"I've thrown all my trophies away"
01 August 2007 Fabrizio Giovanardi is the Michael Schumacher of touring cars, with six championships to his name. Keith Collantine finds out why the Italian star has thrown out his immense collection of prizes, and why he’s after the British championship trophy now. Fabrizio Giovanardi (left) means business. It’s Saturday morning at Snetterton circuit in Norfolk, his team have just nailed the fastest times in practice, and he’s eager to get on with the weekend. The 39 year-old spent all year reeling in championship leader Jason Plato (right), but lost it all in a nightmare event two weeks ago, and is clearly keen to get on with the racing. We’ve met for a chat in Vauxhall’s hospitality tent but conversation begins slowly – his English isn’t quite fluent and he takes time piecing his answers together. Trashed But when I ask him why he’s just thrown out the hundreds of trophies he’s won for top-three finishes in his glittering career, his face cracks into a broad grin.
His speech is accompanied by a few authentically Italian ‘hands in the air’ gestures. But when I ask him if he recycled them, he looks at me like I’ve turned purple. Fabrizio says: “No. They’re in the trash.” So he’s not one for sentiment. But he did keep what he calls “the important ones” - the championship trophies. All six of them, won in the Spanish, Italian and European touring car championships from 1997 to 2002. Champion As the European series expanded and became the world championship, Fabrizio left, and now he races in the British series. So why is this superstar driver racing here instead of the international competition? He doesn’t want to elaborate too much but it’s clear the Alfa Romeo team he won three European titles with was no longer delivering the goods. He explains: “I want to stay with a good manufacturer team. The professionalism of the team is important. You can be in the world championship, but if you’re not with a good team, there’s no point.” Fast car Clearly VX Racing are doing a much better job and he’s very happy with the all-new Vauxhall Vectra for 2006. He says: “It’s really quick, very good on the faster circuits.
It translates into a seriously competitive package in the British Touring Car Championship and Fabrizio is hunting down Seat rival Jason Plato in the title battle. Wiped out The car has given them some trouble – his last weekend at Donington was ruined by something as simple as his windscreen wipers, which refused to work properly, leaving him near blind in streaming wet weather. He says: “The rain on the circuit was really heavy, I tried to stay with the leading group of cars but…”. He flails his hands in the air to indicate how quickly the car snapped out of control. I ask him if the wipers are fixed now. “Yes they are,” he replies. And it’s clear he’s not ready to laugh about it yet. British is best Racing in the rain is an inevitable part of competing in Britain. But Fabrizio is complimentary about the British championship. He says it compares very well with the world series: “The rules, for sure, are better. In terms of the cars it’s more competitive.” The world championship governing body often gives advantages to certain cars to make them more competitive, which Fabrizio doesn’t approve of. He explains: “In the world series BMW always win, or maybe Seat when they don’t have to carry as much weight, or maybe Chevrolet when they’re allowed to have more power.”
On the day before the three Snetterton races he lies 25 points behind Plato – but the two are yet to have a big fight on the track. Will that change here? Fabrizio says: “It’s hard to say. Last year we’ve never really got that close on the track.” Off road But the next day Fabrizio beats Plato in the first two races, and in the third the pair finally have the showdown we’ve all been waiting for. Late in the race, he dives alongside the Seat driver, the two bang door-handles and fly off the road at 100mph. Bouncing through the air, both regain the circuit with Fabrizio narrowly ahead. He clings on to finish third, his rival fourth, and more precious points taken out of Plato’s lead. That’s what it takes to be a six times champion. The remaining three rounds of the British Touring Car Championship are on 19th August at Brands Hatch, Kent, 2nd September at Knockhill, Fife, Scotland and 14th October in Thruxton, Hampshire. Auto Trader links "My kid brother's as fast as Hamilton"
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He says: “I’ve got no room! I’ve got so many trophies for first, second, third places. I threw them all out and just kept my championship trophies.”
“But it’s also good in medium-slow corners, even though it has a fairly long wheelbase.”
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