FABRIZIO Giovanardi sealed victory in the British Touring Car Championship – by finishing 14th.

The Italian star won his second successive title with a lousy result in the first of three races at Brands Hatch when his only rival

Jason Plato, driving a Sun-backed SEAT Leon, failed to win it.

And Giovanardi scooped the championship – his EIGHTH major title across Europe – despite having his worst weekend of the season.

After his lowly finish in the first race he missed the second altogether when the engine of his Vauxhall Vectra caught fire in the pit garage.

In the third race he only managed 11th place – scoring his only point of the weekend for fastest lap.

Giovanardi said: "It was such a funny day – terrible if you look at the results.

"But it was enough to win the championship and tonight I will drink a lot of champagne."

Plato’s last event for SEAT, who are pulling out of the BTCC, brought him nothing but misery.

He needed to win all three races to have a chance at snatching the title but instead managed only a fifth in Race 1.

Mechanical problems ruined Race 2 and he finished unlucky 13th in Race 3.

He even lost second place in the championship as BMW ace Mat Jackson took two wins at Brands to pip him at the last gasp.

Yet Plato refused to be too downhearted despite the disappointment.

He said: "We’ve still had a fantastic season. No one likes to be a loser but I know I’ve done a good job in the car. I have won more races than anyone else and I will sleep well in my bed tonight.

"Trouble is I lost a stack of points with six retirements during the season and you cannot win championships like that."

Of SEAT’s pullout, Plato said: "The sad thing is that if we could have developed the car over the winter, we would be in a position next year to kick a**e. But it ain’t gonna happen."

Tom Chilton broke his duck to take Race 3 in his Team Halfords Honda after making a rocket start from third on the grid.

He said: "It has taken us a year to find the sweet spot of the car but now we’ve found it. I got one of the best starts of my life – and, hey, I won it!"