Honda Racing’s misfortune finally changed in the 14th round of the British Touring Car Championship at Snetterton with all three Civic Type Rs finishing in the top five. Matt Neal had a brilliant drive, leading the race from the end of the first lap until the chequered flag. The 36-year-old Worcestershire driver won his fourth race of the season in dramatic style from his team-mate Alan Morrison, with Tom Chilton in fifth.

Morrison had also put in a fantastic performance. Starting from the back of the grid the Ulsterman was up to fifth place by the time that the pit stop window opened at the end of lap ten. Morrison was one of the first of the leading group to pit. By the time all the stops were complete he had gained two more places and was chasing Matt Neal and James Thompson for the lead.

Thompson kept the pressure on Neal throughout, but on the final lap the Vauxhall suffered a mechanical problem that forced him to retire. That allowed Morrison through to take second and make it a Honda Racing one-two at the Norfolk circuit.

Tom Chilton also had another excellent drive to finish fifth. The 18-year-old Surrey driver has come of age in the Civic Type R and was a constant threat to Antony Reid and Colin Turkington throughout in the battle for the lower leaderboard placings.

Matt Neal: “I’m delighted with the win and it’s fantastic for Honda Racing to have all three cars finish in the top five. It’s a great result for the team, who have worked really hard over the past two days. The race however wasn’t without incident for me. I had a shunt from one of the Vauxhalls early in the race and that affected my exhaust. Then, I started hitting false neutrals which made it difficult in certain parts of the track. However, I can’t fault the car. It was really on the money and was the top performer here at Snetterton this weekend."

Alan Morrison: “It’s been a mixed weekend for me really. After the disappointment in the first race, I drove as hard as I dared to bring it home on the podium in the second. I got a really good start again and just kept going. Obviously I’m still disappointed to have missed out in the first race, but I’m happy for Matt and the most important thing is that it was a great result for Honda Racing.”

Tom Chilton: “I had a good race but I think I could have got third. At one stage I was really challenging Anthony Reid but I was conscious of not doing anything reckless. The bottom line is that we pulled off an excellent result for Honda Racing and I have moved up to seventh in the championship table.”