BTCC Rounds 19 & 20 from Thruxton

[Tom Nas <tnas@euronet.nl>]

Hi all,

This weekend's BBC coverage of the BTCC races was once more very good. And
from Audi's perspective, this was a very successful weekend indeed. Alain
Menu has already secured the 1997 championship, but the battle for second
and third place still continues.
The 19th race was dominated by tyre choice. Thruxton is a very fast track,
and tyres proved to be decisive in this race, which started out in the wet
but soon dried up.
Obviously, Audi had made the right choice. Bintcliffe took first and Biela
second, and they held these positions for the rest of the race. Thompson
and Tarquini took third and fourth respectively. Several competitors made a
pitstop for slicks, and lost the race as a consequence. Paul Radisich
traditionally went off, too.

The 20th race started out and remained dry. Biela immediately took the
lead, and held it until the end, closely followed, but not tailgated, by
Menu. Bintcliffe had a mediocre start and took 7th. After a very nice scrap
with Rydell and Plato, he managed to take 5th. Patrick Watts and Anthony
Reid both went off with  damage to suspension and engine respectively.
Biela now passes Plato in the drivers' championship, ending the 'clean
sweep' for Renault.

Although the winner of the championship is indisputable already with four
races to go, the manufacturers' championship is still open. Renault has 260
points, Honda 196, Audi 192 and Volvo 174.
The drivers' championship positions are: 1 Menu (251) 2 Biela (146) 3 Plato
(132), 4 Thompson 120. Bintcliffe is 6th with 111.

More action next weekend at Brand's Hatch, broadcast by the BBC in two
weeks' time.

Bye,

Tom

 _______________________________________________________________________
 Tom Nas                                          Zeist, The Netherlands
 tnas@euronet.nl
1988 Audi 80 1.8S, Tizianrot metallic, 212,000km

  Half a bee, philosophically, must ipso facto half not be. But can it be
  an entire bee, if half the bee is not a bee, due to some ancient injury?

                                                -- Monty Python