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BTCC 2012 Index

Neal wins race three to make it a Rockingham double

BTCC News | Sun 25th April 2010

Matt Neal won race three at Rockingham to clinch his first double-victory since Mondello Park in April, 2006.

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Neal was handed pole position when the top nine finishers from race two were reversed to form the grid for race three. The Honda Racing Team driver almost lost the lead at the start, when Paul O'Neill pulled alongside him heading through Turn 1 for the first time, but Neal had the inside line into Deene and held on.

O'Neill's efforts to take the lead left him vulnerable to an attack from behind and he lost second place to Tom Onslow-Cole. Behind them, Andrew Jordan was fourth, Steven Kane fifth and Jason Plato sixth.

Just as in the first race, Neal was comfortable at the front. Onslow-Cole and O'Neill were battling for second, with Jordan and Kane contesting fourth. Kane in turn had to keep an eye on his mirrors as Plato's Cruze loomed large.

It was status quo for several laps, until O'Neill eventually found a way past Onslow-Cole at Yentwood on lap 12, to move up to second position. The Jordan/Kane battle also continued for some time, with Kane taking until lap 15 to get past.

One driver who made strong progress throughout the race was WSR's Rob Collard. Starting eighth, he picked off a number of places, including seventh from Gordon Shedden, when the pair touched wheels. Just as in the second race, he spent the final few laps chasing Jason Plato, but without success.

Tom Onslow-Cole lost any hope of a podium finish when he ran wide at Deene two laps from the end of the race. Kane, Jordan, Plato and Collard all filed past the Focus in quick succession. This meant that Kane, who had just taken fourth from Jordan, was now up to third.

That was it for changes at the front of the pack. Try as he might, O'Neill could not close down Matt Neal and the Civic driver was free to take the chequered flag for the second time today. O'Neill finished second, taking independent victory in the process, while Steven Kane was third for the second race in a row.

Andrew Jordan finished fourth, ahead of Plato and Collard. Onslow-Cole was seventh, Nash eighth and Neate ninth. Tom Boardman finished tenth to pick up the final point.

Matt Neal said: "I've just doubled my win tally for the last couple of years – it's been a good day. The car is good when we haven't got any weight, but we'll be carrying ballast next weekend, so we've got to try and get it sorted now."

Click here for race three results.

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