The competition has closed, the votes have been counted and HiQ can reveal that the winner of the final champagne moment award of 2011 goes to Worcestershire speedster, Rob Austin.

With 41 per cent of the vote, the Audi A4 driver claimed the top spot following his impressive performance in race 3 at Silverstone, giving what fans’ believe is a glimpse of his potential in the Dunlop British Touring Car Championship 2012.

One of only a few drivers on the grid with a full NGTC specification car, Rob has had a multitude of successes which has seen him awarded with a podium finish and a previous champagne moment award at Rockingham.

Winning fan Susanne Jones praised Rob for his ‘ability to overtake the championship contenders’ in the final round, which concluded an impressive debut season for the Evesham driver.

Jason Plato came runner up with 36 per cent of the fans’ vote and Gordon Shedden in a respectable third with 12 per cent.

Susanne has won two complimentary tickets to the first round of the 2012 season, Brands Hatch and will award Rob with champagne before one of the race rounds.

There’s no doubt who fans of the Dunlop British Touring Car Championship were most impressed with at Rockingham, judging by Rob Austin’s landslide HiQ Champagne Moment victory.

A whopping 46 per-cent of supporters voted for the Worcestershire speedster to scoop the bubbly, in the biggest margin recorded by HiQ all season.

Rob claimed the fastest overall lap in his Audi A4 in the second practice of the day, pre-empting a 2^nd place podium in race three at the Northamptonshire circuit.

Winning fan Gerry Barclay praised Rob for his ‘tenacious driving’ and his ability to storm up the grid in qualifying and in races two and three.

Not surprisingly, Frank Wrathall – winner of the last two HiQ champagne moments – took second place with 29 per cent of the vote, and James Nash was third with 14 per cent.

Gerry has won the opportunity to present Rob with champagne at the penultimate round of the season, Brands Hatch this weekend.

Gerry will also receive two tickets for the race weekend and a complimentary grid walk before one of the races.

To vote for a HiQ Champagne Moment and stand a chance of winning a race weekend experience to treasure, click on http://www.hiqonline.co.uk/hiqBtcc/champagneMoments/

In a feat never achieved before, Frank Wrathall has added a second bottle of bubbly to his mantelpiece for his heroics at Knockhill, following similarly impressive driving at Snetterton.

The young team Dynojet driver won over fans again for his two podium finishes.

Frank’s second champagne success comes after an impressive performance at Snetterton in August when fans watched his next generation Toyota Avensis battle against the big guns to cross he finish line.

Frank won the award with 58 per cent of the vote, followed by Tom Boardman (21 per cent) and Tom Chilton (9 per cent), praised for their wins at the Scottish circuit.

Winning fan Charles Jobson said: “Frank showed us the future of the BTCC in the NGTC car and his own
talent as a driver.”

He will award Frank the bubbly at Rockingham this Sunday. Charles will also receive two complimentary
tickets to a following race round.

Following every round, one lucky fan who has logged his or her details onto the HiQ website will be picked
at random to present the prize to the driver and complimentary race tickets will also be provided, along with a grid walk of the track before one of the races.

To vote for a HiQ Champagne Moment and stand a chance of winning a race weekend experience to treasure, click on http://www.hiqonline.co.uk/hiqBtcc/champagneMoments/.

Team Airwaves star Jackson stole the fans’ vote at the latest round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship thanks to a stunning win in race three to add to a second place podium finish in race one.

Jackson’s heroics brought back vivid memories from his phenomenal effort at the same track in 2008 when he surged from the back of the grid in the pouring rain to finish second to Colin Turkington on the final bend.

His effort in race one this season wasn’t too dissimilar either, charging through the field to push Matt Neal to a split second race to the checkered flag.

The Warwickshire driver won exactly 50 per cent of the vote for his performance at Croft in June, clinching the HiQ Champagne Moment award from WSR teammates Rob Collard (18 per cent) and Nick Foster (15 per cent) who came in second and third.

Winning fan Jacqueline Youde, who voted for Mat through www.hiqonline.co.uk , said that Mat was ‘awesome at Croft and definitely deserved this accolade.’

Jacqueline won the chance to present Mat with the champagne at the championship’s next round at Snetterton but will do so this later on in the season as she cannot attend on the day.

Mat is now just nine points behind Matt Neal in the drivers’ standings while his team Airwaves Racing remain third in the HiQ standings, behind Honda Racing and Silverline Chevrolet.

Following every round, one lucky fan who has logged his or her details onto the HiQ website will be picked at random to present the prize to the driver and complimentary race tickets will also be provided, along with a grid walk of the track before one of the races.

To vote for a HiQ Champagne Moment and stand a chance of winning a race weekend experience to treasure, click on http://www.hiqonline.co.uk/hiqBtcc/champagneMoments/

Hereford’s finest Lea Wood receives his bottle of bubbly at Croft, for his stunning return to the grid at Oulton Park. lea won our champagne moment award and thoroughly deserves the accolade. Shame winning fan Russell Cook wasn’t there to present in person!

Lea Wood shows off his bottle of bubbly for a brilliant return to the BTCC grid at Oulton Park

It might have been a damp day at Oulton Park for the last round of Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship action, but Lea Wood’s return to the grid was the biggest ray of sunshine for fans, it was revealed.

