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Neal gets back to winning ways

Two-time British Touring Car Champion Matt Neal ended a 13-month barren spell with victory in the final race of the weekend at Rockingham.

Neal, who took the title in 2005 and 2006, showed his pace from the outset of round two of the 2008 championship with third spot in the opening race.

And despite running a lowly 10th early on in the third race of the afternoon, the 41-year-old profited from a safety-car period before setting a blistering pace for a late victory.

Colin Turkington had looked destined to win the race in question after building a seemingly unassailable lead but, with the field bunched up after the safety-car period, he stuttered and dropped to a disappointing seventh place.

Neal passed the chequered flag in the 18-lap race five seconds clear of runner-up Tom Chilton, while independent racer Adam Jones rounded off an excellent weekend, his third place adding to an impressive fourth in race one.

Fabrizio Giovanardi extended his lead in the BTCC standings despite only finishing once on the podium all weekend - he was second in race two.

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