BTCC 2000 - Oulton Park - Race 1
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00:00Come on baby, bang-a-ding-a-ding, bang-a-ding-a-ding, bang-a-ding-a-ding, come on baby, bang-a-ding-a-ding,
00:07bang-a-ding-a-ding, bang-a-ding-a-ding, come on baby, bang-a-ding-a-ding, bang-a-ding-a-ding,
00:11bang-a-ding-a-ding, come on baby, bang-a-ding-a-ding, come on baby, bang-a-ding-a-ding, come on
00:16baby, bang-a-ding-a-ding, bang-a-ding-a-ding, boom-ba-boom-ba-boom, boom-ba-boom-ba-boom.
00:22Hot stuff.
00:23Very, very hot stuff.
00:24But it's not just the knock-em-down, drag-em-out action that's contributing to the atmosphere
00:28here, it's also because the Drivers' Championship is going right down to the wire.
00:33The sea of blue and yellow behind me, the Fords, they've really been the class of the
00:37field so far this year, and one of their number is going to take out the championship.
00:40Really, as far as Ford's concerned, they've been the only show in town.
00:45They've taken more pole positions, obviously they've won more races, and one of their three
00:49men will take out this title.
00:53Cheers!
00:57I'm Anthony Reid, and I'm going to win the championship.
01:00I'm Alain Meunier, and I'm going to win the championship.
01:03I've done it before.
01:04A little bit difficult there with the...
01:06With the lines.
01:07Yeah, with the lines.
01:08You missed your lines, did you?
01:09I'm Anthony Reid, and I'm going to win the championship.
01:12Try again this time.
01:13He would like to win it because he hasn't done it yet, but I'm going to win the championship.
01:17I'm going to win the championship.
01:23I don't think he can win the championship with his hat in front of his eyes.
01:26No chance.
01:27I'm Rick Allred, and I'm going to win the championship.
01:30I'm Anthony Reid, and I'm going to win the championship.
01:34You've said that so many times now.
01:36You can't stop on Anthony Reid saying he's going to win the championship.
01:39It's not fair, because I'm going to win the championship.
01:41Children, just calm down.
01:43OK, I've got the three kids with me now, the three children.
01:46One of the three of you.
01:48You're so dominant, first, second, and third on the grid.
01:50I guess you were the ringleader just a moment ago.
01:52Anthony Reid, we'll start with you, because you're the pole man.
01:55I recall you saying not so long ago that when it got down to this,
01:58and either Alan or Rick Allred or you could win the championship,
02:00you'd basically lock each other in a metaphorical room and knock it out.
02:03Is this the time for that sort of tactic?
02:05Well, we had a bit of a briefing this morning, and the team manager did enforce on us
02:09that mathematically it's still possible for Muller to win.
02:12So we're going to have to play it clean and straight today anyway.
02:15I don't know about Silverstone, but I must say I'm looking forward to the battle.
02:18Clean and straight, guys. What do you think?
02:20Yeah, I mean, that's how it should be.
02:22I mean, seeing what we've got to do, I mean, Anthony has got a big performance advantage
02:25without having any weight penalty.
02:27So I think for Rick and I it's to get as many points as we can.
02:31That's the idea.
02:32Yeah, Ricard, you and Alan have a slightly different agenda here.
02:35Is there any understanding between you two?
02:38Not really. I mean, as Alan said, we're both running with the weight,
02:40so we're going to try and take as many points as we can here.
02:43And I'm quite pleased that we managed to qualify second and third anyway with the weight.
02:47It's good. Talking about the weight. You two carry forty kilos.
02:50You carry none. That must be a huge advantage, Anthony Reid.
02:53Yeah, it did illustrate itself yesterday in qualifying in both sessions.
02:56I qualified certainly the first session for this pole position.
03:00Now I qualified six tenths clear from Ricard.
03:03So it does certainly help.
03:05Well, congratulations to all three of you. One, two and three on the grid.
03:08It couldn't be better for Ford. Couldn't be better for us watching.
03:11Best of luck. Keep our fingers crossed for all of you.
03:14OK, now let's have a wander down the grid because we've got Alan Menu just climbing into his car now.
03:19As I say, Fords one, two and three.
03:21But there's another guy as well that we're going to keep our eye on very closely.
03:24He's in a Ford. He's in a Honda, I should say, Gabriele Tarquini.
03:28He's fourth on the grid.
03:30Now, Gabriele is the pole man for this afternoon for the second race.
03:33So he's mucho rapido. He's a guy really, really to watch.
03:36And he could spoil that little Ford party up the front.
03:39Keep your eye on James Thompson as well in that other Honda.
03:41James is a lightning quick starter.
03:43Now, you heard us talk about Ivan Muller.
03:46Is Ivan Muller in the Vauxhall?
03:47Theoretically, although it might take a meteor shower to hit the front of the Fords to stop them,
03:51theoretically or mathematically, he could win the championship.
03:54So Ivan Muller, he'll have nothing to lose.
03:56He'll be going out there to win or bust.
03:58Vincent Rademacher, he's having a much better weekend in his Vauxhall this weekend.
04:02Very, very, very improved.
04:04Tom Christensen in the third of the Hondas having an absolute nightmare.
04:08Horrible qualifying for this race and the main race.
04:10Similarly, Jason Plato got a little bit caught out in qualifying as well.
04:14Matt Neal, the giant killing independent, he had no lap at all.
04:18So he's starting at the back of the Class A grid.
04:21But this is only the Class A grid.
04:22Just have a little look behind me here.
04:24An absolute sea of Class B runners.
04:27These Class B runners, really some guys to watch for.
04:30They're going to play a very big role in this afternoon's race.
04:3315 laps the distance this afternoon at Alton Park.
04:36Alton Park, one of my favorite circuits, I've got to say.
04:39But a bit of a well-kept secret.
04:41A lot of people don't know about this place.
04:43But I can tell you they've been racing here for years.
04:45Back when John Watson was a boy, way back in 1952.
04:50Well, of course, I was a child in the 50s.
04:52But when I came here in 1965 to race my Crosley sports car,
04:56I was just blown away about the place.
04:58It's the elevation change, of course, the famous lake out to the left.
05:01But ultimately, it was all about the corners.
05:04Every corner at Alton Park is a great corner.
05:06And who would have thought that this is a circuit in a private park
05:09in the middle of Cheshire?
05:11In the 50s, Sterling Marsden, Peter Collins, and, of course, in the 60s, Graham Hill,
05:15all competed in the famous Gold Cup at Alton Park.
05:18This popular event always produced huge grids.
05:21But, of course, people like Sterling Marsden as Maserati had great success here,
05:25as did Jim Clark and his Lotus.
05:28Over the years, things have changed at Alton Park.
05:30There are fewer trees.
05:32We've got a chicane here at Nicker Brook.
05:34But overall, any racing driver that comes to race on this racetrack
05:38knows it's something very special indeed.
05:41Well, certainly, Anthony Reid does.
05:43This is the sprint qualifying session.
05:45As he comes out of the old corner, you go down the avenue.
05:48Not very many trees here these days.
05:51Very important to get positioned correctly for cascades.
05:53It's a funny corner.
05:54You've got a positive camber that rolls out and sort of becomes negative camber.
05:58Fourth gear in the exit up to fifth gear, sixth gear.
06:01Very quick then, heavily on the brakes.
06:03Down all the way down into first gear for the island hairpin bend.
06:07Critical corner.
06:08You've got to get the power on early because you're climbing uphill.
06:11Anthony Reid also had the benefit of not carrying those extra 40 kilograms of weight,
06:15which his teammates did this weekend.
06:18Quickest part of the circuit, 130 miles an hour.
