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00:00And we'll start our coverage of last weekend's motor racing from Alton Park, the latest action from the British Touring Car Championship.
00:07The Auto Trader Championship, headed by Frank Bieler, but Audi, with that newly imposed weight penalty, was set to find life a little tougher from now on,
00:16especially with the growing challenge from BMW and Volvo.
00:19Charlie Cox, privateer of last year, is alongside our commentator, Steve Slater.
00:24MUSIC PLAYS
00:54The weather wasn't much better on Monday morning, with more rain for the team's warm-up session.
01:04And that meant problems for Rickard Rideau, spinning his Volvo off the track and leaving his mechanics just three hours to repair his damaged car.
01:11It's just a bit too wet this morning, and we were trying to get a good balance on wet tyres.
01:17The car was quick, but I locked the rear brakes into one of the chicanes, spun and hit the tyre wall a little bit.
01:23Not too hard. It's not a problem to fix it for the first race.
01:27Drama two for Audi on Monday.
01:29John Binkliffe was second in qualifying on Sunday, but now his mechanics have a lot of work to do before the race.
01:34We tried a different setting for the warm-up. We had a few problems in the second qualifying yesterday, so we thought we'd try a new set-up.
01:41And to be honest, we had just caught the curve, and there's no way coming back from there for me, so we ended up in the barrier, I'm afraid.
01:47On the grid, and the Audi team are still working on the car, and I'm joined by touring car racer Charlie Cox.
01:53And the good news is, the rain stopped, and the track is dry for race one at least, but there's big drama, because already James Thompson is going to miss race one.
02:01He's broken his power steering, would you believe, on the warm-up lap, after setting the best qualifying position for a Vectra all year.
02:08It's an Audi 1-2 with Frank Beeler and John Binkliffe on the front row of the grid, ahead of the BMW of Joe Winklehock, and the Volvo of Richard Rydell.
02:15James Thompson's missing from fifth, so it's Alan Menuh's Renault on its own, ahead of Silverstone winner Kelvin Burt, and the Vectra of John Clelland.
02:23Paul Radicich and David Leslie on row five, Roberto Ravaglia and Will Hoy on row six.
02:28Patrick Watts and Steve Robertson, then Tim Harvey, starting his 150th touring car race, alongside the privateer Richard Kay.
02:3616 laps ahead of them, a dry track, and round nine of the Autotrader RAC Touring Car Championship is go!
02:42Into Old Hall corner, Beeler leads Binkliffe, then Winklehock's BMW, and that's Radicich, the Mondeo, head-on into the barriers, Hoy's Renault's in ball two.
02:51And that's a classic Alton Park first corner, context commonplace when the whole field funnels into that right-hander, and Hoy's beached as well.
02:58Drama before the first corner, it's continuing, Alan Menuh all over the back of Richard Rydell's Volvo, but out in front, it's the Audi 1-2, but just look at Joe Winklehock piling the pressure on Binkliffe.
03:10The order's Bieler, Binkliffe, Winklehock, Rydell, Menuh, but the safety car is coming out onto the track as the marshals clear the wreckage from the start straight.
03:23Will's OK, but what incredibly bad luck. He made an absolutely blindingly good start, straight down the outside, cleaned up, not his fault.
03:32Will Hoy is just one of this championship bad luck magnets. If it's going to happen, it seems always the haps to Will.
03:38Do you know who it was? No, I don't know. He just chipped me into a wall. I can't believe it.
03:46Why are people so...
03:47I had a cracking start, and then somebody just pushes me into the wall.
03:51Just not...
03:58I can't believe it.
04:01Just the sort of luck you need, isn't it?
04:03As Will walks back to his pit, cars form eight behind the safety car.
04:08So let's take a look back at that start, riding in the Peugeot with Patrick Watts.
04:11Keep your eye on the Mondeo, immediately in front of us on the right.
04:14Radisic lights the tyres up, a bad start. The VM and the Honda move in alongside of him.
04:19Radisic moves across to the left. Bang, there's contact from the VM on the left-hand side.
04:23That sends him cannoning into Will Hoy. Hoy spun around, off backwards.
04:27Innocent bystander punted into the wall.
04:30But the race goes on. The safety car's lights are off.
04:33That's the indication to the drivers he'll be pulling into the pit lane, but no overtaking till the start line.
04:39The yellow flag's still out. They're waiting for the wave green flag.
04:43Off goes the pace car. The speed is building.
