34But I didn't expect
20:35to see Menuh just
20:36throw it away like that.
20:37He doesn't give up places
20:38that easily.
20:39And remember,
20:40he's in the battle
20:41for this year's championship.
20:42Well, we knew grip
20:43was going to be an issue here.
20:44Here's our race leader.
20:45Honda.
20:46Honda.
20:47Takwini.
20:48Second-placed man
20:49James Thompson.
20:50There's the Class B leader
20:51Alan Morrison.
20:52But we knew grip
20:53was going to be an issue here
20:54because this is a 40-lap race
20:55and they are not doing pit stops
20:56in the feature race
20:57here today.
20:58And what's interesting
20:59is that the Honda's
21:00looked after its front tyres
21:01extremely well
21:02and Ford have been
21:03struggling with their fronts.
21:06Big sigh of relief
21:07being breathed by
21:08Takwini now.
21:09The man that was his
21:10challenger
21:11has fallen away.
21:12The big question now is
21:13can James Thompson
21:14on his comeback race
21:15do anything about Takwini
21:16and reel him in and catch him?
21:17Well, certainly
21:18he's going to try his hardest
21:19because he'll want to be
21:20the man that stands
21:21on the winner's podium
21:22this afternoon
21:23and what a great return
21:24it would be.
21:25Well, he'll have to get
21:26back on the podium
21:27and he'll have to
21:28get back on the podium
21:29and he'll have to
21:30get back on the podium
21:31and he'll have to
21:32get back on the podium
21:33and he'll have to
21:34get back on the podium
21:35and he'll have to
21:36get back on the podium
21:37and he'll have to
21:38get back on the podium
21:39and he'll have to
21:40get back on the podium
21:41and he'll have to
21:42get back on the podium
21:43and he'll have to
21:44get back on the podium
21:45and he'll have to
21:46get back on the podium
21:47and he'll have to
21:48get back on the podium
21:49and he'll have to
21:50get back on the podium
21:51and he'll have to
21:52get back on the podium
21:53and he'll have to
21:54get back on the podium
21:55and he'll have to
21:56get back on the podium
21:57and he'll have to
21:58get back on the podium
21:59and he'll have to
22:00get back on the podium
22:01and he'll have to
22:02get back on the podium
22:03and he'll have to
22:04get back on the podium
22:05and he'll have to
22:06get back on the podium
22:07and he'll have to
22:08get back on the podium
22:09and he'll have to
22:10get back on the podium
22:11and he'll have to
22:12get back on the podium
22:13and he'll have to
22:14get back on the podium
22:15and he'll have to
22:16get back on the podium
22:17and he'll have to
22:18get back on the podium
22:19and he'll have to
22:20get back on the podium
22:21and he'll have to
22:22get back on the podium
22:23and he'll have to
22:25and what a great win for the chass team
22:27that's the Italian Honda Factory team
22:31yeah
22:32Victor egyby
22:34are they pleased or what
22:35well driven Gabriele
22:37here's Matt Neal
22:38well driven for you as well
22:39you're hanging onto that position
22:41Radomacker having one last lunch
22:43can't do it though
22:45Matt Neal is going to
22:46cover right to the end though
22:47a race long scrap between
22:49Radomacker and the Vauxhall
22:50and Matt Neal in the Nissan
22:52the Nissan, Neil just holding on. Here's our race winner Gabriele Tarquini is what he mentioned
22:57driving for the Italian Honda team, as opposed to James and Tom Christensen who drive for
23:02the UK Works Honda team. And there's the Class B winner, Alan Morrison, good drive from him,
23:10had some frustration in race one, but really made the power of this Peugeot stick in race
23:15two. Great dices between Morrison and Mark Lemmer in the Honda Integra R in both races,
23:21but the Peugeot just seeing it off. And he saw off the whole field, this is Gabriele Tarquini,
23:27the Honda winner. Yeah, terrific stuff. Great drive from Tarquini, remember he was the pole
23:34man and a good start is everything here, he made it stick. James Thompson, welcome back,
23:39great result for James, second place. Ricard Rydell in third, Reid in fourth, so you've still
23:44got two Fords in the top five and Ivan Muller making the top five in the Vauxhall. Independent
23:49Matt Neil will be looking forward to a rest after his race long dice with Rademacher,
23:53highly entertaining in sixth and seventh, and Morrison in the Class B actually makes the top
23:57ten. It's unbelievable because I start from a rollover, 94, second last year, yeah last year,
24:0699, and first this year, so good improvement, car was fantastic, my tyre works very good,
24:13and also the mechanics job between the two races was really hard because we broke the front
24:19suspension. Great for Tarquini then, but a good result too for James Thompson,
24:26a second place in his comeback meeting. This weekend Honda, you know, as a team have proved
24:33that we're good enough to win races, and certainly a one-two is a very competitive
24:41result, and we were comfortably the quickest cars in the race, and so I think it just proves what a
24:48good car we have. But the comeback kid's euphoria proved short-lived when his Honda failed a post
24:54race ride height check, excluding him from the results. I guess that's motor racing. The driver's
25:00points have a distinctly Ford feel to them, but boy it's close. Alain Menou and Ricard Rydell are
25:05even Stevens on 79, with Reid just two points behind. Vauxhall's Yvan Muller keeps them honest
25:11with his 72, and Jason Plato's not out of touch either on 63. Tarquini is best of the Hondas with
25:1752 points, while Vincent Rademacher heads Michelin Cup for Independence leader Matt Neal in eighth.
25:23Tom Christensen and Indy peddler Colin Blair complete the top 10. The Ford hordes aren't
25:28doing too badly in the manufacturer's standings either. They're 226 points, putting them 64
25:34ahead of Vauxhall, with Honda looking a lot more respectable now on 93.
25:40And in class B, another maximum points haul for Alan Morrison keeps him in the driving seat,
25:46but Mark Lemmer's sprint race win after that fabulous dice with Morrison
25:50means that second place James Kay has to do a little bit of looking over his shoulder.
25:54The teams head back to England and Alton Park next. Will Honda's renaissance continue south of the border?