06:21Then hard on the brakes down into third gear for the chicane at Nicker Brook.
06:24Aggressive on the entry, but a little bit softer on the exit,
06:27letting the car run right out to the curbs.
06:29But now the critical part of the circuit is to get the car tight in as we come over Clay Hill.
06:33The car gets light, wants to float out onto the grass,
06:36then back again to the left before you come into the double right at Druids.
06:40Fourth gear, very important again in the exit, the crest.
06:42The car gets light, floats out to the edge of the track,
06:45back up to fifth gear before you come to large corner.
06:48This is the last corner on the circuit before you complete a lap.
06:50Down into second gear, tight against the marker post,
06:53then float the car out to the exit.
06:56And then it's the climb up over Deerlea and across the start-finish line.
06:59Now Anthony Reid doesn't look a very quick lap.
07:01Well, that was pole position, 1 minute 22.656 for the sprint race.
07:07Well, there is Anthony Reid, and he was delighted with his lap.
07:09And a lot of people in the pits also said that was a very special lap
07:13from the man on pole position, to be 0.607 of a second quicker
07:17than your teammates, Riccardo Aydel in second place,
07:20and Alan Menu in third is no mean achievement.
07:22And it is a battle for the championship between the three Ford drivers.
07:26Ivan Muller some 31 points behind in fourth place.
07:29It is mathematical, but I have to say my mathematics are going to make it quite tough indeed.
07:34And Muller would need a lot of luck, as Charlie mentioned, on the grid.
07:37So the car is now out for their warm-up lap.
07:40They don't have tyre warmers.
07:41They have got to make the best of this lap to get temperature into those tyres.
07:44And remember the first lap down through the avenue,
07:47down into the corner, cascades, is difficult.
07:50And the battle at the front will be where all the action will start this race, Charlie.
07:54Yeah, very interesting, John, that the Ford boys have been warned to behave themselves,
07:58because Ivan Muller, theoretically, on paper at least,
08:01could secure a win here, but it is not likely.
08:05And I think Anthony Reid is going to be a real danger man,
08:07especially after the end of this weekend.
08:10Brilliant first qualifying, though, for the Fords.
08:13One, two, three, couldn't be better.
08:15And it is extremely close at the front.
08:18There you have it, Alain Meunier, just ahead of Anthony Reid,
08:21who is in turn just ahead of Ricard Raidul.
08:24You could throw a blanket over the three of them.
08:26Ivan Muller, 142 points, just that too far away,
08:30with only four races remaining in this championship,
08:32to really grab a hold of them.
08:34Yeah, I mean, it's interesting seeing the three drivers interact with each other.
08:37Clearly, Alain Meunier is the man who has to be favoured,
08:40but because of the nature of the temperature scoring,
08:42it's not over until certainly the second race, the feature race this afternoon.
08:46But Anthony Reid, of the three Ford drivers,
08:49who's had the most top ten finishes this year,
08:51he's had 18 top ten finishes, as opposed to the 17 of Meunier.
08:55Ricard Raidul has only had 15.
08:57It's really going to count against him slightly, though,
09:00because with the dropped score system that we've talked about before in this championship,
09:04the drivers drop four scores at the end of the year.
09:07Now, Ricard Raidul and Alain Meunier, Reid's teammates,
09:10well, they both had a few races where they didn't score anything at all.
09:13He needs a big point score this weekend.
09:15Just to remind you of the grid, Anthony Reid,
09:18you can see him weaving his tyres as he goes on to his second warm-up lap.
09:21He's in pole position.
09:22Ricard Raidul, his teammate in a Ford, in second.
09:25Alain Meunier breathing right down their necks in third place.
09:28Gabriele Tarquini, he's the pole man for our second race later on, in fourth.
09:32James Thompson, his teammate, fifth.
09:34And Ivan Muller in the Vauxhall makes up the rest of the third row.
09:37Vincent Rademacher in the other Vauxhall.
09:38He's having a much better weekend.
09:40He must be well happy with that.
09:41Tom Christensen in the Honda, getting frustrated, though.
09:44And Matt Neill, the independent, the giant-killing independent,
09:47didn't even do a lap in this one-shot showdown.
09:49No, he didn't. Just before the session was about to start,
09:51they fired the car up.
09:52They realized there was a problem with the engine.
09:54There was a slight misfire.
09:55In fact, it had been there at the very end of the qualifying session
09:58for the feature race, but hadn't been realized.
10:00So they missed the entire sprint qualifying.
10:02Consequently, Matt Neill, who did brilliantly at Brands Hatch just recently,
10:06has got to start at the back of the Super Touring grid.
10:09What the stewards have done for this weekend, which is a sensible idea,
10:11because we have the biggest Class B.
10:13These are the Class A front runners.
10:15We have the biggest Class B field so far this year.
10:18They've actually slightly split the grid.
10:20So Matt Neill is at the back of the grid, but only the back of Class A.
10:23And I think that's a good safety measure.
10:24Yes, I do.
10:25I think that with 12 Class B cars out on the field,
10:28the biggest field of Class B cars we've seen all year,
10:30it would have been, well, let's say, task for Matt Neill difficult,
10:34but worse for the Class B runners,
10:35because they would have to be looking forwards and back at the same time.
10:38And there are the Class B runners.
10:39You just saw Eves and Morrison in those two luridly green Peugeots.
10:44They really are the Class B cars to beat.
10:46They're very, very quick around here.
10:48Alan Morrison, of course, the regular man and leading the championship in Class B,
10:51but he's been slightly sort of miffed,
10:53because last time out, Tony Roikonen was his teammate and he beat him.
10:56And then this time, Dan Eves standing in for Roikonen.
10:59He's also quicker than Alan Morrison and qualifying.
11:02So Alan, comfortable championship situation, basically unchallenged,
11:06has got competition from within his own team,
11:08but expect Dan Eves to fall into line when it comes to going across the finish line.
11:13Yeah, but it's still very, very focusing.
11:15There he is, Morrison.
11:16It must be slightly annoying for him that Eves has just pipped him at the post
11:20and only did so right at the end of qualifying as well.
11:23Very, very close thing.
11:24There's Anthony Reid, your pole man, as you can see,
11:26a staggered grid because it's a very tight first corner.
11:28Ricard Rydell in the second of those yellow and blue Fords.
11:31Alain Meunier, third position there, our championship leader,
11:35staggering the grid is important.
11:36The first corner here at Alton Park is extremely difficult.
11:42Just got to keep so focused.
11:43The field funnels down.
11:44It really is very difficult for cars to go to abreast around that first corner.
11:48Also sitting a long time in pole position because we've got a big, big field here
11:52and they're still actually forming up on the grid.
11:54So Anthony Reid will be thinking,
11:55how long have I got to wait for this race to get underway?
11:58Yeah, his nerves will be up.
12:00Very, very much so.
12:01It's so important for him to bank big points here
12:03because he's going to have to drop some.
12:05And he wants a big score to hang on to.
12:07Look at that field.
12:08It stretches all the way back down the hill.
12:10Class B runners, the green flag being waved at the back of the field
12:13to tell us all is clear.
12:14Red lights are on and the revs are up,
12:16which means they're ready for a race and they are away.
12:19Anthony Reid on the left.
12:21Ricard Rydell switches to the left and he hits Alain Meunier.
12:23Rydell and Meunier touch.
12:25Rydell is wounded.
12:26He's out.
12:27Reid is still through.
12:28He's leading.
12:29Rydell has stopped in the middle of the track.
12:30Is everyone fed past?
12:31Yes, they have now.
12:32One of the Alfa Romeos.
12:34That's Ferrier.
12:35He's been caught up in that.
12:36Clip somebody as well.
12:37Been turned to the infield.
