BTCC Thruxton: Neal converts pole into race one victory
Matt Neal converted pole position into victory in the opening British Touring Car Championship race at Thruxton, taking the first victory for the new shape Team Dynamics Honda Civic Type R

Neal had set a record-breaking pole position lap on Saturday, and continued that form into the 16-lap race. He fended off a strong early challenge from Colin Turkington (WSR BMW 125i M Sport) as the pair raced side-by-side into the Complex on the opening lap.
Neal had the inside line for Campbell corner and held first place. The gap between the pair ebbed and flowed but was rarely more than one second. In the end, Neal crossed the line 0.8s ahead of his rival to take his 62nd career win.
"That one was for [the late motorsport journalist and commentator] Henry Hope-Frost," said Neal.
"What a great result for the new car too. I was sitting in front waiting for the tyres to go off because Colin was right on me, but it never happened. I had the best start I have had for a couple of years and was able to fend off Colin, which was important.
"Our car is very strong in the quick corners out the back of the circuit, and because I was ahead, I was able to stretch my legs a bit."

Turkington said that although he had been defeated, he was pleased to get points on the board after scoring only six during the three races at the previous meeting at Donington Park.
"That is a great start to the day - this championship is all about consistency. I had the pace to stay with Matt early on, but the rear tyres went off after about three-quarters distance, so I just backed it off a little bit."
Turkington also set a new lap record in his efforts to rein in Neal, with a 1m17.243s tour to lower the oldest record in the championship, previously a 1m17.303s set by Yvan Muller set in the Vauxhall Astra Coupe back in 2002.
Neal's team-mate Dan Cammish took third place after jumping fellow second-row starter Brett Smith (Eurotech Honda) off the line as his rival bogged down when the lights went out.
Sam Tordoff (Motorbase Ford Focus) overtook an unwell Andrew Jordan (WSR BMW 125i M Sport) after four laps to take fourth spot, and Tom Chilton (Motorbase Ford) usurped the BMW just after half distance too.
The main casualty of the event was points leader Tom Ingram. He pitted in his Speedworks Motorsport Toyota Avensis after only five racing laps. He had maintained his starting position in the top 10, but an electrical problem forced him to park up.

Race one result
Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Matt Neal | Team Dynamics | Honda | 20m54.608s |
2 | Colin Turkington | WSR | BMW | 0.860s |
3 | Dan Cammish | Team Dynamics | Honda | 3.699s |
4 | Sam Tordoff | Motorbase | Ford | 4.040s |
5 | Tom Chilton | Motorbase | Ford | 5.290s |
6 | Andrew Jordan | WSR | BMW | 8.922s |
7 | Senna Proctor | Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall | 9.361s |
8 | Brett Smith | Eurotech Racing | Honda | 9.725s |
9 | Josh Cook | Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall | 14.929s |
10 | Chris Smiley | BTC Norlin | Honda | 15.436s |
11 | Rob Collard | WSR | BMW | 15.591s |
12 | Matt Simpson | Eurotech Racing | Honda | 16.260s |
13 | Jack Goff | Eurotech Racing | Honda | 16.780s |
14 | Adam Morgan | Ciceley Motorsport | Mercedes | 17.787s |
15 | Ash Sutton | Team BMR | Subaru | 18.096s |
16 | Rob Austin | HMS Racing | Alfa Romeo | 18.526s |
17 | Tom Oliphant | Ciceley Motorsport | Mercedes | 19.922s |
18 | Aiden Moffat | Laser Tools Racing | Mercedes | 21.773s |
19 | James Cole | Motorbase | Ford | 23.602s |
20 | Jake Hill | Team Hard | Volkswagen | 24.888s |
21 | Mike Bushell | Team Hard | Volkswagen | 26.893s |
22 | Josh Price | Team BMR | Subaru | 27.155s |
23 | James Nash | BTC Norlin | Honda | 27.766s |
24 | Rory Butcher | AmD Tuning | MG | 28.022s |
25 | Ollie Jackson | AmD Tuning | Audi | 30.185s |
26 | Bobby Thompson | Team Hard | Volkswagen | 38.299s |
27 | Stephen Jelley | Team Parker Racing | BMW | 38.648s |
28 | Sam Smelt | AmD Tuning | Audi | 38.965s |
- | Jason Plato | Team BMR | Subaru | Retirement |
- | Tom Boardman | AmD Tuning | MG | Retirement |
- | Michael Caine | Team Hard | Volkswagen | Retirement |
- | Tom Ingram | Speedworks | Toyota | Retirement |

Previous article
BTCC Thruxton: Neal beats Turkington to pole with new record
Next article
BTCC Thruxton: Josh Cook wins race two from ninth on the grid

About this article
Series | BTCC |
Drivers | Matt Neal |
Teams | BTC Racing |
Author | Matt James |
BTCC Thruxton: Neal converts pole into race one victory
Trending
The rollercoaster ride of West Surrey Racing's 40 years
It’s four decades since one of UK motorsport’s most successful teams made its debut at Silverstone in British Formula 3. Now it’s top dog in the BTCC, time to blow out some candles with boss Dick Bennetts
Why the BTCC elite should fear Shedden's return
OPINION: The British Touring Car Championship Lord taketh away Dan Cammish, then giveth Gordon Shedden. That means substituting what would have been a future champion with an all-time series great with a point to prove on his return
The tin-top veteran turned policeman hangs up his helmet
Jeff Allam had a long and successful touring car career, and was a highly regarded works driver for Rover and Vauxhall. Then he spent his weekends policing his successors… Time to look back at a BTCC life spanning almost 45 years
The BTCC Brexit that's thrived for a decade
It won't be long until the current BTCC rules become the longest-lasting the series has ever had. The NGTC regulations are due to celebrate their tenth birthday this year and while not totally perfect for everyone, have been a huge success
The top 10 BTCC drivers of 2020
The 2020 British Touring Car Championship will go down as a classic in which new winners graced the top step of the podium and an unloved chassis was resurrected into a champion. But who were the year's top performers?
The Villeneuve-esque 'engineer's dream' who lit up BTCC 2020
The Infiniti Q50 was completely redesigned, redeveloped and revamped by BMR and Laser Tools Racing for 2020. And the flamboyant brilliance of the driver behind the wheel was enough to snatch the title at the last gasp
The BMW game-changer that monopolised the tin-top world
The rival Ford RS500 was more spectacular and almost claimed its place as Autosport's greatest touring car. But the original BMW M3 E30 was too good and too important to be ignored, as its drivers explain
Turkington meets Rouse: The BTCC's greatest in conversation
The two four-time British Touring Car champions discovered they had far more in common than they realised when Autosport brought them together to discuss all things tin-top for its 70th anniversary special earlier this year