04:47Audi 1-2. Bieler leads Bidcliffe across the line, but not for long.
04:50Joe Winklehock makes his move.
04:52Down the inside, up to second place at Old Hall.
04:55Then it's Bidcliffe, Rydell, MenĂ¼, Bird, Cleland, Remaglia, Watts, Leslie and Kay.
05:00Down the avenue, 130 miles an hour.
05:03Sixth gear, down to fourth, 85 miles an hour into Cascades.
05:06MenĂ¼ slides out wide behind Rydell, building speed now.
05:10Down towards Island Bend, fastest part of the circuit.
05:13This is a fiercely fast part of Alton Park.
05:16No place for the faint-hearted.
05:18And just look at MenĂ¼ reeling in Rydell.
05:21He's really got this car handling brilliantly as they come down to the hairpin.
05:24Richard Rydell in fourth place.
05:28Alan MenĂ¼ in fifth.
05:29Getting very close indeed to the back of the Volvo.
05:32Up from 60, up to 115 miles an hour.
05:35Then hard on the brakes for the tight left and right.
05:38Fulsome chicane.
05:41And Rydell's Volvo is closing in on Bidcliffe's third-placed Audi.
05:44Over hilltop.
05:45And Winklehock's BMW is closing in on Bidcliffe's Audi for the lead.
05:51Down the inside on the brakes.
05:53Winklehock takes the lead at the Nickerbrook chicane.
05:56Bidcliffe's second.
05:56His teammate Bidcliffe in third with the Volvo right behind him.
06:00We're riding with Bidcliffe now.
06:01And just get a load of the power of that BMW.
06:03This is a real power circuit, Alton Park.
06:05And the BMW is just flaunting it.
06:08Flying up towards Druids.
06:10It's a double right-hander at the back of the circuit.
06:12Incredibly important to get this corner right.
06:14Because there's a long drag along the back of Alton Park.
06:17The lodge corner.
06:18The double right-hander is absolutely everything.
06:21And Joe Winklehock is out in front.
06:23The queue forming now behind Bidcliffe.
06:26Heading down through Dearsby.
06:28Across the line.
06:29BMW leads.
06:30Then the two Audis.
06:30Then Rydell's Volvo.
06:31MenĂ¼'s Renault.
06:32Bert in the second Volvo.
06:33Cleland in the Vectra.
06:35Roberta Ravaglia, eighth.
06:36And David Leslie in ninth place in the Honda.
06:39All those cars covered by just a handful of seconds.
06:43Kicking up the dirt at the edge of old hall corner.
06:46Joe Winklehock from Stuttgart in Germany.
06:48Leads Frank Bieler.
06:50Then the English driver John Bidcliffe in a fine third place.
06:53Starting to feel the pressure, though, from the Volvo and the Renault.
06:56Just keep an eye out for Bidcliffe.
06:58He's actually moving to the inside of the circuit already to try to fend off Rydell.
07:02He's driving defensively.
07:03There's only one ideal line through any corner, but with his four-wheel drive, Bidcliffe's got more opportunity than most to adjust his line, then move back again and still get out of the corner ahead of Rydell.
07:12But the pressure's not only on John Bidcliffe now.
07:16Richard Rydell is having to watch out for Alan Menuh in that fifth place in the Renault.
07:21The Renault, again, seems to have the advantage on the brakes through the corners.
07:25The Volvo striking sparks off the kerbs.
07:27And Kelvin Burt is closing in on Menuh's tail as well.
07:30The whole leading group are telescoping as they come over the crest down to the Niccabrook chicane.
07:37And Alan Menuh is getting very close indeed.
07:41Menuh has the handling in this Renault, but it doesn't have the legs of the Volvo.
07:45You can see from the back of the car coming up the hill, there's a gap opening up.
07:48It just seems a little light on power, that Renault.
07:52Into Druids.
07:53Winklehock's BMW is now well ahead.
07:55Then it's the two Audis.
07:56Then Rydell's Volvo's starting to take an advantage of that little bit of extra power.
08:00And he's closing in on Bidcliffe again, forcing him to defend.
08:03And look at Menuh, very late on the brakes.
08:06Right on the tail of the Volvo.
08:07Excuse me, Richard, coming through.
08:10Oh, no, he's not, says the Swede.
08:12There's still Joe Winklehock who leads across the line.
08:14Then Bieler and Bidcliffe.
08:15Then the battle between Rydell and Menuh.
