Team Halfords arrived at the Croft round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship confidently leading Britain's premier tin-top motor racing series, but soon discovered it would be no walkover in the North East of England as the manufacturer Vauxhall squad had upped their game since the last round at Oulton Park.

The orange Honda Integra Type-Rs of Matt Neal and Dan Eaves may have had their work cut out, but once more proved themselves the class of the field, ending Sunday's three races with another team 1-2 after Dan Eaves led team-mate Matt Neal across the line, taking glory in the race shown live on ITV1.

Bumper crowds at the 2.13 mile Croft track near Darlington, saw reigning champions VX Racing take to the track having found more pace from their Astra, so much so that Colin Turkington notched up his second pole position of the year.

Despite not being on pole, Team Halfords had plenty to feel confident about in their Team Dynamics-built Honda Integra Type Rs, as Matt Neal had put in a scintillating lap in the dying throes of the qualifying session to join Turkington on the front row. Neal's qualifying lap was all the more impressive considering that his Integra was the heaviest on the track due to the success ballast brought by his championship-leading status. Team-mate Dan Eaves encountered brake problems in his car, but still recorded the sixth fastest time.

Sunday dawned with blue skies and sunshine, and the action on track proved to be just as hot as the day wore on. The first race of three was probably the most muted of the season so far and Neal was unlucky to lose out to a fast-starting Yvan Muller at the first corner, putting him into third place. Whilst he didn't have the pace of the two Vauxhalls ahead, Neal kept the efforts of a feisty Jason Plato at bay to come home with the final podium spot in a race which was finished early following an off for Mark Proctor.

Though there was not much overtaking in the first race, Eaves was at least able to move a place forward as he overtook Tom Chilton, meaning he would start from fifth and directly behind Neal for the second race.

Race two saw far more action than the first, and both Team Halfords drivers were involved in incidents with works SEAT driver, Jason Plato. Plato made a forceful move on Neal at the end of the first lap, hitting the Integra so hard that the pit-lane speed-limiter was triggered, meaning most of the field could pass the championship leader. This gave Neal quite some challenge but, with the bit between his teeth, he charged forwards through his rivals, showing that passing is possible at Croft if you've got the right car as he worked his way to a sixth-placed finish.

Dan's second race was no less action-packed. With more pace than Plato's Toledo ahead of him, it wasn't long before the orange Integra was pressurising the 2001 champion's car and Eaves was alongside Plato. The SEAT driver would not concede the place and, rather than allow Dan any space, forced him on to the grass and dramatically sideways. Whilst Eaves was able to return to the race and finished an eventual tenth place - meaning pole for the reverse top-ten race three - there was some poetic justice in the fact that Plato had to pit following the incident.

The final race of the day saw Eaves take a fine start and disappear off from the rest of the field to take his fifth win of the season. Neal, meanwhile, worked his way through the field to be the only driver to get near to his team-mate, as he got into second place and crossed the line just 0.062secs behind Dan for yet another 1-2 result for the independent Team Halfords squad.

On the podium Dan spared a thought for the recent events in London: "I'd like to dedicate my win to the victims and the friends and families of the victims of the London bombings," said Dan. "It has hit everyone pretty hard and I feel it's pretty close to everyone's hearts, so I'd like to dedicate my victory to them.

Of his race, Dan knew exactly what he had to do: "I knew I had the pace in the car all weekend, I just haven't had the luck to go with it," he explained. "A win was do-able, it was all up to whether or not I got a good enough start and I did that. I got in front of the two SEATs and built up a nice margin then I could throttle back a bit to keep the water temperature down. I'm happy and will go to Mondello and fight my corner again."

Neal keeps his lead in the championship, some 27 points ahead of Eaves.

"No wins today for me, but it was a good result," said Matt at the track, "In the first two races, we were involved in the action and the carnage and I thought our luck had run out this year, but to come away with a 1-2 in the last one was great."

The team head next to Mondello Park in Ireland which should prove a challenge.

"Croft is a course you can overtake on, but Mondello will be a different matter entirely. It's tight, it's stop-start and with the weight and the reverse grids we're going to have our work cut out in the next one," reckons Neal.