12:39Everyone else is funneling away safely,
12:41but Ferrier is still stuck in the middle of the track,
12:43as is Ricard Rydell.
12:44And now that's one of the other Alfas getting tangled up.
12:46That Class B battle is fast and furious.
12:48Well, we never expect to see a start like this.
12:50Ricard Rydell went from left to right.
12:52I don't understand what he was doing.
12:54Then we saw Ferrier's Alfa getting tagged by Harald
12:56and the Ford Focus.
12:57And then one of the Hondas got the second Alfa.
12:59And this is only halfway around the first lap.
13:01And, of course, that means that now Anthony Reid
13:03is in the distance with Gabriele Tarquini
13:05in the Honda right behind him.
13:06Now, there's James Thompson in the second Honda,
13:08and he is challenging Alain Menu.
13:10So it's Reid first in the Ford.
13:12Then it's Tarquini in a Honda second.
13:14Then it's Alain Menu in a Ford right behind them.
13:17It's going to have to be a safety car, I guess.
13:20Yes, the safety car is getting ready for these guys
13:22because, of course, we've got Ricard Rydell's car
13:25still stranded on the track.
13:26Yes, I mean, you've got not only cars on the track,
13:29you've got bits of circuit signage
13:30got dragged on as well in old hole corners.
13:33So everything is going to go back under the safety car.
13:36It'll probably be out for a couple of laps
13:37to get the garbage removed.
13:39And then we'll get this race underway once again.
13:42That is terribly bad luck for Ricard Rydell,
13:46as we've seen, walking back.
13:47...that maneuver, whether it was a maneuver
13:49that he instigated or whether he was tagged from behind.
13:52Let's watch again.
13:53Yeah, have a look, because it looked as though
13:55Reid had got off slowly.
13:57Yeah, but no, there, I mean, Rydell just goes across.
13:59Menu sees what's happening.
14:01He doesn't lift off.
14:02He caught the back of Rydell's car.
14:04Now, that was something the Ford drivers were told to avoid
14:06at all costs.
14:07And obviously, they don't pay very much attention
14:09to Dave Richards, the boss of Pro Drive and Ford.
14:11And there's that Alpha.
14:12He went to the infield.
14:13Ferrier just ducked to the inside to avoid
14:15running into the...
14:16And that was a very big serve he got from Gareth Howland.
14:19That Ford Focus just nailed the back of him
14:21when he'd actually rejoined the track.
14:23Let's have a look again.
14:24Here's the situation.
14:25There's the start.
14:27We're on board here with Rydell.
14:28Oh, dear.
14:31That was a very, very firm nudge.
14:32You have to say, it was pretty clear there was nothing involved
14:35other than Ricard Rydell.
14:36Of course, he then got the tap from his teammate, Alan Menu.
14:39And maybe Menu could have been a little bit more generous to him.
14:42But Rydell was very, very aggressive
14:44in the way he came across the front of his teammate.
14:46And I have to say, in that Class B battle,
14:48I don't know whether Gareth Howland, that black Ford Focus,
14:50was caught unaware by that.
14:52It seemed pretty unnecessary to head back to the back of Ferrier's Alpha.
14:55Absolutely.
14:56I mean, I just wonder sometimes,
14:57you know, this is a newcomer into Class B,
14:59had success in touring cars previously.
15:01But, you know, you could see what was going on.
15:03Ferrier's car went across the track,
15:05knocked the circuit sign.
15:07He's done.
15:08He had plenty of warning.
15:09He didn't have to bump into him.
15:10Yeah, absolutely unnecessary.
15:11Now, we're on board with Anthony Reid.
15:13This, of course, John Watson, is pretty good news for Alan Menu
15:16because at least it's compressed the field again
15:18because Alan, who is the series leader,
15:20is really, really keen on climbing past Anthony Reid,
15:25if he possibly can.
15:26And, of course, in all that kerfuffle...
15:29Nice.
15:30Well, just watch him in Tarquini and James Thompson.
15:33The Honda is very, very powerful.
15:35We know that just in pure acceleration terms,
15:37it's the match for anything out there.
15:38In fact, we have noticed in previous events
15:40that it's actually quicker than most.
15:41So, Thompson and Tarquini.
15:43Tarquini, of course, full position for the feature race.
15:45He'll want to get his nose ahead of Anthony Reid if he can.
15:48But by having the field in single file as they come past,
15:52trying to get all the...
15:53As you can still see, Richard Rydell's car.
15:55Nobody's come to remove that car yet.
15:57Yeah, I mean, it's all very well to run under the safety car.
15:59There's the view from James Thompson's car.
16:01That's Menu ahead of us.
16:02But Rydell's car is just stranded.
16:04I don't know what the strategy is.
16:06It's not a place to park it,
16:07but no one seems to be trying to hoik it out of the way.
16:09The suspension on it is severely damaged.
16:12We can see that as they file past.
16:14Now, this is the point you can see.
16:16Menu's ahead of us, but there's Tarquini.
16:18As you say, very quick around here.
16:20He's the pole man for race two.
16:22To have him in front of Alan Menu is not what Alan needs.
16:25No, it's going to be tough for Menu now.
16:27He'll come down to the restart.
16:29But, of course, because it's a single line restart,
16:31it will be to the advantage of Reid and Tarquini.
16:34Menu's going to have to do something remarkable,
16:36and he's already done something pretty remarkable so far
16:39at the start of this race.
16:40There's the consequence of it, Richard Rydell's car.
16:43Look at that front right wheel.
16:44You can just see in front of the stewards' blue leg.
16:47Look, the whole suspension is very, very badly damaged.
16:50He took a pretty good bite at the concrete pit wall.
16:52I'm sure the guy standing on the wall at that point, in fact,
16:55probably was almost adjacent to where the Ford pits are,
16:58so they would have had probably the best view of it.
17:00If it wasn't the Ford, it was certainly the Honda pits.
17:02Yeah, they really had not got far off the line.
17:05Now, here's the start.
17:07I don't think Anthony got off that well,
17:09so Ricard's decided to dive to the left,
17:11but he hit Reid, he hit Menu twice there.
17:14Yeah, it was somewhat unnecessary,
17:16but your emotions are very high,
17:18and, of course, a lot to be won and lost there.
17:20We see the Alfa now having to go behind.
17:22The Ford goes through that circuit sign.
17:24A lot of damage to the car.
17:26I'm assuming it's going to be repairable.
17:28The team will be working flat out
17:29once this car is put onto the back of a flatbed,
17:31taken back into the pits, the bodywork stripped down,
17:34and, well, great disappointment.
17:36I would like to be in the meeting that goes on
17:38after this race between Menu and Rydell.
17:40Their friendship may have taken on new consequences.
17:43Yes, it may well be a knock-em-down, drag-em-out affair.
17:46You can see all the concrete scars
17:47all the way down the side of that car,
17:49around the rear wheel arch,
17:50so that may actually have damaged the rear uprights as well.
17:53The suspension on these cars is very light,
17:55but actually quite frail.
17:57It is. It's designed to do certain things particularly well.
18:00Other things, such as inputs from concrete barriers,
18:03are not part of the design criteria.
18:05But, of course, they're pretty well-made pieces of kit,
18:07and technology today in touring cars is extremely high.
18:11Well, the championship chase is still as alive as ever.
18:15One man has retired from it, for this race at least,
18:18Rydell.
18:19Alain Menu, he's our championship leader.
18:22He's a pretty canny rolling starter as well.
18:24He knows about these rolling starts,
18:26and the technology, or the tactics, I should say,
18:29for rolling starts are quite different.
18:31Well, you see, I suspect Riedel slew them all down
18:34before they came into the large corner,
18:36and then pick it up pretty quickly.