The Central Group Racing driver has won HiQ’s Champagne Moment award from the weekend, with hundreds of spectators voting for the Hereford speedster in the best ‘welcome home’ present he could wish for.

Despite being the oldest car on the grid, the Lea drove his 2006 BTC-Spec Honda Integra in race one from 21^st on the grid to a seventh place finish. He narrowly missed out on a top ten finish in race two, but managed to secure himself an impressive lap time, proving his capability on the track.

Winning fans Russell and Susan Cook were impressed with Wood’s ability in the wet and said it ‘shows what a class driver Lea is.’ The Cook’s won the opportunity to present Wood with champagne and take a grid walk before one of the races.

Unfortunately, Russell and Susan cannot attend Croft so the presentation will now take place later in the season.

Wood is now looking to make a repeat performance at Croft this weekend and hopes for wetter weather so his car can take advantage of the track.

One lucky fan who has logged his or her details onto the HiQ website will be picked at random to present the prize to the driver and complimentary race tickets will also be provided, along with a grid walk of the track before one of the races.

To vote for a HiQ Champagne Moment and stand a chance of winning a race weekend experience to treasure, click on http://www.hiqonline.co.uk/hiqBtcc/champagneMoments/

Tom Boardman, STR SEAT Leon, 3rd place podium Thruxton.

Despite a shaky start to the season, Tom Boardman didn’t disappoint in the latest round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Cars after claiming his first ever podium finish of the Championship.

The Special Tuning Racing driver finished third in race 3 at Thruxton, earning him the fans’ vote and the coveted HiQ Champagne Moments Award.

The Preston racer admitted he was lucky to finish the race at all after his SEAT Leon ‘just cut out’ during the safety car period but he managed to restart the engine and secure his 10^th place standings.

Winning fan Matthew Bailey was delighted at Boardman’s finish and said it was ‘well and truly deserved.’ Matthew will present Tom with Champagne at Oulton Park next weekend and take a complimentary grid walk before race one.

Boardman is now looking ahead to his home circuit which last year saw him take early retirement with a steering problem. Boardman hopes to make up lost ground in the Championship and is optimistic he can score some good points.

One lucky fan who has logged his or her details onto the HiQ website will be picked at random to present the prize to the driver and complimentary race tickets will also be provided, along with a grid walk of the track before one of the races.

To vote for a HiQ Champagne Moment and stand a chance of winning a race weekend experience to treasure, click on http://www.hiqonline.co.uk/hiqBtcc/champagneMoments/

He might have suffered a sickening crash at Donington Park in round two of the Dunlop British Touring Car Championship, but his heroics easily earned Jason Plato the second HiQ Champagne Moment award of the season.

Jason Plato all smiles after winning Donington Champagne Moment

The defending champion careered off the track at the infamous Craner Curves, flipping through the gravel in one of the most talked about moments of the weekend.

Even more spectacularly, he recovered and somehow returned for the final race of the day when his RML team stripped and rebuilt the car within two hours.

Their teamwork enabled Plato to sit behind the wheel for race three and post a 6^th place finish, to the delight of thousands of fans.

Winning fan Chris Phipps from Upminster was picked at random to win a bottle of champagne and present a bottle of bubbly to Plato in person, before embarking on a grid walk before one of the races.

Unfortunately, Chris couldn’t attend Thruxton so the award presentation will now take place later in the season.

Plato said at the time: “It was amazing. It looked an impossible task and the car looked like a Transformer. But the lads were just amazing. You could see the passion in everybody.

“They’re the best racing team in the world, forget F1. I had tears in my eyes, they had tears in their eyes and to see their commitment makes up for all the bad weekends we’ll ever have. There was real emotion out there.”

Voting is now open for the third champagne moment from Thruxton, simply by clicking on http://www.hiqonline.co.uk/hiqBtcc/champagneMoments/

One lucky fan who has logged his or her details onto the website will be picked at random to present the prize to the driver and complimentary race tickets will also be provided, along with a grid walk of the track before one of the races.

With three different race winners, some spectacular overtaking and one of the most talked about crashes in recent history, there was no shortage of BTCC action at Donington Park to feast our eyes over.

But there was one other memorable event that got everyone at HiQ talking on Sunday April 17. Namely, the first Champagne Moment presentation award of the season.

Abi Thornton presents Gordon Shedden with the bubbly

Carol Thornton and daughter Abi presented Gordon Shedden with his bottle of champagne and enjoyed a grid walk before race two, to the delight of everyone at HiQ.

Fans can now vote for their champagne moment from Donington now, and follow in Carol and Abi’s footsteps by meeting the winning driver ahead of the next race weekend at Thruxton on May 1.

Abi said: “We had a lovely time and it was great to meet Gordon, who is a driver we are big fans of.

“Hopefully it won’t be the last bottle of champagne he’ll be lifting this season!”

One lucky fan who has logged his or her details onto the website will be picked at random to present the prize to the driver and complimentary race tickets will also be provided, along with a grid walk of the track before one of the races.

To vote for a HiQ Champagne Moment and stand a chance of winning a race weekend experience to treasure, click on http://www.hiqonline.co.uk/hiqBtcc/champagneMoments/