Matt Neal (Droitwich) and an emotional Mike Jordan (Sutton Coldfield) shared the victories in yesterday's three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at the Mondello Park circuit in Ireland. Two wins and then a third have catapulted reigning Champion Neal from fifth into the lead of the Drivers' standings, following a heavy crash in Brands Hatch's opening meeting of 2006 two weeks ago.
Newcomer Jordan and his Team Eurotech Racing with John Guest squad were left to celebrate their first-ever BTCC race victory in only their second race meeting in Britain's premier motor racing championship. The sensational achievement was broadcast live across the UK on the nation's biggest commercial terrestrial television channel ITV1.
Team Halfords Honda Integra driver Neal leaves Mondello with a two-point lead over fellow independent squad Team RAC's Colin Turkington. SEAT's James Thompson, who led the standings prior to Ireland but crashed out of today's third race, has fallen to third, just ahead of team-mate Jason Plato.
Neal said: "It's been an amazing weekend. My car was wrecked at Brands Hatch and my team have done a fantastic job to rebuild it to such a high standard. I've got thank them for that." But despite three strong performances, Neal remained cautious as the BTCC prepares to head for its next three rounds at Oulton Park, Cheshire on Sunday 14 May.
"As championship leader, I'll have maximum success ballast on my car at Oulton, although it's a circuit I enjoy and I've been the heaviest there before and still won," added Neal. "But the championship is so close and there are so many competitive cars on the grid. Turkington is obviously having a great run, but I still consider Plato as the big title threat. I know how quickly things change. Remember, I was fifth coming to Ireland..."
Jordan, meanwhile, appeared shocked by winning race three after his Integra had struggled for pace in the day's opening two rounds. Jordan said: "The car would not perform and we traced the problem to a suspension problem. We fixed it for race three and it was rock solid. Talk about changing fortunes! But this is just fantastic for the team and our sponsors."
Elsewhere, SEAT and SEAT Sport UK have maintained their respective leads in the Manufacturers' and Teams' standings. Turkington and Team RAC remain top of the Independents Trophy's Drivers' and Teams championships. All the latest BTCC news and results can be found on the championship's official website www.btcc.net.
Round 4, 14 laps (30.47 miles)Weather/Track: Sunny/Dry
Champion Neal opens 2006 accountStarting from pole position, Neal kept cool under pressure throughout from Plato to open his 2006 victory account. Despite setting a new race lap records, Neal was just 0.500s clear of Plato's SEAT Leon at the finish.
"Jason had his headlights on, trying to distract me, and at the end I was really pushing hard," said Neal. "One mistake and I knew he'd pounce so I concentrated on keeping it tidy. But it wasn't comfortable."
Third and fourth, split by just six tenths of a second, were the two championship leaders arriving at Mondello, Thompson and Turkington, their cars handicapped by the two heaviest amounts of success ballast. Neal's team-mate Gordon Shedden and Tom Chilton, in VX Racing's Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch, completed the top six.
Result:1. Matt Neal (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Integra, 25m04.534s2. Jason Plato (GBR), SEAT Sport UK/SEAT Leon, +0.500s3. James Thompson (GBR), SEAT Sport UK/SEAT Leon, +9.678sFastest Lap: Neal, 1m46.094s (NEW LAP RECORD)
Round 5, 14 laps (30.47 miles)Weather/Track: Sunny/Dry
Neal doubles upRace two's result was almost a mirror image of race one, Neal leading all the way from pole position and Plato, who this time set the fastest lap, shadowing his every move in second. Turkington was right behind in third. The result moved Neal to the top of the championship standings ahead of Turkington and the tying Plato and Thompson.
Thompson, who had led the championship going into the race, retired at the opening bend after a collision with Shedden. The latter went on to finish fourth, but officials excluded him for his part in Thompson's retirement - one of two incidents that led to safety car periods.
This elevated Motorbase Performance Honda Integra driver David Pinkney to a best-ever finish of fourth, Eire's big home hero Gavin Smith's Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch to fifth and James Kaye's Synchro Honda Civic to sixth.
Further behind, Mark Proctor's Fast-Tec Honda Civic crawled across the line in ninth with a blown engine. But Shedden's exclusion promoted him to eighth and, with it, pole position for race's three reversed starting grid.
Result:
1. Matt Neal (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Integra, 34m09.627s2. Jason Plato (GBR), SEAT Sport UK/SEAT Leon, +0.998s3. Colin Turkington (GBR), Team RAC/MG ZS, +1.681sFastest lap: Plato, 1m46.544s
Round 6, 14 laps (30.47 miles)Weather/Track: Sunny/DryMaiden BTCC win for JordanWith Proctor unable to repair his car's engine in time to take up pole, Jordan, lining up in second, effectively inherited the position... and he took full advantage to achieve his first ever BTCC race victory.
Aided by Smith and Neal tussling over second, Jordan quickly built up an unassailable lead. Courtesy of a clash between Neal and Smith, the opportunisticTurkington muscled his way into second but was unable to catch the fleeing Jordan who drove on to an emotional victory.
Neal recovered to hold off Thompson for third, although there might have been podium finishes for Team RAC's Robert Collard and Vauxhall's Fabrizio Giovanardi had they not clashed and run off the track. Giovanardi at least recovered to finish fifth. Plato, lying fourth early on, was eighth after a false start earned him a pit lane drive-through penalty.
Result:1. Mike Jordan (GBR), Team Eurotech Racing with John Guest/Honda Integra, 25m12.335s2. Colin Turkington (GBR), Team RAC/MG ZS, +01.056s
3. Matt Neal (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Integra, +12.604sFastest lap: Robert Collard (GBR), Team RAC/MG ZS, 1m46.670s
Leading BTCC points after Mondello Park (provisional):
Drivers:1. Matt NEAL 64pts
2. Colin TURKINGTON 62pts
3. James THOMPSON 56pts
4. Jason PLATO 51pts
5. Tom CHILTON 37pts
6. Gavin SMITH 30pts
7. Mike JORDAN 28pts
8. Gordon SHEDDEN 20pts
9. Fabrizio Giovanardi 18pts
10. David Pinkney 13pts
Manufacturers:1. SEAT 134pts
2. Vauxhall 88pts
Teams:
1. SEAT Sport UK 102pts
2. Team Halfords 79pts
3. Team RAC 72pts
3. VX Racing 69pts
