Matt Neal completes first Vauxhall test

Matt Neal got his first run in Vauxhall’s title-winning Vectra on Friday – just five days after announcing he would be racing for the UK make in next year’s Dunlop British Touring Car Championship. Neal drove the car around Silverstone’s short National circuit. The Vectra ran number 4 on its door to reflect Neal’s finishing position in this year’s championship.

Last Sunday at Thruxton he relinquished his BTCC drivers’ crown to Vauxhall’s Fabrizio Giovanardi but within hours had confirmed he would be partnering the Italian in VX Racing’s line-up in 2008.

“I was more pleasantly surprised than I imagined I would be,” Neal told BTCC.net. “The idea was to give me a run round, get a bit of feedback and let the team know what I thought. I think this will be my only run of the year with Fabrizio doing a bit more work in the UK before the winter break.

“It is quite different to the Honda Civic in its engine and chassis characteristics. But it’s a good all-round package. You can see that it’s all very close between the Vectra, the Civic and the SEAT.”

Neal has raced previously for Vauxhall – for its satellite Egg:sport team in 2002 – and rejoining the squad means he is working again with some former colleagues.

He added: “The technical director Kevin Berry was my race engineer back then so there are plenty of familiar faces. It’s a nice atmosphere.”

Neal did experience a minor alarm, though, when he was forced to spin to avoid a slower, historic car that was sharing the track on what was a general test day.