08:18Volvo and Renault.
08:19And Kelvin Bird in the second of the Volvos is right on Menuh's tail.
08:24John Pellett's next seventh place.
08:26Then it's Roberto Revaglia's BMW.
08:28David Leslie's Honda.
08:29Patrick Watts in the Peugeot rounding out the top ten.
08:33But Alan Menuh now really fighting to hold on to his fifth place.
08:36Kelvin Bird is piling the pressure on in the second of the Volvos.
08:39Meanwhile, Joe Winklehock set a new lap record.
08:42An average speed of 97.97 miles an hour.
08:46And that's the rear end of Richard Rydell's car.
08:49Still sporting the damage from Alan Menuh's demonstration of Braille driving a bit earlier.
08:53That's the bumper flapping behind the car.
08:56That's not going to help his top-end speed any with the aerodynamic drag from the side of it.
09:01And perhaps that's working in John Bidcliffe's favour.
09:03He's starting to pull a little further ahead of Richard Rydell's Volvo.
09:06Menuh continuing to pile on the pressure, though.
09:09And it's all happening for Patrick Watts in 12th place.
09:13Steve Robertson runs wide, forks him.
09:15And that's a problem because it's a hill out of that chicane.
09:17And straight past goes Owen McCauley.
09:19Patrick's lost his momentum.
09:21McCauley's passed.
09:22And now it's a drag into the second chicane.
09:24Nickerbrook.
09:25A big fuel underbrakes.
09:26It looks like Robertson gets the corner.
09:28And McCauley gets to go and see the stewards.
09:30They're getting straight across that chicane.
09:31And that's Clelland over on the left-hand side.
09:33He's off, too.
09:35Disappointment for Clelland.
09:36Was seventh.
09:37He's rejoining at the tail of the field.
09:39Weaving a little to clean the dirt from his tyres.
09:42But it's not been the best of weekends for the Vauxhall team.
09:45Thompson's out.
09:45Clelland's at the back.
09:47And this is a brilliant four-way battle developing now for third place.
09:50Bidcliffe, then Rydell.
09:52Then it's Menuh.
09:53Then Kelvin Bird closing in at the tail of that group.
09:57Roberto Ravaglia in the BMW, too.
09:59But it's Joe Winklehoff, the race leader, 2.4 seconds ahead of Frank Bieler.
10:03Then it's Bidcliffe in the pack, a further second behind.
10:08But into the pits.
10:09John Clelland is heading for retirement.
10:12Disappointment for the reigning champion.
10:14It's a continuing saga of a bad weekend.
10:17There was an oil flag out going into Poulston's.
10:21And it just got loose, got away from me and got in the grass.
10:27And dug its nose in.
10:29It was that.
10:30Then it went to turn into the next, into Nickerbrook.
10:34And there was definitely a lot of oil down there.
10:36And because it wouldn't turn then, it just got well sideways.
10:39And that was the end of it.
10:41Not a good day at the office.
10:43A day to forget for John Clelland, but not such a bad day for Winklehoff, Bieler, Bidcliffe, Rydell, Menuh and Burt.
10:51They're all still right on the limit.
10:53And this Volvo Renault skirmish is getting hotter and hotter.
10:56Menuh's stuck in a sandwich between these two Volvos.
10:58He's desperate to try to get past.
11:00But at the same time, he's got to fend off Burt, who's climbing all over the back of him.
11:05And behind that pack, Roberto Revaglia is playing a waiting game in the second of the BMWs.
11:10This race is going to go all the way down to the wire.
11:12And the battles are going on all the way down the field, too.
11:15Steve Robertson's holding off Gary Ailes in the Nissan.
11:18Then Patrick Watts recovering fast in his Peugeot.
11:20Then James Kaye in his Honda.
11:22And heading into the pits, that's Owen McCauley in the Nissan.
11:25And I suspect this is something to do with that incident down at the chicane.
11:29And Calvin Burt slides the big Volvo right on the very limit of addition.
11:35Through Cascades, onto the straight, down to Island Bend.
11:38And ahead of Burt, just listen to how hard Menuh's working this Renault through this sweeping left-hander.
11:43130 miles an hour and better.
11:46And bang, he's determined to get rid of the bumper on the back of Rydell's car one way or the other.
11:51They're down to second for this corner, then working back up through the gears towards the first of the two chicane.
11:56And Rydell's really keeping his cool throughout this onslaught.
