Honda dominates at Thruxton: BTCC Rnd 7/8/9

Honda proved to be the dominant force at Thruxton as Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden shared the victories during the latest rounds of the BTCC season at Thruxton.

Three-time champion Neal took honours in the opening two races of the weekend while Shedden completed a strong comeback from an early incident in race one to take victory in race three.

While it was the manufacturer-backed Civics that ultimately clinched the main silverware, it was the independent Honda of Andrew Jordan that had taken pole position around the fastest circuit on the calendar, with the Pirtek Racing man then dominating race one from the front of the field.

However, with less than two miles to the finish, a front-left puncture saw him run off track and handed victory to Neal on a plate, ahead of the MG of Jason Plato and the Volkswagen Passat of Tom Onslow-Cole. It marked Neal’s 50th win in the BTCC.

Plato’s second place, achieved with maximum ballast on his car thanks to his position as points leader, came after a clash with Shedden at the Complex on lap one which resulted in the Scot going into the barriers on the outside of the circuit. While he would rejoin, a later pit-stop prevented him from scoring.

Onslow-Cole’s third place marked the first podium finish for his Team HARD.-run car, which hadn’t even turned a wheel prior to the first round at Brands Hatch last month.

Race two saw Neal double up with a lights-to-flag win, surviving an early Safety Car period after an incident involving the Proton of Dan Welch at the Chicane, to take his third success of the season.

Behind Neal however, the fight for second spot was a more hotly-contested affair, with Plato holding the position until pressure from Onslow-Cole finally paid off on lap twelve. That gave him a second podium of the weekend, with third coming down to a final lap fight between Shedden and Jordan; both of whom had come through the field to also get ahead of Plato.

A lurid slide from Jordan through the high-speed right-hander at Church would prove to be the opportunity that Shedden needed to get his car alongside as the pair blasted up to the final corner as he clinched third.

The final race, featuring a top nine reversed grid, saw front-run men Jack Goff and Adam Morgan run into early problems as both ran off track, leaving the Honda of Jeff Smith out front. Smith would lead the early laps before pressure from Plato’s MG saw him move ahead, while the remaining three Civics were making rapid progress up the field behind.

In the final stages, Plato found looked set to hold on for his third win of the year ahead of the four Hondas but – as was the case with Jordan earlier in the day – a late puncture would rob him of the chance to stand on top of the podium.

It handed victory to defending champion Shedden ahead of a closely-fought battle for second and third, with Neal beating Jordan to the flag by just 0.049secs. A spin late on for Smith was the only thing that stopped Honda from taking a 1-2-3-4 finish.

On the back of his double success, Neal now holds the championship lead with a 13 point advantage over Jordan with former leader Plato having slipped down to third spot.

“You can’t get much better than this!” Neal admitted. “The 50th win feels as sweet as the first one all those years ago. It’s hard to explain just how stoked I am – it’s absolutely awesome! I didn’t expect one win to be honest, never mind two. I love Thruxton – it’s unspoilt and it’s completely flat out.

“It’s not usually a happy hunting ground for me to be honest – unlike places like Brands Hatch or Donington for example – so to get the wins and a 1-2-3 for Honda in the final race is fantastic for the championship.”

Jordan meanwhile retains his Independents’ championship lead, with a 23 point lead over Morgan.

“We bounced back well after the disappointment of race one,” he said. “To be in contention at the end of this season I think you have to show how you can come back from those moments, and we did that. Of course, considering the pace we showed this weekend it’s really frustrating not to have taken a win, but there’s been a lot of positives too. We’ll keep pushing because we’re in the hunt for the championship.”

In the Jack Sears Trophy for Super 2000-spec cars, Liam Griffin was first man home in the opening race in his Ford Focus while it was the Vauxhall Vectra of Lea Wood that then won races two and three. Both drivers now have three wins this season to share the championship lead.