Search Car Reviews



See all makes



 

British Touring Car Championship (BTCC)

BTCC Rounds 19-21

Matt Neal bounced back from two bruising BTCC encounters to extend his championship lead

By Jonathan Gill August 2006

Matt Neal bounced back from two bruising BTCC encounters to extend his championship lead after three typically torrid and controversial touring car encounters at Snetterton.

The Team Halfords driver survived a couple of collisions in the opening race – including one with main title rival Colin Turkington – to bring his battered Honda Integra home in sixth position.

Then, in an equally dramatic showdown in leg two, Neal lost a safe second place when he got embroiled in a needless final lap skirmish with Jason Plato’s leading SEAT.

Plato proceeded to take his second win of the day, while big Matt spun at the final corner and could only finish eighth. With so much at stake, it was a rash move that Neal will rue at the end of what’s becoming an increasingly acrimonious campaign, should he miss out on taking back-to-back BTCC titles by a handful of points.

Indeed, with both Plato and Turkington finishing race two on the podium, the title race appeared to be tightening up before Sunday’s third and final round at the Norfolk venue. Unbowed by what had gone before, Neal ended the day’s hectic action with a confidence-inspiring victory. “We all needed that,” admitted the Mid­lander. “We had a rough pair of races, and so it was incredibly important to end the weekend on a high note.”

With nine rounds remaining, Neal leads Turkington by 27 points, with Plato a further 13 points adrift in third place. Battle is resumed at Knockhill in Fife at the start of September.

Sponsored Results

- Advertisement -

LATEST FEATURE VIDEOS [ GET RSS ]

Renault Twizy video

Renault Twizy

We take the funky two-seat Renault Twizy electric car for a test drive around the streets of London

Journey of Discovery

Journey of Discovery

We join Land Rover for the final leg of its epic journey from Birmingham to Beijing in the one millionth Discovery

Lotus Exige S track test

Lotus Exige S

Resident racing driver Owen Mildenhall puts the new Exige S to the test on track

Peugeot 508 RXH

Peugeot 508 RXH

Watch the official promo for the diesel hybrid Peugeot 508 RXH as it goes up against two horses…

Driver Power winner

Driver Power 2012: Best car

Nearly 29,000 motorists have had their say, and here is our Driver Power 2012 champion

Toyota GT 86 track test

Toyota GT 86

evo's Henry Catchpole put the new Toyota GT 86 sports coupe to the test on track

Vauxhall Ampera iGizmo review

Vauxhall Ampera iGizmo review

Our sister title iGizmo reviews the hi-tech new Vauxhall Ampera electric car