11:59The bumper's not giving up, and neither's Rydell.
12:01And while all that's going on, that's a little bit of a breathing space for the two Audis ahead.
12:05John Fincliffe still in third place, Frank Bieler in second place.
12:09But ahead of them both, Joe Finkelhock's long gone.
12:13And look at Calvin Burt in the second Volvo, really piling the pressure on Alan Menuh now.
12:17Looks one way, then looks the other at Nickerbrook's chicane.
12:20Menuh hops over the curbs.
12:23Roberto Revaglia, he's up to seventh place.
12:25Started 11th, closing in on Burt's Volvo.
12:28But out in front, Joe Finkelhock now has almost a five-second advantage over the Audis and the battling pack.
12:34And this is a brilliant drive from Smokin' Joe.
12:37He's opened up a comfortable buffer now over that pair of Audis.
12:40He'll just be nursing things along, keeping an eye on them, making sure they don't get too close.
12:44It's BMWs and Audis.
12:45They seem to have the front end sewn up.
12:47And Revaglia is really closing up in that second BMW, courtesy of this Volvo Renault tussle.
12:53Across the line, Joe Finkelhock's now almost five seconds ahead of the Audis.
12:57Then come the pack.
12:58Bieler, Fincliffe, Rydell, Menuh, Burt and Revaglia, all covered by just two seconds.
13:03Old Hall, Revaglia challenges Burt.
13:06Burt's challenging Menuh, and Menuh's challenging Rydell.
13:09Burt's alongside, he's on the grass.
13:12The Volvo's weaving.
13:13Burt's out of control, heading for the barriers, and that is a big one.
13:18That's a massive hit.
13:19Across that grass, downhill, more than 120 miles an hour.
13:23Once he left the circuit, there was no stopping the car.
13:25These cars are so finely balanced, it only takes just a touch between them to send one
13:32of them spearing off the circuit.
13:33They've just kissed there.
13:35It started a pendulum effect up in Kelvin's car.
13:37And once he's on the grass, he's just a passenger.
13:41Oh, straight into the side of that tyre barrier.
13:43That's a big lateral hit.
13:45But fortunately, Kelvin's got one of these new seats that wraps around his head to give
13:48him lateral protection.
13:50Riding now with Kelvin Burt alongside Alan Menuh.
13:53Menuh just doesn't see him.
13:55Touch there.
13:55That's what put Kelvin Burt on the grass.
13:57The barrier comes up.
13:59And thankfully, Burt was sitting on the right-hand side of the car.
14:03Well, after that, there was no question of the race being stopped while the medical team
14:07worked on Kelvin Burt.
14:08He was unconscious for some 15 minutes, but has every reason to thank the improving safety
14:13standards within these touring cars.
14:15And indeed, he's ended up shaken, bruised, but is optimistic about driving in the next
14:20championship meeting at Snetterton in a fortnight's time.
14:23And obviously, he'd missed the second race at Alton Park.
14:26The race result declared at that point.
14:28Victory for Joe Winklehock.
14:29But the championship leader, Frank Bieler, remaining competitive to take second ahead of
14:33his teammate, John Binkliffe.
14:35Kelvin Burt given sixth position.
14:37I know he's watching this at home, seeing the crash for the first time.
14:41And I'm sure he's reflecting right now that he's a very lucky fella indeed.
14:45There's a massive crowd at Snetterton to see the British Touring Car Championships bumper
14:49to bumper action.
14:51And with less than a second covering the top 12 on the grid, there's bound to be plenty
14:55of it.
14:56But before it all begins, there's a chance to mingle with the mighty for autographs and
15:03a chat.
15:04With 10 different manufacturers and 20 top drivers, including seven past champions, the
15:10BTCC is the envy of the world.
15:13And the competition is razor sharp.
15:16BMW's Joe Winklehock is the man to watch.
15:18And he seems very happy.
15:20The car that's a very good balance, I feel really confident.
15:24And we did already on Friday, the pre-test we did a long run, which was quiet from the
15:31beginning to the end, very consistent.
15:33So, yeah, I think the car is, hopefully, I think, I hope to have the quickest car.
15:42The rear-wheel drive BMW was certainly the quickest car at Snetterton during testing and
15:47qualifying.
15:48Race two, equally incident-packed, Winklehock prevented from making it a double success after
15:55making contact with Binkliff at Knickerbrook.
15:59The German left fuming by what he regarded as deliberate blocking tactics.
