at Thruxton
Gordon Shedden, Matt Neal and Colin Turkington shared the victories in Sunday's latest three rounds of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at the Thruxton circuit. And it is Team Halfords driver Neal, the reigning champion, who has come away the big winner from the Hampshire circuit - he backed up his win with two second place finishes that have enabled him to build up a mighty 33-point lead in the Drivers' championship over Team RAC's Turkington as the title chase now heads to the Croft circuit in North Yorkshire on 16 July.
But it was a frustrating day for Jason Plato - the SEAT driver suffered two retirements, although managed to finish third in the final race, a result that moves him past regular team-mate James Thompson - who was not racing at Thruxton - into third in the standings. Thompson is now fourth and will return to BTCC action at his home circuit of Croft, but will arrive there with Shedden close behind in fifth.
Neal, who had never won at Thruxton until today, said: "If anyone had told me what results I was going to have over breakfast I'd have called them a liar. Today has just been awesome not just for me but Gordon and everyone who works in this team. You need a bit of luck and I got some today, but that's taking nothing away from the team who got our cars working perfectly on what is a very difficult circuit. Thruxton's never really been kind to me before but now I love it!"
Turkington was happy with his victory, but added: "I never thought it was on the cards as we'd been struggling with the set-up of the car until that race. But we worked away and got it spot on for race three. It's a shame to have lost ground to Matt, but we've ended on a high and it's great to give Team RAC it's first win of 2006."
Plato, meanwhile, refused to believe Neal was already too far ahead to be caught. The 2001 BTCC champion said: "No way. OK, Matt's got himself a decent lead and my two retirements were a blow, but we're still only 12 rounds in and there's plenty of time for things to change round. I've been in tighter spots than this before and I predict our car will be very hard to beat at Croft."
Meanwhile, SEAT has kept hold of its lead in the all-important Manufacturers' championship, but by a reduced margin from arch rival Vauxhall - even though the latter's cars failed to make it onto the podium. And Team Halfords has overtaken SEAT Sport UK to lead the Teams' table in addition to already topping the Independents Trophy standings for privately-entered outfits.
Round 10, 16 laps (37.696 miles)Weather/Track: Sunny & Hot/Dry
Shedden all the wayShedden dominated the day's opening race, making a perfect start from pole position to lead all the way in his Honda Integra. He also set the race's fastest lap to achieve a maximum score.
Second, giving Team Halfords a hallowed 1-2 result, was team-mate Neal and there was further joy for him as Plato, one of his big title rivals, retired his Leon with a punctured tyre. This allowed SEAT's Darren Turner, standing in for World Touring Car Championship-tied Thompson, to finish third on his BTCC debut after he passed Vauxhall's Tom Chilton on the final lap. Chilton, who had held second early on before fading, held on for fourth.
Down in eighth was Turkington - he had lined up second on the grid but a clutch problem on his MG meant he got away in last. His fight back at least earned him enough points to tie him with Plato for third in the Drivers' standings, albeit one behind the absent second-placed Thompson and now 27 adrift of the fleeing Neal.
Result:1. Gordon Shedden (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Integra, 21m27.943s2. Matt Neal (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Integra, +6.698s3. Darren Turner (GBR), SEAT Sport UK/SEAT Leon, +11.314sFastest Lap: Shedden, 1m18.709s
Round 11, 18 laps (42.408 miles)Weather/Track: Sunny & Hot/Dry
Neal breaks Thruxton victory duck Neal, starting second on the grid, took the lead at the start and was never headed as he went on to end 15 years of waiting for a victory at Thruxton. But Neal was under pressure from a long queue of cars throughout, headed by team-mate Shedden who overcame the fact his Honda was laden with maximum success ballast to finish runner-up in another dream 1-2 result for the Halfords squad.
Third was Team RAC's Robert Collard and fourth Dave Pinkney in the Motorbase Performance team's Honda. Pinkney, who started from 17th, also set the race's fastest lap as he came through to equal his best result of the season so far. Fifth, having challenged for the lead early on, was Turner and sixth Turkington, the result enabling him to move past both Thompson and Plato into second in the Drivers' standings. Neal, though, had now stretched his advantage at the top of the table to 38 points.
Plato, meanwhile, suffered his second straight retirement after an on-track clash damaged his Leon's suspension and heading into the day's third race he was tied for fourth on points with the fast-rising Shedden. The top seven positions were then drawn to be reversed at the front of race three's starting grid, putting James Kaye's Synchro Motorsport Honda Civic on pole position.
Result:1. Matt Neal (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Integra, 22m36.444s2. Gordon Shedden (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Integra, +0.328s3. Robert Collard (GBR), Team RAC/MG ZS, +1.020sFastest lap: Dave Pinkney (GBR), 1m19.728s
Round 12, 19 laps (44.764 miles)Weather/Track: Sunny & Hot/DryTurkington opens 2006 victory accountTurkington, from second on the grid, took an instant lead and quickly pulled away for a clear victory, also setting the race's fastest lap. Neal, his Honda, just as it had been in the first race, handicapped with maximum success ballast, drove a skilful race to second.
Having started from the back of the grid, Plato charged through to finish a superb third, a result that moves him past the absent Thompson and up to third in the title chase. Fourth, following on from his first ever top three finish at Oulton Park three weeks earlier, was Kaye and fifth, backing up his strong second race performance, Pinkney after passing Collard when the latter was delayed while lapping another driver.
Shedden, though, was this time out of the points in eleventh after a punctured tyre forced him to make a pit stop. Earlier in the race, he had been involved in a collision with Turner which resulted in the SEAT driver crashing out of the race.
Result:1. Colin Turkington (GBR), Team RAC/MG ZS, 26m45.270s2. Matt Neal (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Integra, +11.591s3. Jason Plato (GBR), SEAT Sport UK/SEAT Leon, +14.714sFastest lap: Turkington, 1m18.799s
Leading BTCC points after Thruxton (provisional):
Drivers:1. Matt NEAL 131pts
2. Colin TURKINGTON 98pts
3. Jason PLATO 86pts
4. James THOMPSON 77pts5. Gordon SHEDDEN 76pts
6. Tom CHILTON 67pts
7. Robert Collard 51pts8. Gavin SMITH 48pts
7. Mike JORDAN 44pts
10. Fabrizio Giovanardi 41pts
Manufacturers:1. SEAT 246pts
2. Vauxhall 212pts
Teams:
1. Team Halfords 196pts
2. SEAT Sport UK 169pts
3. Team RAC 145pts
4. VX Racing 134pts
