Against all expectations,
Matt Neal secured a dream result for Team Halfords in the third race at
Brands Hatch as the new Honda Civic took victory on its maiden outing in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.
The two time champion held off the challenge of Fabrizio Giovanardi and
Mat Jackson to take the win, which means he will leave the opening weekend of the season in second place in the standings behind
Jason Plato – the SEAT man having taken victory in both the first and second races.
With the reverse grid rules seeing the top seven reversed for the final race of the day, Neal lined up third on the grid behind Giovanardi and Adam Jones, but when the lights went green the Team Halfords man rocketed away from the line to lead the field into Paddock Hill bend for the first time, with Jones slipping into second and
Colin Turkington jumping into third. Giovanardi slipped down to fourth ahead of team-mate Tom Chilton, with Darren Turner, Mat Jackson and Jason Plato rounding out the top eight – Turner and Jackson having both been forced to come through the field in race two after starting from the back of the pack.
As was the case in race one, the opening lap didn’t pass without incident, with John George in the TH Motorsport Honda Integra losing it coming through Surtees and spinning to the outside of the circuit. With his car deemed to be in a dangerous position the Safety Car was scrambled to pick up the field. However, by the time the field had come round behind the red Porsche, George had managed to re-join, with the Safety Car heading straight back into the pits. That move seemed to catch out most of the field, meaning Neal was able to cross the line with a lead of over two seconds over Jones as racing resumed.