18:38Lights are out on the safety car, so this is their last lap.
18:41So, now, Anthony Ried, who's done a lot of GT racing,
18:44so he knows a lot about these rolling starts.
18:46He's got to work out how to do it.
18:47Yes, he will do.
18:48And, of course, he's got the advantage of that 40 kilogram,
18:50not carrying the extra 40 kilograms that his teammate, Menu,
18:53is going to carry.
18:54And Tarquini, likewise, carrying.
18:57In fact, Tarquini also without weight this weekend,
18:59so the two, the Honda and the Ford,
19:01really ought to get the advantage at the start here.
19:03Yeah, that's right.
19:04A rolling drag will really, really suit their purpose.
19:06And also, James Thompson in the Honda,
19:08which is right behind Alain Menu, also carries no weight.
19:11So, James Thompson will be all over the back of Alain Menu
19:14at the start of this race, I assume.
19:15If James starts well,
19:17he's done a lot of rolling starts in the year.
19:19I've raced against him doing a lot of rolling starts
19:21back in saloon days years ago.
19:23And James knows all about trying to exploit a rolling start
19:26and getting right on the bumper of the man in front.
19:30Of course, these laps under the safety car also, they do count.
19:32So, it's going to be a tough battle.
19:35And the restart, very shortly underway.
19:38And watch Reid, what he does.
19:39His tactics are going to be key to how this race unfolds.
19:44He's cruising back down the hill now.
19:46This is the nick of Brooke Chicane.
19:50Very, very rough part of the circuit there.
19:52Very, very difficult.
19:53So, what's actually the plan?
19:55How does it physically work, doing the rolling start?
19:57Well, you're going to come around behind the safety car.
19:59It'll peel off as they go up dearly.
20:01But if I was in the position of Anthony Reid,
20:03I would want to make sure that I've got the field
20:05as compacted as possible.
20:07And then, through large, I would get on it as hard as I could
20:11to try and steal an advantage.
20:13I'm not going to get very much from Tarquini.
20:15But it's everybody else down the line that are going to suffer.
20:17So, I'm going to get away as quick as I can.
20:20I know that Tarquini will be working this out as well.
20:22So, he will anticipate what I'm doing.
20:24He will probably go with Reid.
20:25But those two have a chance to make a clean break
20:28and get their race underway.
20:31And the real trick, the real advantage for the man in front
20:34is that, of course, no one is allowed to pass him
20:36until they've crossed the start-finish line.
20:38So, now this is the last corner.
20:41There's the safety car.
20:42It's going to peel off to the right.
20:44Now the start is in the hands of Anthony Reid, the Ford driver.
20:47He's bunching them up, as you said.
20:49Bunching them up, bunching them up.
20:51Now he stands on it across the line and tries to get away.
20:53Reid away first.
20:54Tarquini is away well.
20:55James Thompson in the second Honda,
20:57moving up on the inside of Alameda.
20:58But he can't do it.
21:00Everyone else through cleanly.
21:01There's the Class B runners.
21:03And that's Dan Aves losing a couple of places there
21:05in that bright green Peugeot.
21:07Bad start from him.
21:08Cracking start there from Reid and also from Tarquini.
21:11And Menuh coming under some real pressure already.
21:13Carrying more weight and he didn't get the start.
21:16But Reid and Tarquini did.
21:17Down the back straight for the first time.
21:19Tarquini very much in touch with Anthony Reid.
21:21They stand on the brakes here.
21:23All the way back to first gear for this hairpin.
21:25Then look at the hill they climb up.
21:27Right up and over the top of the hill.
21:28And once again, James Thompson in that Honda.
21:30Really pressuring Alameda.
21:31You're going to see Thompson try a move.
21:33Menuh is already defending.
21:34Thompson goes one way.
21:35Then the other way as they come down to the chicane.
21:37Alameda coming under real pressure.
21:39Reid is through cleanly.
21:40That's fine.
21:41So is Tarquini.
21:42But where's Menuh?
21:43Menuh was down on the inside.
21:44He has held up.
21:45Thompson off.
21:46Yes, that's fine.
21:47Then it's Thompson.
21:48Then behind Thompson, Ivan Muller.
21:49Then in the next Honda, Tom Christensen.
21:51And behind him, Vincent Rademacher.
21:52But James Thompson in the weight-free Honda
21:54with lots of power up this big hill.
21:56It's giving Alameda, the championship leader,
21:58the ride of his life in this opening rolling lap.
22:01Well, I think we do know,
22:02did Menuh's car get damaged in any way
22:04in that contact with Riedel?
22:05We've talked about Riedel.
22:06But was Menuh's car damaged?
22:07Maybe it's something around the steering.
22:09Yeah, it could be.
22:10And if that's the case,
22:11and it's only a little bit of damage,
22:12it'll still play on tyre wear.
22:13And the handling of that car will really deteriorate,
22:15won't it, as this race unfolds.
22:17Across the strike for the first time.
22:19And it's still Reid.
22:20There's Ivan Muller in the Vauxhall.
22:22Reid, Thompson, Honda.
22:25There's Alameda.
22:26There is Thompson.
22:27There's Muller in the Vauxhall right behind him.
22:29Now, here is the view back from Alameda's car.
22:31And we are looking at James Thompson.
22:33Down cascades.
22:34Fast part of the track.
22:36An off-camber corner.
22:37Feeding in the power.
22:38Then the big drag down the back straight.
22:40And at the end of this back straight,
22:42there is a hairpin.
22:43A very, very sharp hairpin.
22:45Listen to the gears.
22:48All the way down through the Vaux.
22:49Yeah, this is where Thompson should have an advantage.
22:51We saw him have a look
22:52at the very start of this race.
22:53Climbing up here.
22:5440 kilograms extra on the Ford.
22:56That's 80 pounds.
22:57That's about the weight of an average passenger sometimes.
22:59Well, there's James Thompson.
23:00There's the view.
23:01We're going downhill.
23:02He's having a look down the inside.
23:03Big, tight chicane now.
23:07Left curve, right curve.
23:08Clubs it now.
23:09There's a big drag here.
23:10Clay Hill.
23:11Let's see how he goes on the power up the hill.
23:16Well, there's plenty of mumbo in that old Ford.
23:18He's holding him at bay.
23:19Yeah, something that's very powerful,
23:21the V6 engine.
23:22The Ford have developed,
23:23and they've come a long, long way
23:24with that engine over the past season.
23:26And Honda, who normally are the ones that we assume
23:28are going to make up ground on horsepower,
23:30not much between the two cars.
23:32Now, down on the brakes.
23:36Through Lodge Corner,
23:37down Deer Leaf,
23:38and up the other side.
23:39Makes you a bit seasick,
23:40but it actually gives you a very good view
23:42of the undulations on this circuit.
23:43And the one thing that happens at Alton Park
23:45is you're constantly changing altitude.
23:47Now, look at the gap.
23:48That's third place, Alain Menier.
23:50That's really where the race is.
23:51Those front two weightless boys have just disappeared
23:53off into the distance.
23:54There they are.
23:55And it's light years, if you like,
23:57in touring car terms.
23:58Back to Alain Menier.
23:59Yeah, it sort of took them a lap to get resettled,
24:01but once Tarquini in second place,
24:03Reid in first place,
24:04got that lap under them,
24:05they've just pulled away.
24:06It's two and a half seconds
24:07between Reid leading and Menier in third place.
24:10And then Thompson in fourth,
24:11Muller fifth,
24:12and Tom Christensen in sixth position.
24:14But Anthony Reid and Tarquini,
24:15they've opened up a gap of basically two seconds
24:17over Alain Menier and the rest of the field.
