Matt Neal crowned champion as Tom Chilton wins season finale
Matt Neal clinched his third British Touring Car crown with eighth place at Silverstone this afternoon as Tom Chilton took his second win of the season
Honda team-mate Gordon Shedden was the only driver who could beat Neal in the championship, but started the race one place and six points behind. Neal stayed ahead of Shedden at the start. He could not drop his team-mate, but nor could Shedden find a way by to get the extra points he needed.
Rob Austin's Audi caught the duo in the second half of the race. He made it safely past both, and Neal was able to finish eighth to secure the title, Shedden losing out to a combative Frank Wrathall (Dynojet Toyota) on the final lap.
Up at the front, the fast-starting Chilton had managed to grab the lead on the run to Copse, chased by outgoing champion Jason Plato. The Chevrolet Cruze ace kept the Arena Ford driver under pressure, but lacked the straightline speed to overtake.
Tom Boardman's Special Tuning Racing SEAT Leon ran strongly once again and was the fastest car on the track in the early stages as he made his way into third.
As his tyres faded, Boardman came under pressure from the Cruze of Alex MacDowal, who could nevertheless not find a way by.
A lonely Andrew Jordan was fifth in his Eurotech Vauxhall Vectra, while Austin completed the top six after pushing Tom Onslow-Cole (Arena Focus) out of the way at Luffield with just over a lap to go.
Neal's final tally is 257 points, beating Shedden by eight, while Plato finished third with 236. Mat Jackson and James Nash, who both made pit visits (Jackson for bodywork repair, Nash for a drive-through penalty), finished on 191 points but Jackson secures fourth by virtue of having more wins.
Pos Driver Car Time
1. Tom Chilton Ford 22m16.314s
2 Jason Plato Chevrolet 1.481s
3 Tom Boardman SEAT 2.489s
4. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet 2.782s
5. Andrew Jordan Vauxhall 5.600s
6 Rob Austin Audi 11.517s
7. Tom Onslow-Cole Ford 12.585s
8. Matt Neal Honda 13.023s
9. Frank Wrathall Toyota 13.439s
10. Gordon Shedden Honda 13.799s
11. Ollie Jackson Vauxhall 17.119s
12. Paul O'Neill Chevrolet 23.662s
13. Liam Griffin Ford 23.927s
14. Daniel Welch Proton 25.737s
15 Martin Byford Volkswagen 31.866s
16 Nick Foster BMW 31.902s
17. James Nash Vauxhall 32.975s
18 James Thompson Ford 34.363s
19 Tony Gilham BMW 36.603s
20. Lea Wood Honda 36.984s
21. Mat Jackson Ford 42.762s
22. John George Chevrolet 47.502s
23. Rob Collard BMW + 1 lap
24. Chris James Chevrolet + 1 lap
25. Jeff Smith Vauxhall + 1 lap
Retirements:
Chris Swanwick Audi 8 laps
Tony Hughes Toyota 2 laps
Dave Newsham SEAT 2 laps
Andy Neate Ford 2 laps
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