16:05Richard Kaye, also in the wars.
16:07He'd been top privateer in race one, and now he was crashing out and allowing Lee Brooks
16:12to strengthen his total cup position.
16:14But up front, to the delight of the Alton crowd, Richard Rydell sweeps past Bieler on
16:19lap six.
16:21And now there was nothing between Rydell and a fifth championship win, his first of the
16:25season, which he eventually took by a very comfortable margin.
16:31Bieler's championship position was scarcely dented, however.
16:34Rydell took second spot from Revalia, but Bieler still a massive 43 points clear.
16:44And the day's ending early too for Joe Winklehock.
16:51Wide onto the grass, and that's hooked him straight across to the other side of the circuit.
16:55If you run wide at Cascades, you're coming fast down the hill, turning left, you always
16:59spin to the inside of the track.
17:01As I said, it's a huge, huge impact.
17:04Maximum damage to the back of that car.
17:06And the day's ending early too for Joe Winklehock.
17:09One win, but one non-finish.
17:11And Joe knows above everyone that the consistency is what you need to win this championship.
17:16To make matters worse for him, it's an Audi 1-2 still, with Bieler and Binkliffe holding
17:21on ahead of a very determined Richard Rydell.
17:23We're in car with Richard now.
17:25He has a look down the inside.
17:27He's desperate to get past Binkliffe.
17:28We're coming up the lodge corner here.
17:30He's going to have a run there, see if he can get through.
17:32Yes, there is room.
17:33Two wheels up on the cross.
17:34No way, Binkliffe.
17:35Back you go.
17:36This is the widest Audi in England, and Binkliffe's not helping you get past.
17:39John Binkliffe doing a superb job of defending, and Alan Menuh takes advantage as Rydell loses
17:45momentum to make a run alongside at Old Hall.
17:48Rydell holds on, holds the inside line.
17:50He does a Binkliffe on Menuh.
17:53Now he's trying to get past Binkliffe.
17:55He's down the inside.
17:57He'll have the advantage at the left-hander at Cascades.
17:59Rydell does it, up to second place.
18:01Menuh tries to follow through, but Binkliffe closes the door again.
18:04Revaglia right on the tail of Menuh too.
18:07Bieler out in front.
18:08Now it's Rydell in the Volvo.
18:10Binkliffe still holding on, defending furiously in third place.
18:14Menuh there, right on his tail.
18:15He's trying hard.
18:17Stands on the brakes, gathers him in as he comes into the corner.
18:20Hard on the power.
18:21Binkliffe has got the edge, though.
18:22He's got the grip with the four-wheel drive, and I think he's also got that slight horsepower
18:26advantage.
18:27More so than he did with the Volvo.
18:28Riccardo Rydell is flying, closing in now on the race leader.
18:34Meanwhile, Alain Menuh is harrying John Binkliffe in the second of the Audis for his third position.
18:41Over the crest, over hilltop, down to Nickerbrook.
18:43And again, Binkliffe holds the tight inside line.
18:47A nudge on the tail, though, this time from Menuh.
18:49The Swiss is getting very determined indeed.
18:53Meanwhile, in the pits, Joe Winklehock is a spectator.
18:56But already in the first lap, I was really a lot quicker than Binkliffe.
19:00And in every corner, he blocked me.
19:03And so, I must say, it was not so nice.
19:06And also now, in the race, you can see he blocked all the cars behind him.
19:10And so, they are about one second slower.
19:14Well, the battle goes on as James Thompson and Richard Kaye walk home.
19:17Menuh is closing again on the tail of Binkliffe's Audi.
19:20Revaglia, in turn, is closing on Menuh's Renault.
19:23It's getting absolutely frantic.
19:26We're riding with Menuh, 135 miles an hour in sixth gear.
19:29And again, Binkliffe takes the tighter line through Island Bend.
19:33Controls Menuh's speed down into the hairpin.
19:35Both the cars braking hard, down to 60 miles an hour.
19:38Second gear.
19:40Now, the Audi uses its power and traction to rocket out towards the Poulsen chicane.
19:45Peaking at 110 miles an hour, then down to 60.
19:48Fifth gear, down to second, clips the kerbs.
19:51Menuh kerb-hopps just that little bit harder, that little bit more determined.
19:56Menuh's closing up on Binkliffe now as they run down the hill towards the Nickerbrook chicane.
20:00It's going to be a real late-breaking duel here.
