Two victories at Rockingham on Sunday ensured Matt Neal put himself into title contention in the British Touring Car Championship.
Plato remains on top after win of his own
Two victories at Rockingham on Sunday ensured Matt Neal put himself into title contention in the British Touring Car Championship.
The Honda Racing Team driver emerged triumphant in both the first and final races of the day, his wins bookending a race-two triumph for series leader and long-time rival Jason Plato.
Neal's double-success was his first in the BTCC for some four years and sees the 43-year-old move to within 17 points of Plato in the drivers' standings.
He took the chequered flag some ten seconds clear of his nearest challenger in the opening race, while his final win of the day was capped by team-mate Gordon Shedden's drive to second place, and Neal admitted he was thrilled by the outcome.
"I am overjoyed," the two-time champion said on www.btcc.net. "Race one was just perfect as we'd gone for slick tyres all-round on a damp but drying track - I had no one in my mirrors at the end of lap one and I needed no second invitation.
"The Civic again was terrific in race three and helped me make the break - it was vital we capitalised in that one, with Jason starting further back on the reversed grid."
However, Neal refused to get carried away and played down the prospects of a repeat performance at the next round of the season at Brands Hatch.
"Both our cars will go into qualifying and race one at Brands with a lot of success ballast so it'll be difficult doing this again, particularly as there are a lot of other very strong car-driver combinations out there," he added.
Plato, meanwhile, was happy to secure a first win for the new Chevrolet Cruze in the BTCC, but said more development was needed to defend his title lead.
"We've had a good day, but we need to sit down and do some more thinking to get just that bit more out of the car," declared the 2001 champion.
"The Cruze is still new to the BTCC so we're still finding out what makes it tick and the opposition today - not just the Hondas but the Fords and BMWs - have clearly demonstrated they are very strong.
"Still, we're enjoying a very good start to the season which is what we wanted and I had a great day on the Brands GP track last year with all three wins in one day. Whether I can do that again next weekend, we'll see."
