WINS AT KNOCKHILL FOR MULLER, NEAL & COLLARD
Yvan Muller, Matt Neal and Rob Collard celebrated victories
in today's (Sunday) three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship
races, held at a soaking wet Knockhill circuit in Scotland.
Overall in the three races, though, Team Halfords' Neal outscored
Muller 43 to 29 to stretch his championship lead over the
Vauxhall driver to 30 points with six races to go. The first
three of those will take place at the BTCC's penultimate round
at Silverstone, Northamptonshire on Sunday 18 September.
For Collard, meanwhile, victory tasted all the sweeter for
it was his first ever win in the BTCC and also the first of
the season for his team WSR. He also becomes the season's
seventh different race winner. In the BTCC's coveted championship
for manufacturers, Vauxhall has increased its lead over SEAT
to 135 points. In the championship for teams, Team Halfords
has moved 80 points clear of Vauxhall's competition arm VX
Racing.
Race 1, 25 laps (32.50 miles)
Weather / Track: Raining / Wet
Muller Takes Race 1 Victory
Vauxhall's Colin Turkington started from pole position but
it was Team Halfords' new signing Gareth Howell who took the
lead early on. Muller, though, quickly overtook both to move
into the lead before Howell's Honda Integra span off the track
in a collision with Turkington's Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch.
Muller would go on to win the race but in the closing stages
there was drama when Neal, having set the race's fastest lap
and passed Turkington for second, closed in on the Frenchman
and briefly got ahead. However, just a few corners later,
Muller retaliated and Neal's Honda Integra was pushed wide
off the track.
Neal kept going and was able to close right up to Muller again
as they crossed the finish line. This was Muller's first ever
BTCC race win at Knockhill and also the 99th victory in the
championship for Vauxhall. The result also meant that Muller
reduced the gap to championship leader Neal to 13 points.
Turkington finished the race in third, while Neal's team-mate
Dan Eaves held off Tom Chilton's Arena Motorsports throughout
to finish fourth.
Result:
1. Yvan MULLER (FRA), VX Racing/Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch,
27m30.191s
2. Matt NEAL (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Integra, +0.734s
3. Colin TURKINGTON (GBR), VX Racing/Vauxhall Astra Sport
Hatch, +6.156s
Fastest Lap: Neal, 59.861s
Race 2, 24 laps (31.20 miles)
Weather / Track: Raining / Wet
Neal Takes Race 2 Victory
Muller led away from pole position, while Turkington moved
past Neal into the first bend to take second. Neal, though,
was quick to re-pass Turkington and was also soon able to
catch and overtake Muller for a lead he would never lose.
Neal again set the race's fastest lap en route to his sixth
win of the 2005 season - notably his first victory for 12
races. The result increased Neal's championship lead over
Muller to 17 points.
Third, after also fighting past Turkington, was Chilton but
Eaves retired with collision damage to his car. There was
also bitter disappointment for the HPI Racing with Friends
Reunited team whose two Lexus collided and retired when Ian
Curley span and was collected by his team-mate Richard Williams.
In the closing stages, eyes focused on the race for tenth
which is rewarded with pole position for race three thanks
to the top ten reversed grid rule. In the end, Mark Proctor
in his tiny Fast-Tec team's Vauxhall Astra Coupe just held
of the similar, bio-ethanol-powered car of Tech-speed's Fiona
Leggate to nab the all-important spot.
Result:
1. Matt NEAL (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Integra, 26m16.364s
2. Yvan MULLER (FRA), VX Racing/Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch,
+0.768s
3. Tom CHILTON (GBR), Arena Motorsports/Honda Civic Type-R,
+1.043s
Fastest Lap: Neal, 59.972s
Race 3, 25 laps (32.50 miles)
Weather / Track: Raining / Wet
Collard Takes Race 3 Victory
Rob Collard, starting second on the grid in the WSR team's
MG ZS, led all the way from the start to achieve his first
ever BTCC race victory. Collard soaked up pressure early on
from Muller, but the Vauxhall driver then retired with a mechanical
problem. As Muller slowed, Neal clipped the back of the Vauxhall
and then also survived a wild half spin in a collision with
Jason Plato's SEAT Sport UK Toledo Cupra.
While Plato ran off the track, Neal kept going to eventually
come home second. For the third race in a row, Neal set the
race's fastest lap to earn a bonus point. Thanks to Muller's
retirement, Neal now leads the championship by 30 points with
six races remaining.
Chilton kept clear of the troubles ahead of him to take his
second third position of the day and he has now passed Collard
for sixth in the standings. Fourth on his debut for Team Halfords
was Howell, with Plato and Eaves fifth and sixth. Both Howell
and Eaves put in excellent recovery drives after spinning
off the track on lap one, the former in a tangle with Plato,
the latter in a collision with James Kaye's Synchro Motorsport's
Honda Civic.
Result:
1. Rob COLLARD (GBR), WSR/MG ZS, 27m32.558s
2. Matt NEAL (GBR), Team Halfords/Honda Integra, +1.700s
3. Tom CHILTON (GBR), Arena Motorsports/Honda Civic Type-R,
+6.580s
Fastest Lap: Neal, 1m00.328s
Leading BTCC Points After Snetterton:
Drivers:
1. Matt NEAL 277pts
2. Yvan MULLER 247pts
3. Dan EAVES 220pts
4. Jason PLATO 166pts
5. Colin TURKINGTON 159pts
6. Tom CHILTON 145pts
Manufacturers
1. VAUXHALL 656pts
2. SEAT 521pts
Teams
1. Team Halfords 484pts
2. VX Racing 404pts
3. SEAT Sport UK 248pts
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