20:02You can see it.
20:04Binkliffe locks up.
20:05Oh, you can hear in the engine.
20:06So does Menuh.
20:07One sideways, the other.
20:08It's an opportunity for Menuh on the inside.
20:09But he's also got a cover because he's got the BMW right behind him.
20:13Then the drag up the hill.
20:14It looks as though Binkliffe's got the legs on him.
20:17It's Binkliffe and Menuh.
20:18Revaglia in the BMW.
20:20Will Hoy in the second Renault.
20:21It's now a five-car scrap because David Leslie's there in the Honda 2.
20:25It's a real dumb fight.
20:26Five cars locked together.
20:30Soon to become six.
20:31John Clallon's catching fast in the Vectra too.
20:35And again, Binkliffe defends.
20:37Takes the tighter line.
20:38Menuh and Revaglia stack up behind him through Dias Leap.
20:41And at the head of the field, Richard Rydell is definitely closing in on Frank Bieler.
20:49It's four-cylinder, four-wheel drive from Germany.
20:51Five-cylinder, two-wheel drive, Volvo from Sweden.
20:56German driver, a Swedish driver.
20:59Both the cars right on the very limit through Cascades.
21:03And the fastest lap goes to Richard Rydell.
21:05It's bringing him closer and closer to the back bumper of the Audi.
21:09And Rydell is hurling that big Volvo through Ireland Bend.
21:15Very determined drive.
21:17And Rydell obviously seems to have the legs now on the Audi.
21:20It seems to me as though it's a matter of when, not if, that he'll actually get past Bieler.
21:25The Volvo shot on Michelin's.
21:26Bieler is on Dunlop's.
21:28This is the Audi carrying the 30-kilo penalty weight for doing too well earlier in the season.
21:33They've been handicapped back.
21:34Maybe that's starting to tell as the race goes on.
21:37It mightn't affect the Audi so much in qualifying, but across a race distance, extra wear and tear on the brakes, working those tyres a bit harder, it could really tell.
21:45We know that the Volvo has been blisteringly fast here in testing and unofficial practice.
21:51Qualifying in races, it's nice to see it's starting to be turned into practice here.
21:55He's really, really hounding now.
21:56Moving up fast, it seems to me as well as though there's a horsepower edge here for the Volvo.
22:02And just listen to that howling five-cylinder Volvo as it gets closer and closer to Frank Bieler's Audi Quattro.
22:09He's got more speed onto the straight this time.
22:11He's in a position to attack.
22:14And just listen to the crowd.
22:16Rydell goes through.
22:17A strong pass by Rydell, but great race manners from Bieler.
22:20He could see Rydell was quicker and he gave him room.
22:23And across the line is Rydell and Bieler, the class of the field.
22:27They're now over four seconds ahead of the battle behind them.
22:30And that's Bint Cliff and Menuh, Rivaglia, Hoy, Leslie and Harvey.
22:34And with John Cuellen ninth and Gary Ailes tenth, that means there are seven different types of car in the top ten places.
22:40And every one of them is absolutely driving on the limit.
22:44Look at Owen McCauley there giving that Nissan a suspension test through Old Hall.
22:47Absolutely on the ragged edge.
22:49Meanwhile, out in front, it's Ricard Rydell in smooth control.
22:55The Volvo is pulling away steadily from Bieler's Audi.
23:00Cruising through the hairpin, the distinctive five-cylinder 20-valve engine howling in contrast to the four-cylinder cars.
23:10A 28-year-old from Stockholm heading, he hopes, for his first touring car win of 1996.
23:18Beaten to it by his teammate Kelvin Burt.
23:21Meanwhile, the all-dominant Audi Quattros have been beaten at Alton Park.
23:26And just look at that traffic jam for third place behind John Bint Cliff.
23:30Menuh had another look down the outside then.
23:32Once again, Bint Cliff had it covered.
23:34He'd moved to the inside to stop anyone going down there.
23:36Then he moved wide again.
23:37Now, we heard Wimblehop before in the pits complaining about the fact that Bint Cliff is holding everybody up.
23:42But that's fair enough.
23:43He's doing his job.
23:45These guys might be getting frustrated behind, looking one way or the other to try to get past.
23:49Bint Cliff's not there to give anyone a free ride.
23:51As far as they're concerned, they've got to work their own way around his car, make their own arrangements.
23:54And they're certainly doing that.
23:57It's three abreast on the run into launch corner.