24:19It almost looks as though,
24:20especially in this drag up the hill,
24:22out of that hairpin,
24:23that Alain Menier was holding Thompson up.
24:25Now, Thompson faints to the left
24:26into the Nickerbrook chicane,
24:27but he just can't quite do it.
24:29That's really where he's got an edge.
24:31Yes, it is.
24:32But the straight isn't quite long enough.
24:34Honda really picks up
24:35on the dying hill run into that chicane,
24:37but he just hasn't got it.
24:38He needs another couple of hundred yards
24:39to get the job done.
24:40Very focusing for Alain Menier, though,
24:42because he knows what he cannot do
24:44is get himself punted off in this race.
24:46Well, he certainly knows that his teammate
24:48Anthony Reid is going to win this race
24:50if everything runs fairly and smoothly.
24:52But he's got to battle with James Thompson.
24:54He could be in third place,
24:55but at worst, he could drop to fourth.
24:57Yeah, there's no score to settle
24:58between James and Alain Menier.
25:00That will not help Alain at all.
25:02James Thompson, a firm but fair race up.
25:04Down through Deerleap, up over the other side.
25:07Streaking across over the crest
25:09on the start-finish line.
25:11I think that Alain Menier has got a problem,
25:13because really all he's doing is holding up
25:15fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth places.
25:17They're all getting logged, jammed up behind.
25:20So Menier really, I think, has got a problem.
25:22And that's going to also affect
25:24how he can deal with James Thompson.
25:26You can see the front left side of his bumper bar.
25:28There is some body damage there.
25:30You can see the line of the mudguard
25:32and the fender at the front of the bumper
25:34isn't straight, so it's being pushed in a little.
25:37Now under brakes.
25:38Another place where carrying weight
25:40is a little bit of a handicap.
25:42Yes, it is.
25:43But Thompson getting ever closer
25:44as they come out of that hairpin bend.
25:46Again, the drag up the hill.
25:47Nothing between the two cars.
25:48But as the run died, but the big thing
25:50is going to be traffic.
25:51And we're not very far away
25:52from putting a lap on the Class B cars.
25:54Yeah, and you can just see
25:55one of the Class B Nissans there.
25:57The white car just moving
25:58to the left-hand side of the screen
25:59as we see
26:01Menier and Thompson curve-hopping.
26:02Ivan Muller is very much in touch here
26:04and he's a danger man.
26:05He's very, very good at aggressive passing.
26:07And he's right on the back of this race.
26:09He's...
26:10No way is he being left behind by James Thompson
26:12as Thompson in that red and white Honda
26:14just faints down the inside
26:15into Drewitt's corner.
26:16Very, very fast.
26:18Double apex right-hander
26:19down the back straight there.
26:21Maybe the fastest straight.
26:22Thompson has a look down the inside
26:23into Lodge Corner.
26:24Menier turns in.
26:25Thompson's down the inside
26:26and he's tagged him.
26:27Menier stands on the gas
26:28and holds it.
26:29But Thompson is through.
26:30So is Ivan Muller in the Vauxhall.
26:31Both of them through down the inside.
26:33Menier losing places
26:34and Menier losing points.
26:35Yes, indeed.
26:36That was his worst nightmare that's happened.
26:38Not only has Thompson got past,
26:40but Muller now ahead of him as well.
26:42But as I said earlier in the race,
26:43Menier had a problem.
26:44He's got a big one now,
26:45but he was holding up the field.
26:47That was a very, very firm pass.
26:49And there is our new race order.
26:50Reid Tarquini,
26:51Thompson,
26:52Muller,
26:53and Menier in 5th position
26:55and Tom Christensen in 6th.
26:56This is not in the script.
26:58No, and it's going to be a sequential pass.
27:00I think you're going to see
27:01Muller,
27:02Christensen,
27:03trying to find a way past Menier as well.
27:05That's really bouncing out.
27:06Muller is now putting Thompson on notice.
27:08And at the same time,
27:09both of those Vauxhalls.
27:10That was Matt Neal on the left-hand side.
27:12Oh, Vincent Rademacher.
27:14And at the same time,
27:15Jason Plato right behind him.
27:16They're really compressing.
27:17James Thompson in the foreground.
27:18Right behind him,
27:19Ivan Muller.
27:20Then,
27:21Alain Menier
27:22in the only car that isn't red.
27:23Then followed by Tom Christensen.
27:26And then Vincent Rademacher,
27:28Matt Neal,
27:29who is also in a red car very helpfully.
27:31And then Jason Plato
27:33rounding out that group.
27:34And you can chuck a blanket over the lot of them.
27:36There they are.
27:37There's Rademacher.
27:38There's Matt Neal,
27:39a giant killing independent.
27:40And Jason Plato just tagging along
27:41at the rear.
27:42Not having the day he'd hoped for,
27:44but he's still in touch.
27:45Yes, but the Alain Menier situation.
27:47Christensen,
27:48the two Vauxhalls,
27:49and Luke Nye having a look down the inside.
27:51Because Rademacher's having a punt on Tom Christensen.
27:53He's done it too.
27:54He's made that fast stick.
27:55Look down the inside.
27:56Christensen didn't carry much speed.
27:57And interestingly,
27:58did not put up much resistance as well.
28:00Side-by-side over the strike now.
28:01Matt Neal down the inside of Tom Christensen.
28:03Tom Christensen is just
28:05stampeding his way to the back of the field.
28:07Is he through?
28:08Yes.
28:09Old hall corner.
28:10Matt Neal makes that one stick.
28:11Jason Plato thinks,
28:12I'm the only one being left out here.
28:13Everyone's got past Tom but me.
28:15So maybe a problem there.
28:16Jason Plato now really pressuring Christensen.
28:18Just give him a little bit of a tap
28:19over the top of Cascades Hill.
28:22Down the bottom onto the back straight.
28:23Christensen must have a problem
28:24because Plato is all over the back of him as well now.
28:27And he's coming under big pressure.
28:28Race order,
28:29remind you at the front.
28:30It's Reid,
28:31then Tarquini,
28:32then Thompson.
28:33Evan Muller in fourth.
28:34Menuh fifth.
28:35Rademacher in the top sixth.
28:37Now James.
28:39Matt Neal
28:40in that red Nissan
28:41is starting to bring Vincent Rademacher under pressure.
28:43Side by side down the hill.
28:45That's Rademacher in the red Vauxhall.
28:47Matt Neal in the red Nissan.
28:49And Christensen just behind them
28:51in that red Honda.
28:53Jason Plato bringing up the rear.
28:55Tom Christensen must have some sort of trouble.
28:57Yeah, suddenly it seems that
28:58he was going backwards quicker than he was going forwards.
29:00But there's a battle going on here.
29:02We're watching this on the screen.
29:03Down to class.
29:04B. Alan Morrison
29:05who's leading the class right now.
29:06He's got his hands full
29:08with Gavin Piper and the Alfa Romeo.
29:10He's just 0.8 of a second ahead
29:12of second place in class B.
29:14Alan Menuh.
29:16Fifth position.
29:17Carrying 40 kilos.
29:18Leading the championship.
29:20Not where he wants to be.
29:21Now here's that James Thompson pass again.
29:23Alan Menuh turns in.
29:24Thompson sticks his nose in.
29:26Menuh tags the front.
29:27How do you call it?
29:28I would say that was about 50-50.
29:30Menuh could see that Thompson was coming.
29:32Thompson put his nose in the inside.
29:34Once he got it there,
29:35it was inevitable there was going to be contact.
29:37That's touring car racing.
29:38You accept it.
29:39In single-seaters,
29:40it would have been unacceptable.
29:41Yeah, in single-seaters,
29:42they both would have finished up in the gravel.
