Matt Neal fights back to front and leads

Matt Neal retained his position at the top of British Touring Cars Championship after fighting back from an opening-race crash to earn a podium finish.

The Stourbridge-born Halfords Yuasa Racing ace was on course for a strong result in the first of three races in Hampshire.

But he suffered a puncture – the damage made worse when he was struck by Josh Cook as he tried to enter the pits at the high-speed Thruxton circuit.

Neal, 49, guided his Honda Civic through the field to 11th in race two, leaving him well positioned for a crack at the top 10 in the reverse-grid final race.

And he showed the true pace of his car as he battled his way past nine rivals – the last being Jack Goff for second on lap eight – to finish 0.256 seconds behind Mat Jackson.

Neal now shares the lead of the championship with Rob Collard on 101 points each.

He said: "It was a weekend that had promised so much more and I was staring down the barrel of a gun until the last race.

"I would never have thought I'd leave still leading the championship after the first two races, so all's well that ends well."