Milestone man Neal reflects on “good solid weekend”

Much of the talk ahead of Donington Park was about milestone man Matt Neal reaching his 500th British Touring Car Championship start.

And while the man known as “the people’s champion” didn’t mark the occasion with a win, he still considered the weekend a success for the Honda Racing Team after a sometimes-trying Brands Hatch.

Neal clocked up the 500th start in the second race, at the same time as rival Jason Plato began his 400th. But it was in the first and third races that he recorded his best results of the day, with a third place in each.

Team-mate Gordon Shedden also fared well, taking his first win of the season in race one, and following it up with a third and a second in the other two races.

“You always want a bit more, but we had five podiums out of a possible six, and you can’t really argue with that. It was a good solid weekend with points for the drivers, but also the manufacturers and teams,” Neal told TouringCarTimes.

“It suddenly dawns on you driving in this morning where you’re at. Someone said what about the next 500, and I said I’d be in a box before the next 500 come round!

“We have had some really good times. We’ve had some rough times as well – it has been a ride for sure.”

The final race of the day featured a memorable move by Neal and Shedden on the Triple Eight MG of Sam Tordoff at Coppice, which saw them elevated to second and third.

Neal said: “We just both got out of the car, looked at each other and giggled! Flash said it felt like we’d picked someone’s pocket. It was a good move – it did feel sweet.”

Next up is Thruxton, a track Neal and Honda have always excelled at.

He said: “We were strong there last year, wet or dry. The TOCA engines look stupidly strong at the moment, but we are good in fast corners, which is what Thruxton is all about.”