29:43But you have to ask yourself,
29:44would Menuh not have been wiser
29:46just to concede one place
29:48rather than turning himself around
29:50almost like that?
29:51I think you're right.
29:52I think that's what he's now regretting
29:53because not only has he let Thompson through,
29:55he's let Menuh.
29:56And Menuh's championship hopes,
29:57OK, are not great.
29:58But it's just adding another couple of points
30:00to his score.
30:01Yeah, Ivan Muller just sliding through in that pass.
30:03Now here's the lead battle
30:05and it's Anthony Reid
30:06who must be battling very, very hard
30:08to contain his smile and delight
30:10apart from anything else
30:11because he'll know very well what's going on.
30:12He'll know that it's Tarquini behind him.
30:14Tarquini's got the headlights on
30:15saying, come on, Reidy, get out of my way.
30:17Anthony Reid will be as wide as a Cadillac
30:20to get past today.
30:21He will not let Tarquini pass
30:23under any circumstances whatsoever
30:25because he needs maximum points.
30:27And that's Simon Harrison
30:28in the Class B white Ford Focus
30:30who's having a bit of an excursion as well.
30:31They've had a busy day, those boys.
30:33Yes, Ford's back into Touring Car in Class B,
30:35the Ford Focus.
30:36Simon Harrison, very strong and qualifying
30:38but certainly finding the grass
30:40not as quick as the tarmac.
30:41Indeed.
30:42Over the strike now, look at the gap.
30:43Where are they? Where are they?
30:44Where is the rest of the field?
30:46There's the rest of the field
30:47and it is so far back.
30:48That was James Thompson, then Muller, then Menuh,
30:50then Rademacher, then Neil,
30:52then Tom Christensen and Jason Plato
30:54just spitting past us as we go
30:56over the top of Deer Leap
30:57and across the start-finish line.
30:58Menuh has a little bit of a comfort zone now
31:00at least over Vincent Rademacher
31:03in the second of the Vauxhalls
31:04as everyone warms very, very wide
31:06through Old Hall Corner.
31:08Now there's charge of Matt Neil
31:09who's finally making some headway.
31:12He got stuck at the back of the field, of course,
31:13didn't go on to qualify for this race.
31:15He and I are running very close
31:17to the back of Vincent Rademacher
31:18as we watch this battle.
31:21Down into the hairpin
31:22and Plato is hunting now.
31:23Rademacher's running a defensive line.
31:25He's held an inside line.
31:26Plato tries to switch back as they go up the hill.
31:28Let's have a look at the drag,
31:29see who's got the horsepower.
31:31There's Matt Neil just ahead of them.
31:33Christensen, Plato,
31:34very, very close to each other.
31:36Now here we have Alain Menuh,
31:37fifth position, Rademacher, Matt Neil.
31:42It's important to point out
31:43that although Alain Menuh has slipped back,
31:45he still is picking up points,
31:46so it's better than a poke in the eye
31:49with a sharp stick,
31:50but it's not the points that he wanted.
31:52Tom Christensen, Jason Plato.
31:55Now these two have got history,
31:57I think they say, in the trade.
31:59Plato and Christensen have banged into each other
32:01on many occasions
32:02in the driver's press conference after the last race.
32:05As Jason Plato moves down the inside,
32:06and Christensen, Christian, moves across to cover.
32:08Plato switches back.
32:09We've got to turn right here now, boys.
32:11What's going to happen?
32:12Christensen fought off in a very, very firm way.
32:15Jason Plato's advances as they go up and over the strike.
32:18Plato's in the toe.
32:19He's going to get crossed.
32:20They don't like each other.
32:21This could end in tears.
32:22Yes, and also for Plato, he's saying,
32:24I know that Honda's picking a straight line.
32:26I did everything I could to come into large.
32:28He went one way, then the other way.
32:29Cut back, got the momentum, got the run,
32:31but it just didn't have the speed at the end of the day.
32:33Well, Plato has accused Christensen of not being aware
32:35of where other drivers are on the track,
32:37but I'll tell you what,
32:38Christensen knows better than anybody else
32:40where Jason Plato is right now,
32:41because he is moving to cover.
32:43And Plato moving a strange line through Cascade.
32:45I think he tried to give himself an advantage on the exit,
32:48but got too wide in the corner,
32:49lost some of the momentum.
32:50But now we're getting into the field,
32:52the class B cars.
32:53That's Andy Middlehurst in the blue Nissan Primera.
32:55Not a problem for the super-tourers,
32:57they just drag past,
32:58and that happens time after time.
33:00Andy Middlehurst, very seasoned campaigner.
33:03He's raced in class A touring cars,
33:06and saloon cars,
33:07making a welcome return now to the touring car ranks.
33:09He says that car's got a lot of sorting out.
33:11It isn't done yet.
33:12It's new in, and he's got a lot of work to do,
33:14but he's a potent competitor.
33:21There's the gap between them.
33:23Alan Menuh is not managing to shake Vincent Rademacher in the Vauxhall.
33:26Vincent Rademacher having a much improved weekend.
33:29His spirits, I think, might have been down across the middle of the season,
33:32but he's a very, very quick driver,
33:34and he's using that Vauxhall as hard as you can.
33:36The car drifting a little bit under brakes there,
33:38really trying to lunge at Menuh.
33:40In fact, back at the meeting here in May,
33:41he was second in the sprint race,
33:43so maybe it's just one of those things,
33:44a circuit that a driver really likes,
33:46gets on with, and just lifts him.
33:48And Rademacher driving well.
33:52Well, he can see that the championship lead is ahead of him,
33:54and he can see that for whatever reason,
33:56the championship leader is eatable,
33:58and he wants to lay his hands on him and pick up a place.
34:00Rademacher inside the top six,
34:02recapping 13 laps down.
34:03Tarquini, Thompson, Muller, Menuh,
34:06and then Rademacher.
34:07Anthony Reid way out in front,
34:09and as you can see, there are seven seconds now
34:12separating the first two from the rest of the field.
34:15That is how hard they are charging
34:16and how much pressure Tarquini is putting Anthony Reid under.
34:19Like Rademacher here, putting Menuh under pressure.
34:21Menuh's just got to hang on to this.
34:25Now, look, Rademacher's got his headlights on.
34:26He's on a charge.
34:27He wants to get past Neil in the Vox in the Nissan.
34:30He's got his headlights on as well.
34:31Rademacher closing up through the nick of Brooks again.
34:33They stand on the brakes,
34:35go from sixth gear down to second to get through that,
34:37and all the way back up the hill again.
34:43Now there, Menuh coming under pressure.
34:4518 laps the distance now, of course.
34:47It was a 15-lapper,
34:48but those first three laps under the pace car
34:50do not count towards the race total,
34:52so these boys have got to do 18 to it,
34:54and that's just what Alan Menuh does not want to hear.
34:57And also, Alan Menuh, you can see just up ahead of him,
34:59there are a couple of the Class B cars.
35:01I think that's James Kay and Dan Eaves,
35:03so they're going to come into play
35:05with this battle with Menuh, Rademacher, and Neil,
35:07and that's what Rademacher and Neil are looking for.
35:10It's what Menuh will look to avoid.
35:12Strange bit of brake bias, though, on Vincent Rademacher's Voxel.
35:15If you notice, every single time hard under brakes,
35:18it seems to creep and wander.
35:20I don't know what that's about.
35:21I think he just drives it around the front wheels,
35:23and whatever the back does, a bit like Ivan Berner.
35:25For me, I'd like him to brake balance
35:27a little bit more biased towards the front,
35:29but these are front-wheel drive cars.
35:31They're totally different to the cars I've ever raced.
35:33OK, here's the rearward view.
35:34We're on board with Menuh.
35:35That's Rademacher lunging up behind us.
