Tom Onslow-Cole made it two wins from two races at Thruxton this afternoon, but victory came at the expense of his championship-leading teammate Fabrizio Giovanardi, who suffered a puncture while leading on the final lap.

Onslow-Cole started on pole position after his earlier victory, but it was Colin Turkington in the first of the Team RAC BMWs that led into the first corner, ahead of Giovanardi, Darren Turner, Matt Neal and Onslow-Cole. The safety car was out on track at the end of the opening lap after Martyn Bell hit the tyre wall on the exit from the Segrave section of the Complex. There were also first lap spins for Tom Chilton and Andrew Jordan, while Chris Stockton ran off the track at Noble.

Jason Plato started from the back of the grid following his disqualification from the first race, but the former champion had climbed up to 14th position by the end of the opening lap. He continued his progress through the pack once racing resumed and was quickly challenging Gordon Shedden for 10th position.

Race leader Colin Turkington found himself under pressure from Fabrizio Giovanardi soon after the restart, but Giovanardi also had to defend from the SEAT of Darren Turner behind. On lap seven, Giovanardi pulled his Vectra alongside the Team RAC BMW on the run up Woodham Hill and the pair touched as they entered the Club chicane. Both cars cut straight across the second part of the chicane and it Giovanardi who emerged in the lead.

Once in the lead, Giovanardi was never really troubled by Turkington or any of the others behind him. While Tom Onslow-Cole closed on the Italian over the last couple of laps, the first race winner would have been unlikely to have done anything other than sit behind his more experienced teammate through to the chequered flag. But disaster struck for Giovanardi, almost with the chequered flag in sight. As he came through the high-speed Church bend for the final time, the Vectra’s left-front tyre gave way. It was another birthday present for Tom Onslow-Cole, who found himself on the way to his second win of the day, while Giovanardi managed to crawl over the line in tenth position.

Giovanardi’s puncture aside, a Vauxhall podium lockout looked a possibility as the race entered the final few laps. Matt Neal was running fourth, chasing hard to catch Colin Turkington in third position. Turkington had already lost out to Onslow-Cole when he ran wide at Church and was determined not to let another Vectra past. That did not stop Neal from trying though, diving down the inside at the entrance to the Complex on the final lap. Despite the love-tap from Neal, Turkington kept the car on track and retained third position, which became second when Giovanardi suffered his puncture.

At the end of the race, it was Onslow-Cole who crossed the line first, ahead of Colin Turkington and Matt Neal. Darren Turner finished fourth for SEAT, with Mat Jackson fifth and Adam Jones quietly climbing to sixth. Jason Plato made it up to seventh from the back of the grid, while Gordon Shedden was eighth and Andrew Jordan ninth. Fabrizio Giovanardi scored a single point by crossing the line in tenth, although that score was trebled as he also set the fastest lap of the race and scored a point for leading.

Following the race, Tom Onslow-Cole said, “Happy birthday me! It’s a mixed result because it damages Fabrizio’s championship challenge, but I’m obviously delighted to take my second win. It was a hard race and I made it even harder for myself. I had a very slow start and from then I was fighting my way back up. The touch between Matt [Neal] and Darren Turner played nicely into my hands and from then I kept attacking. It’s great to have won my second race of the day.”