BTCC: Record-breaking Neal sets Testing Pace at Oulton Park
17 March 2000
Auto Trader British Touring Car Championship action returned to the north of England today with Matt Neal continuing to outshine the manufacturer teams setting a record-breaking testing pace at Cheshire’s Oulton Park circuit. With a blistering final effort in the six-hour test session, reigning Michelin Cup for Independents champion Neal lapped the 2.36-mile Island track nearly a second quicker than any touring car driver had gone before. Neal’s time of 1min 22.764secs beat James Thompson’s 1999 pole position time by eight tenths of a second and the Team Dynamics Nissan Primera driver, fastest at the first official BTCC test a fortnight ago at Brands Hatch, said he was “chuffed to bits”. The Stourbridge, West Midlands, based ace said: “This is only the fourth time I’ve been at the top of the timesheets and I’m lost for words. I really didn’t think I would be quickest here as Oulton Park has never been one of my strongest circuits, and I wasn’t even wearing my lucky underpants!” The manufacturer teams were breathing down Neal’s neck, however, with Team Ford Mondeo driver Alain Menu, the 1997 BTCC champion, only 13 thousandths of a second behind in second and British star Thompson just 12 thousandths further adrift in his Team Honda Sport Accord. Italian Gabriele Tarquini, 1994 champion, was fourth fastest ahead of 1998 series winner Rickard Rydell (Ford), Scot Anthony Reid (Ford) and the first of the Vauxhall Motorsport Vectras, driven by Frenchman Yvan Muller. Looking ahead to the season, which starts at Brands Hatch, Kent, on Sunday, April 9, Neal added: “I don’t want to be over confident as that breeds complacency, but I am aiming for a top-three championship finish at the end of the year. The manufacturer guys are going to get quicker as the season goes on but at the moment I’m just enjoying being in this position. The car feels great and the team’s doing a great job, let’s hope it continues.“ TOP TEN TESTING TIMES FROM OULTON PARK ISLAND CIRCUIT 1 Matt Neal* (GB) Team Dynamics Nissan Primera GT 1m22.764s 2 Alain Menu (Swi) Ford Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo Zetec 1m22.777s 3 James Thompson (GB) Team Honda Sport Honda Accord 1m22.789s 4 Gabriele Tarquini (Ita) Team Honda Sport Honda Accord 1m23.043s 5 Rickard Rydell (Swe) Ford Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo Zetec 1m23.173s 6 Anthony Reid (GB) Ford Team Mondeo Ford Mondeo Zetec 1m23.297s 7 Yvan Muller (Fra) Vauxhall Motorsport Vauxhall Vectra 1m23.392s 8 Peter Kox (Hol) Team Honda Sport Honda Accord 1m23.628s 9 Jason Plato (GB) Vauxhall Motorsport Vauxhall Vectra 1m23.796s 10 James Kaye** (GB) Barwell Motorsport Honda Accord 1m34.076s * = Michelin Cup for Independents driver ** = Class B driver