Motor sport: Neal's victory rebuffs doubts

PRIVATEER MATT NEAL struck a blow for the underdogs in the big- budget world of the British Touring Car Championship, when he took a dramatic win in the second of the season's opening rounds here. The feat earned him a one-off bonus of pounds 250,000.

The 6ft 6in Midlander, who has been turned down on numerous occasions in his efforts to gain a works drive, was elated after one of the most popular wins in BTCC history. "It was like sticking a finger up in the air at the lot of them and saying, `I can do it'," he said. Neal led the race for the early laps, but almost blew his chance during the compulsory pit-stop. He tried to move off in second gear, stalled and dropped to fifth place when he returned to the track. But he worked his way up the field again and hunted down the leader James Thompson's Honda over the closing laps.

Third-placed Renault driver Jason Plato was impressed: "I was mesmerised by his speed at the end - it was hideous."

Neal says that the bonus will be used to pay off the overdraft the Team Dynamics outfit, which runs his 1998 Nissan Primera, has run up over the winter, though the first call on it would be for "a big party".

Neal's feat went some way to alleviating a disastrous weekend for Nissan. Qualifying day problems left both factory cars down the grid. While David Leslie took an excellent fourth place in one race, he failed to finish the other race after a clash with Anthony Reid's Ford, and his new team- mate, Laurent Aiello, did not score.

Thompson earlier won the shorter Sprint race. He beat fellow front-row starter Neal away from the grid and was never headed. In the early laps Alain Menu followed him closely, but gradually the Honda eased away, leaving Menu in the revamped Ford Mondeo to defend his positions from Plato, who called off his attack when he found his mirror filled by Leslie's Nissan.