35:37We've got a hairpin to deal with here.
35:39Dan Eaves and the Class B Peugeot moving to one side.
35:42Nice manners, Dan. Thank you for that.
35:44Class B Honda moving to one side as well.
35:47Look how steep that hill is.
35:49And now we go down the other side.
35:51Now listen to him drop all the gears for Nickerbrook again.
35:56Hammering through the gears,
35:57and Rademacher all over us, hunting us.
36:00Just look at how aggressive Menuh is having to be
36:03going through the chicane.
36:04The rear wing of the car flexing one way and the other.
36:06Rademacher right into the rear wing of the car,
36:08but again, on the acceleration up the hill,
36:10Voxel, and that's all.
36:12It really shows how hard that rear wing works, though.
36:15It works very hard, indeed.
36:16And I think Rademacher, no weight on board.
36:19Menuh, 40 kilograms, still can't do anything.
36:21Interesting that wing is only secured in the middle, too.
36:24This has always surprised me, but it gives him the downforce.
36:27And now Rademacher's having a big look at us
36:29as we go into Lodge Corner.
36:30That's exactly where James Thompson slipped past a lap ago,
36:33Menuh says, not twice in one race, boys.
36:35Yeah, Menuh was aware of it,
36:36but I tell you what, he couldn't have got any closer.
36:38The nose of that Voxel was right in the boot of the Ford.
36:41Yeah, I reckon he could taste it as they went in there.
36:43Now he's lost a bit of momentum as a result.
36:45Rademacher has slowed himself up.
36:47Now he's got it all to do.
36:48We're on lap 15.
36:49It's an 18-lap race.
36:50Still readout in front.
36:52Tarquini right behind him.
36:54Now, down on the cascade,
36:55just slipping through the inside there of Morrison
36:57and the other class beat Peugeot.
36:59He's really storming.
37:00He's leading that battle.
37:02Now, Menuh is on the inside.
37:04Big wonder under brakes.
37:06You can see how hard he's pushing.
37:08I think he is actually touching Rademacher so close.
37:10Now he's on the inside.
37:11That was very, very, very forceful stuff.
37:14Very spectacular.
37:15But, in fact, it doesn't do you any good.
37:17Rademacher is getting too close to the back of Menuh.
37:19He loses the momentum when it can't switch out of the corner.
37:23Didn't lose it there.
37:24He gave us a headbutt instead.
37:25Excuse me, Alan.
37:26I'm coming through.
37:27That's one way not to lose your momentum,
37:28just hand it on to the boy in front.
37:30That was very, very tough,
37:31but Menuh still holds him off.
37:33And that was a big old dunce in the rear of the Mondeo.
37:35And now you've got Matt Neil doing the same to the back of Rademacher.
37:38Indeed.
37:39This is really starting to compress Matt Neil.
37:41Not backwards and coming forwards either.
37:43This is a very, very interesting five-car train with Jason.
37:47All of them tough boys.
37:49Now everyone's scattering.
37:50We're coming down to Lodge Corner.
37:51Menuh on this.
37:52One of the Alfa Romeos.
37:53It's had a rollover.
37:55And he's out of the car.
37:56That's Gavin Piper.
37:57He's fine.
37:58Yeah, that's a big old shunt.
37:59We don't know if Piper was doing a great job.
38:01He was running just on to third place in Class B.
38:04Gone off big time somewhere.
38:06It's a very fast, furious battle between all of those two.
38:08As all of that feel, rather, of Class B as it is here in Class A.
38:12You just see Rademacher there running wide.
38:14Plato is now all over the back of Christensen as well.
38:17Five of them down through Cascades.
38:18There's grass on the track there where somebody has gone off.
38:20There's a station with a yellow flag.
38:22That's Piper.
38:23So he's gone off down Cascades.
38:24That's a very fast part of the track.
38:25That's a very quick part of the circuit.
38:26Years ago, Kelvin Burt went off very badly there in a Volvo.
38:30And it is a part of the track where cars, once they get on the grass,
38:32it falls away from you.
38:33There's no chance of slowing down until you get to that tyre barrier.
38:36That was a great view of how close Rademacher is getting.
38:38I think he's almost perfected it.
38:40Not so close that he slowed himself there, picking up on your point.
38:43But close enough to get right nearby.
38:45Nickerbrook, we're going to turn right, then left,
38:47and everyone is going to compress.
38:51Rademacher is driving the doors of this Vauxhall, it's fair to say.
38:54Yes, he's done a strong job.
38:56But, of course, you've got to stop making contact
38:58because all that will do is slow you down.
39:00It may knock the car ahead of you slightly awry,
39:03but it isn't going to get you past.
39:07Up and over Clay Hill, through the Druids.
39:09Double right-hander.
39:11McNeil in the independent Nissan.
39:14More than capable of dicing with the works guys because he's beaten them.
39:17Now look, Tom Christensen is moving to cover in the Honda.
39:20Plato looks down the inside, just can't quite do it.
39:23That slowed Plato again.
39:25Now the field is starting to string out.
39:28Up and over the start-finish line.
39:31A little bit of breathing space for Alan Menuhin.
39:33Not much, but just enough.
39:35Valuable points for him in fifth position.
39:37He really, really needs it.
39:40Race leader, Anthony Reid. Remember him?
39:43Tarquini right behind him.
39:45Gabriele Tarquini and Anthony Reid are welded together.
39:48Well, they've just managed to pull away from the field,
39:50absolutely trouble-free.
39:52Tarquini not able to take on Anthony Reid in a real battle,
39:55so he's going to go for second place points.
39:57That's 12 points for Tarquini, but it's more importantly 15 for Anthony Reid.
40:02We're going to be able to see a resumption of this battle later on this afternoon.
40:05This is the 1-2 battle on the last lap.
40:09We resume in Race 2 because Tarquini will be the pole man
40:12and Reid will be alongside him,
40:13so they'll be very, very used to each other by the end of the day.
40:17Anthony Reid's just got to keep it together now.
40:19Keep it tidy. One corner left.
40:26Makes it look easy.
40:28Been a very, very good drive from Anthony Reid.
40:30Can't take it away from him. He was a little bit lucky.
40:32He was the pole man, but it's worked for him.
40:34And up and over the strike.
40:35And the checkered flag for Anthony Reid.
40:37Just the job.
40:38Yeah, Anthony's done a superb job.
40:40Uses full position to full advantage.
40:42A great race driver.
40:43Sometimes gets into controversial situations,
40:45but one thing Anthony Reid knows is how to drive a race car.
40:48And here they are still at play at the back end.
40:49That's Jason Plato and Tom Christensen.
40:51Christensen has held him off all race long.
40:53There's Menuh. There's Rademacher.
40:54Menuh has held off Rademacher as well
40:56and just hung on to that fifth position.
40:59Great news for Menuh at least.
41:01He managed to salvage some points from that.
41:04But that was as close as you like.
41:06There's our race leader though.
41:07The man that needed maximum points this afternoon
41:10and he has got them.
41:11You cannot get more points than pole position
41:14and then winning the race.
41:16It'll be an interesting feature race this afternoon.
41:19Pit stops coming into play once again.
41:20We've seen superb pit work from the Ford team.
41:22And of course the team, no favor towards one of their three drivers.
41:26One of them has taken himself out of it, I think, automatically.
41:28Ricard Rydel.
41:29The championship lead really is now going to come down
41:31to Anthony Reid and Alan Menuh.
41:34Yeah, it would take Reid and Menuh not to finish this afternoon
41:38and Rydel to win to make it sensible.
41:41I think also what's good news for us is that
41:43while Anthony has won this race,
41:44Alan Menuh has finished down in fifth place.