23:59Bint Cliff again defends.
24:00Ravaglia tries to challenge around the outside of Venu.
24:03He moves back across to the outside.
24:06It really is getting very frantic indeed.
24:09And all of these drivers know if they take too big a risk, the cars are so equally matched.
24:13If they get off the racing line, they're going to lose not one place, but probably four or five.
24:18And Menuh's doing everything he can to get past Bint Cliff.
24:20But this car's huge.
24:22It's the aircraft carrier Audi.
24:23And there's no way he's going to make any room for Menuh.
24:26Chewing around at the back of that car.
24:28Oh, look at the slide.
24:29Menuh's had a go to get past on the outside.
24:31Big opposite lock.
24:33Put the foot down to actually hold that slide in place.
24:35Brilliant car control from Menuh.
24:37But he still can't get past.
24:39And Roberto Ravaglia tries hard, but can't take advantage of that either.
24:43So it's Menuh again challenging on the tail of the Audi.
24:45Down into the hairpin.
24:47Menuh closes in.
24:49The Renault's got the advantage on the brakes.
24:50But you can see the Audi's power and traction rocketed out of the corner.
24:54Oh, and someone's in trouble.
24:56It's James Kaye, the second of the Kaye brothers and the second of the Hondas.
24:59I'm sorry, man.
25:00We both fell off.
25:01You can imagine the phone call tonight to Mrs. Kaye from James and Richard.
25:05Trying to explain their day at work.
25:07I don't know what happened to that car.
25:09It looks to me as though he just chucked it at the scenery.
25:14So, mixed fortunes for the Honda team.
25:16They've still got David Leslie running in seventh place.
25:18But starting the last lap, it's Richard Rydell out in front, meeting Frank Bieler.
25:23And John Binkliffe still heads the bank holiday traffic jam,
25:25despite the best efforts of Alan Menuh, Roberto Ravaglia, Will Hoy, David Leslie,
25:29Tim Harvey and John Clelland all together in that pack across the line.
25:33Over the crest, down the avenue, into the left-hander at Cascades for the very last time.
25:3985 miles an hour, still right on the limit.
25:42And Alan Menuh is still trying to find a way past that Audi.
25:46And again, Binkliffe is forced to take the defensive line, moves back wide.
25:53Menuh still trying, he faints to the left, faints to the right.
25:57Still can't find a way through.
25:59Right on the tail of the Audi, Menuh is going to push that Audi to the chequered flag.
26:04Roberto Ravaglia holding on, trying to get the opportunity to gain more vitally needed championship points.
26:11Binkliffe's Audi, it's battered and it's bruised, but it's still ahead of the pack.
26:16Meanwhile, Ricco Rydell and Frank Bieler are on their way to the chequered flag,
26:21but this is the real race.
26:23Menuh again has a try, brakes hard, down into Niggerbrook.
26:27But that's the last real passing attempt from Menuh.
26:29Time to draw stumps.
26:30He's not going to get past between now and the rest of the race.
26:32You can see that.
26:33Best decision for him is to settle for fourth.
26:35Just keep the points and don't fall off.
26:38Meanwhile, at the head of the field, it's the last corner of the last lap for Ricco Rydell.
26:42Out of lodge, up Dierslip for the final time.
26:45The Swede is going to take his first victory of 1996 in the Swedish Volvo car.
26:52Celebrations on the Volvo pit wall.
26:54Riccardo Rydell, a very happy man.
26:58At Rydell's victory in style, six full seconds ahead of the Audi of Bieler,
27:02with Bindcliffe holding on by the skin of his teeth from Alan Menuh's Renault,
27:05Roberto Revaglia, Will Hoy, David Leslie, Tim Harvey and John Cleland,
27:10with Owen McCauley completing the top ten.
27:12Yeah, I was quite lucky to get past Bindcliffe.
27:17It's very, very difficult to get past the Audis here at Bolton Park.
27:21They're quite wide and very late on the brakes as well. Thanks.
27:25So, Frank Bieler stays ahead in the championship with 122 points to Rydell's 79.
27:30He moves up to second ahead of Roberto Revaglia, John Bindcliffe, Alan Menuh,
27:34Joe Vinkelhoff down to sixth, ahead of Hoy, Cleland, Burton, Leslie.
27:38And Lee Brooks stays ahead in the total cup for privateers,
27:40but Richard Kaye's in big trouble after crashing his Cavalier.