Fabrizio Giovanardi says coming out on top of his panel-bashing scrape with Jason Plato at Snetterton in July was probably the decisive moment that enabled him to go on and beat the Briton to the 2007 Dunlop British Touring Car title.

In a look-back on his championship-winning season, the Italian believes he gained a crucial psychological advantage over Plato when he kept control to stay in front after their cars clashed and ran off the track in the third of Snetterton’s two races.

Significantly, it marked the third in what was to be a run of seven races on the trot in which Giovanardi finished ahead of Plato as he sought to reduce the points gap between them. Ultimately, Giovanardi went on to win the title from Plato in the season’s very last round, held at Thruxton last month.

“I think Snetterton was the turning point in the season,” Giovanardi told BTCC.net during his recent test at Silverstone. “Inside the car, inside me, there was no way Jason Plato was going to beat me this time. I think Jason’s mistake was to come across the track towards me to try to shut me out because I had momentum on him from the previous corner.

“But it meant I was prepared for it and now I can say something quite strange – the grass in the UK is very abrasive! Our cars were both off the track but always I was in control. There was still enough grip. When the contact came and continued there was a tremendous feeling inside me to stay in front. He was not coming in front of me. I couldn’t let this happen.

“I tell you, I was very happy when I got out of the car. I had beaten him in all three races on that day. Psychologically, this was really important for me and my team. Just look at it now – I won the title by three points. If he had pushed me behind in that race, he would have gained two more points and I would have lost two… it was a big moment.”

Giovanardi says there were moments during the season when he felt dispirited – simply because at times Plato appeared to have an answer for everything he tried. Twice the Italian had to come from 20-plus points behind after car problems.

At Oulton Park in June, he emerged from the second race suddenly with a 13-point lead over Plato who had been in front since the opening round at Brands Hatch in April. But when they came to leave the Cheshire venue, Plato had closed it back down to just one point after Giovanardi crashed out of race three – the innocent victim as he tried avoiding an incident in front of him.

A disastrous Donington Park meeting followed – Plato brilliantly won twice in the wet; Giovanardi failed to score in one race when his Vectra’s windscreen wipers packed up – and suddenly the SEAT driver had drawn clear again, by a massive 25 points.

At Brands Hatch in August and Knockhill in September, there were further set-backs for Giovanardi.

He added: “After Donington, it was almost time to restart my season! But I was not panicking because I knew we still had half the season to close the same gap as we had after the first rounds at Brands in April. I knew we could do it.

“We did seven races in front of him and it was coming back to us. But even in the sixth of those races I was left feeling a bit empty inside. It was race three at Brands Hatch – near the end I was in fourth and he was eighth. We finished the race with me still in fourth but he was fifth because the three cars in front of him crashed together so still he only lost two points
to me!

“Knockhill in race two it would have been eight races in a row that I had beaten him, but then I was put off the track by Tom Onslow-Cole. This was the moment in the season when I was really angry. If I had finished in front of Jason he would have had a lot pressure in race three, but again he was able to keep some distance in front.”

In the end, though, it all came good for Giovanardi. Finals Day at Thruxton saw him again achieve the treble over Plato, although they had gone into the very last round with the Briton still ahead… by a point.

Giovanardi said: “I was alongside but behind him on the grid. I concentrated so hard on my start because I knew it was my big chance to overtake him. When I completed lap one in third and I could see him in my mirrors back in sixth I knew I probably had it.

“His car was lighter than mine on its tyres in the second half of the races but now I had the space, the chance to drive carefully and protect the tyres in case he came strong towards
the end.

“The feeling when I crossed the line… it was a great feeling for me, but it was the feeling that everyone in the team had won. This was special because of what we had done with a new car and because we had twice come from a long way behind. All the work that everybody had put into the season. At the same time I felt sorry for Jason because he made winning very difficult for me and so the sensation was greater. But someone has to win and someone has to lose…”