British Touring Car Championship
Donington Park - Race 3 Report - 17/4/16
 Matt Neal celebrates his first win of the year |
With the number 8 ball being selected after race two, the reverse grid race from Donington Park saw Team JCT600 with GardX's Sam Tordoff start in pole position alongside the MG Racing RCIB Insurance MG6GT of Josh Cook. Matt Neal started on row two in his Halfords Yuasa Racing Honda Civic Type R with Jack Goff in the IHG Rewards Club BMW 125i M Sport. Gordon Shedden lined up on row 3 alongside Aron Smith with current championship leader Mat Jackson and race two winner Rob Collard on row 4.
As the lights went out to start the last race of the day, Sam Tordoff got a good start as did Matt Neal who moved straight up to 2nd place with Jack Goff 3rd ahead of Josh Cook who slipped down to 4th from 2nd on the grid. Cook lost another place to Gordon Shedden as the reigning BTCC champion took 4th place before the end of the first lap.
The topsy-turvy grid produced lots of overtaking in the early laps as drivers worked hard to pass other slower drivers who were in turn keen to protect their track positions. Jack Goff passed Matt Neal on lap 2 to take 2nd place from the three-time BTCC champion. Sam Tordoff, Neal and Goff then started to extend a slender lead over the following pack.
Behind the leaders, Mat Jackson in the Motorbase Performance Ford Focus was hunting down 6th placed Rob Collard, passing the Team JCT600 with GardX driver on lap 5 before setting about catching 5th placed Josh Cook in the MG Racing RCIB Insurance MG6GT. By lap 7, Gordon Shedden was closing in on the leading drivers as Jack Goff posted the fastest lap of the race so far. Collard re-took 6th place from Jackson a couple of laps later.
By lap 10, Matt Neal had passed Jack Goff who was then a target for Gordon Shedden. The Scot passed Goff on lap 11 and the Halfords Yuasa Racing duo of Neal and Shedden set about hunting down race leader Sam Tordoff. In a flurry of activity, Neal passed Tordoff on lap 14 to take the lead with Shedden passing Tordoff on the very next lap. The race ended with a 1-2 victory for team-mates Neal and Shedden with Tordoff finishing 3rd. Rob Collard finished 4th with Ashley Sutton 5th and Jack Goff 6th.
Matt Neal now leads the Drivers' Championship on 78 points with team-mate Gordon Shedden 5 points behind on 73. Jack Goff is 3rd on 66 points with Rob Collard 4th on 64. With six different drivers winning the first six races of the year, the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship now heads to the fastest circuit on the BTCC calendar for rounds 7, 8 & 9 of the 2016 season with its annual visit to Thruxton in Hampshire on 7th and 8th of May.
 Halfords Yuasa Racing bring home a 1-2 victory |
 The race three podium from Donington Park |
Published 17 April 2016
British Touring Car Championship
Donington Park - Race 3 Report - 17/4/16
Matt Neal celebrates his first win of the year
With the number 8 ball being selected after race two, the reverse grid race from Donington Park saw Team JCT600 with GardX's Sam Tordoff start in pole position alongside the MG Racing RCIB Insurance MG6GT of Josh Cook. Matt Neal started on row two in his Halfords Yuasa Racing Honda Civic Type R with Jack Goff in the IHG Rewards Club BMW 125i M Sport. Gordon Shedden lined up on row 3 alongside Aron Smith with current championship leader Mat Jackson and race two winner Rob Collard on row 4.
As the lights went out to start the last race of the day, Sam Tordoff got a good start as did Matt Neal who moved straight up to 2nd place with Jack Goff 3rd ahead of Josh Cook who slipped down to 4th from 2nd on the grid. Cook lost another place to Gordon Shedden as the reigning BTCC champion took 4th place before the end of the first lap.
Halfords Yuasa Racing bring home a 1-2 victory
The topsy-turvy grid produced lots of overtaking in the early laps as drivers worked hard to pass other slower drivers who were in turn keen to protect their track positions. Jack Goff passed Matt Neal on lap 2 to take 2nd place from the three-time BTCC champion. Sam Tordoff, Neal and Goff then started to extend a slender lead over the following pack.
Behind the leaders, Mat Jackson in the Motorbase Performance Ford Focus was hunting down 6th placed Rob Collard, passing the Team JCT600 with GardX driver on lap 5 before setting about catching 5th placed Josh Cook in the MG Racing RCIB Insurance MG6GT. By lap 7, Gordon Shedden was closing in on the leading drivers as Jack Goff posted the fastest lap of the race so far. Collard re-took 6th place from Jackson a couple of laps later.
The race three podium from Donington Park
By lap 10, Matt Neal had passed Jack Goff who was then a target for Gordon Shedden. The Scot passed Goff on lap 11 and the Halfords Yuasa Racing duo of Neal and Shedden set about hunting down race leader Sam Tordoff. In a flurry of activity, Neal passed Tordoff on lap 14 to take the lead with Shedden passing Tordoff on the very next lap. The race ended with a 1-2 victory for team-mates Neal and Shedden with Tordoff finishing 3rd. Rob Collard finished 4th with Ashley Sutton 5th and Jack Goff 6th.
Matt Neal now leads the Drivers' Championship on 78 points with team-mate Gordon Shedden 5 points behind on 73. Jack Goff is 3rd on 66 points with Rob Collard 4th on 64. With six different drivers winning the first six races of the year, the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship now heads to the fastest circuit on the BTCC calendar for rounds 7, 8 & 9 of the 2016 season with its annual visit to Thruxton in Hampshire on 7th and 8th of May.
Published 17 April 2016