Neal leads Honda 1-2 in tyre strategy race

Matt Neal has won the first race at Rockingham, gambling on slick tyres from team mate Gordon Shedden.

The race was highly dependent on tyre strategy which saw cars near the front change often.

The lead was never challenged however, with Matt Neal starting second, moved straight into the lead ahead of Team Aon’s Tom Chilton, who had opted for a different tyre strategy.

Matt at one point had built up a 7.5 second lead, and took his first win of the season for the Honda Racing Team.

Tom Onslow-Cole moved into second at the start ahead of team mate Chilton – whilst Steven Kane managed to get a good start from the BMW and move up to fifth, but then the mixed tyre runners came to the fore, with Andrew Jordan’s turbo powered Vauxhall driving all the way up to 2nd place by lap four, helped in part by Tom Onslow-Cole driving off the track in the slippery conditions.

Suddenly however, from about lap 5, slicks were the tyres to have as the circuit continued to dry, and the Ford’s and the Pirtek Racing Vauxhall began to fall back.

Gordon Shedden and Jason Plato powered through past the ailing Ford’s, and ran together throughout the remainder of the race, with Plato unable to find an opportunity to pass the Honda.

By mid distance, Tom Chilton had pitted and changed tyres, Tom Boardman’s Special Tuning UK SEAT had moved up to fourth and would stay there for the race, and Paul O’Neill and Steven Kane were in hot pursuit.

On the final lap, Steven Kane passed O’Neill and took fifth place to finish as the best placed BMW, whilst Rob Collard also moved into tenth place passing Tom Chilton, Rob also setting the fastest lap in the race.

Martin Johnson, who had started from the pits and changed tyres to slicks, took an impressive ninth place in the ageing Astra Coupe.