41:46And I think that, I have to work it out,
41:48but mathematically it would now stop Menuh
41:50from being able to sum up the championship in the feature race.
41:53Depends what happens to Reid in the feature race,
41:55but it makes that possibility a lot less.
41:57Yeah, in fact, without a win,
42:00no way can Menuh now come away from this
42:04as the championship leader.
42:05So it will go down to the last two rounds.
42:07He needed to be 33 points ahead.
42:10And the Class B boys as well,
42:11really knocking spots off each other
42:14with Morrison hanging on to win that.
42:17Now here's another look
42:18at Gavin Piper.
42:21That's K.
42:23There was contact somehow.
42:24Piper tagged the back of K
42:26and there was Dan Eves in the Peugeot.
42:28And there he goes.
42:29Big shot. That was a big accident.
42:30Now that's a car we're not going to expect to see out in the feature race.
42:33And luckily,
42:34well, you don't want to see too many of those.
42:36A car getting upside down,
42:37having hit the barrier very heavily indeed.
42:39Fortunately, everything's fine.
42:41Yeah, they were having a very, very tight tussle indeed,
42:45those three.
42:47Morrison winning out.
42:49Dan Eves in second place and K in third.
42:53Morrison and K,
42:54the two men leading the Class B championship.
42:57James K will not be pleased to have been tagged
42:59and lose position once again.
43:01It's been extremely frustrating for him.
43:03He feels that he's been robbed of points before getting tangled up.
43:05That's a very, very damaged Alfa.
43:09Well, young Gavin Piper walked away from it
43:11without any problem whatsoever.
43:12But fine drive from James K, in fact,
43:14because he had to start at the very back of the field again.
43:16He had a problem in qualifying with a mechanical problem.
43:19So an eventful race for James K.
43:23A real shame, those Alfa Romeos, a very, very attractive car
43:26and pretty potent as well in the Class B series.
43:32In fact, Gavin Piper and his teammate
43:35had quite eventful times in qualifying as well.
43:38They drive those cars absolutely on the limit.
43:41Confirming the result, though,
43:43Anthony Reid, our winner.
43:44We know that.
43:45Gabriele Tarquini, 6 tenths behind him
43:47at the end of an 18-lap race.
43:49Doesn't get much closer than that.
43:51Then a very, very big gap back to the rest.
43:53Ivan Muller in the Vauxhall, coming home in third position,
43:56just snicking past James Thompson.
43:58That's good for Ivan Muller
43:59because he's coming fourth in the championship outright,
44:01and that will help his championship tally at the end of the year.
44:04Then Thompson, Menuh, Radomac and Matt Neal,
44:07Christensen, Plato and Morrison in the Class B Peugeot,
44:10making it inside the top ten.
44:12As we join Mark Fogarty with the winners.
44:16OK, I'm down here with the winner, Anthony Reid.
44:19He's just taking his gloves off, taking his helmet off.
44:22That was a win, as Charlie Cox and John Watson said,
44:24he really needed.
44:25Also standing by there is Alain Menuh.
44:27He'll have some interesting things to say
44:29about what happened at the start line.
44:30So here he is, just about jumped out of your head.
44:32Well, as soon as I saw some action behind me,
44:35I knew I had to focus on the job ahead of me
44:37and just get on and race my own race.
44:39I can't control what these guys do on the circuit,
44:41but I can control what I do myself,
44:43and I've done it the best possible way,
44:45and that's to win today, so that's good.
44:47You must have been at least surprised.
44:51I didn't expect too much, to be honest,
44:53too much competition from my teammates.
44:55We'd had an interesting briefing with the team manager
44:57prior to the race, so I was surprised
44:59as to what actually happened.
45:01But, you know, I felt that we were going to be quick all weekend
45:04because we don't have the ballast, you see.
45:06The other two carry 40 kilograms for winning
45:08at the previous race at Brands Hatch.
45:10Very good. Antoneri taking advantage of having no ballast,
45:13and he goes into the championship lead on poise.
45:15We'll just wander across here and find the second-place getter,
45:18Gabriele Tarquini.
45:20Gabriele.
45:22Raising a bit of a sweat there, drinking some water.
45:24So, you must have had a grandstand view
45:26of what happened between Ricciard and Alain Meunier at the start.
45:29What did you see?
45:31I think, from my point of view, I think Ricciard
45:34don't have a good start,
45:36so he moved a little bit on the right,
45:38but Alain, I think, had a good start,
45:42so he was on the line,
45:44and I think it was, from my point of view, a rider's fault.
45:47Mistake.
45:49So that's how you saw it.
45:51For your own point, your own race,
45:53you were obviously trying to chase down Anthony Roode,
45:55but just too quick?
45:57Ah, the difference was very close.
45:59I think some lap I was quicker than him,
46:01some other lap I was lower.
46:03I think the level of the car is very close,
46:06so it's important on the second race
46:08that I take a good start,
46:10to be a leader from the beginning.
46:12Very good, Gabriele Tarkini, second.
46:14And Gabriele, of course, as we move to go and find Ivan Muller,
46:16he will start the feature race from pole position.
46:18And here he is, patiently waiting for us, Ivan Muller,
46:21who grabs third place there.
46:23Another very opportunistic drive.
46:25Any chance you get, you grab them, don't you?
46:28Yeah, I think I have learned the two last years
46:30to be opportunistic,
46:32so I was just behind James,
46:34we were more or less at the same speed,
46:36and he was a bit disturbed with some big car,
46:39and I used the opportunity.
46:41Fought your way through to third,
46:43and that's quite important, because I guess,
46:45even though it's still a long shot,
46:47still, probably mathematically, you're still in chance
46:49with a title.
46:51Until we didn't give the cup to the champion,
46:53we still have a chance,
46:55so we have to fight until the end.
46:57And fight, you did indeed.
46:59OK, thanks Ivan Muller.
47:01We'll now wait for Alain Meunier,
47:03as he just walks across.
47:05Alain, obviously, has a very interesting tale to tell.
47:09What happened at the start there?
47:11Well, I had a better start than Ricard,
47:13but for some reason, he decided
47:15to close the door,
47:18and he was driving me on the wall,
47:20but I had more speed, so I was overtaking him.
47:22And I thought, OK, at the last minute,
47:24he's going to open up to let me through,
47:26but he kept closing, so in the end, I backed off.
47:28We touched and he spun, so it's his fault, really.
47:31And then after that, it was OK.
47:34I mean, I didn't want to finish third,
47:36because I didn't want to have any weight for Silverstone,
47:38so I was going to let Thompson through at one point,
47:40but not straight away, because I wanted to build up a gap to Muller.
47:42But then Thompson decided otherwise,
47:44and he almost spun me around at Lodge.
47:46I mean, I was completely opposite, flat on the throttle,
47:48and I just got away with it,
47:50and Muller went past as well.
47:52And then at the end, it was a bit of a struggle.
47:54I think the car must have been damaged in the two contacts,
47:57but I guess for the championship, it's not a bad operation.
48:00Fifth is six points, so it's not too bad.
48:02Well, it's going to be a fight down to the wire now,
48:04but going back to that start line incident,
48:06I mean, it's quite remarkable, and it didn't happen, should it?
48:09No, but having said that,
48:11I mean, we seem to have problems most times here at Alton Park.
48:14I mean, it's quite narrow.
48:16But really, that should not happen.
48:18No, I mean, at the end of the day,
48:20if you make a bad start,
48:22then, you know, that's your own fault,
48:24so then you should concede, yeah?
48:26I mean, the problem is you took a big risk,
48:28and, you know, I took a risk too, actually,
48:31to try to carry on, but I was faster.
48:33It was my line, so that's how it is.
48:36OK, thanks, Alain Meunier.