Matt Neal won Sunday’s third Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race at Brands Hatch – the first victory for Honda's new turbo engine.

Neal led all the way from pole position in his Honda Racing Team Civic, setting the fastest lap time en route for a bonus point. The victory went some way to making up for his race one disappointment Sunday morning when he'd also started from pole position only to be spun into retirement.

Finishing close behind in second was Mat Jackson in local team Airwaves Racing’s Ford Focus and third Paul O’Neill, giving the GoMobileUK.com with tech-speed team a first podium result with its new Chevrolet Cruze.

Neal told btcc.net: “That was a tough win. I was very mindful of tyre wear so was having to just put in spurts of speed to keep Mat out of reach. But after what happened in today’s first race this is a really good way to end our day. I'm chuffed to bits for everyone at Honda and Team Dynamics."

Fourth was Neal’s team-mate Gordon Shedden after he eventually found a way past Jason Plato’s Silverline Chevrolet Cruze which finished in fifth. As a result, reigning Champion Plato, who won the day’s earlier two races, leaves Brands Hatch leading the championship standings by nine points from Jackson. A surprise third in the order, just four points further back, is James Nash who finished the race in sixth position having picked up second and fourth places earlier in the day in his 888 Racing with Collins Contractors Vauxhall Vectra.

Seventh, having lost out to Nash after a lengthy battle, was WSR BMW driver Robert Collard. He was closesly followed across the line by Tom Chilton's Aon Ford Focus and Plato's team-mate Alex MacDowall. Nash's delighted team-mate Tony Gilham made it three points finishes from all three races on his BTCC debut with another very impressive tenth place.

But the race again proved disastrous for fellow Vectra driver Andrew Jordan. The Pirtek Racing star had challenged Neal for the lead over the opening laps until, for the second time today, his car slowed with a deflated left front tyre.

Chilton's team-mate Andy Neate was also in the wars, his car being spun round on the opening lap as the pack exited Druids Bend. He recovered to finish an eventual 16th.

Click here for the Official Alex Macdowall web site - designed and built by Racecar