Matt Neal takes second BTCC win at Oulton Park in race three
Matt Neal scored his second British Touring Car victory of the day at Oulton Park in a dramatic finale
The WSR BMW of Tom Onslow-Cole led from pole and was initially followed by team-mate Nick Foster, up from row two.
Fine first laps from reigning champion Neal (works Honda) and Jason Plato (works MG) got them up to third and fourth. Neal then forced his way by Foster at Island hairpin, with Plato following at the Knickerbrook chicane.
The two champions then closed on Onslow-Cole, but before they got there Liam Griffin crashed his Motorbase Ford Focus at Druids, bringing out the safety car.
After several laps the race restarted, only for Rob Collad's BMW to dive down the inside of Andrew Jordan's Eurotech Civic at Old Hall. Collard ran wide into Jordan, forcing the Honda onto the grass and into the barriers. The safety car came out again.
That set up a final six-lap dash to the flag. Onslow-Cole led away, but Neal lunged down the inside at Island hairpin. The BMW gave him room, lost the lead, and was also overtaken by Plato at the following chicane.
Plato looked set to challenge Neal, but a couple of minor errors - combined with an Onslow-Cole revival - meant he was never close enough to make a move. Neal therefore took his second win of the day, with Plato, Onslow-Cole and Gordon Shedden all crossing the line within a 1.1 seconds of the victor.
Lea Wood's Vauxhall Vectra held off a charging Collard to take fifth, while Mat Jackson - who had several clashes during the race, including removing Dan Welch's Proton on the run to Lodge - overtook Foster late on to take seventh.
Results - 18 laps: Pos Driver Team Time/gap 1. Matt Neal Honda 32m00.812s 2. Jason Plato MG + 0.324s 3. Tom Onslow-Cole WSR BMW + 0.891s 4. Gordon Shedden Honda + 1.084s 5. Lea Wood Central Vauxhall + 3.150s 6. Rob Collard WSR BMW + 3.257s 7. Mat Jackson Motorbase Ford + 3.345s 8. Nick Foster WSR BMW + 3.781s 9. Frank Wrathall Dynojet Toyota + 8.751s 10. Tony Gilham Gilham Honda + 9.281s 11. Will Bratt Austin Audi + 13.670s 12. Jeff Smith Eurotech Honda + 16.307s 13. Chris James ES Vauxhall + 16.443s 14. Tony Hughes Speedworks Toyota + 18.991s 15. Ollie Jackson AmD Volkswagen + 1 lap Retirements Driver Car Laps Adam Morgan Speedworks Toyota 16 Daniel Welch Welch Proton 15 Dave Newsham ES Vauxhall 10 Andrew Jordan Eurotech Honda 9 Aron Smith Motorbase Ford 9 Andy Neate MG 5 Liam Griffin Motorbase Ford 2
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