Adam Morgan is a new championship leader after BTCC round at Thruxton

Matt Neal (Halfords Yuasa Racing, Honda Civic Type R), Josh Cook (Power Maxed Racing, Vauxhall Astra) and Adam Morgan (Ciceley Motorsport, Mercedes A-Class) are the race winners in three races of the BTCC meeting at Thruxton Circuit, the third round of the 2018 British Touring Car Championship season.

Matt Neal has won the first race of the weekend at Thruxton

62nd BTCC victory for Matt Neal

The 51-year-old touring car veteran Matt Neal has won the first race which he started from pole position in the #25 Honda Civic Type R. It’s his 62nd BTCC victory in a career.

Neal inherited a pole position after Tom Ingram’s fastest lap time has been removed after the qualifying session because he was adjudged to have exceeded track limits. Ingram dropped to tenth place on the grid.

Neal converted his starting position into the lights-to-flag victory. In the 16-lap race, he defeated Team BMW’s Colin Turkington by 0.860 seconds. Neal’s teammate Dan Cammish completed a podium. Motorbase Performance’s Sam Tordoff and Tom Chilton brought their Ford Focus machines to P4 and P5 respectively.

Turkington scored an extra point as he smashed the longest-standing lap record in the BTCC – a 1:17.243s lap time, beating Yvan Muller’s benchmark from 2002.

Race 2 podium at Thruxton: Neal, Cook and Turkington

Second win in a career for Josh Cook

After the second race, Matt Neal and Colin Turkington were standings on a podium again, but left and right to the winner Josh Cook. For the driver of the #66 Vauxhall Astra, it’s his second win this season and the second in a career.

Pole-sitter Matt Neal lost a lead to Colin Turkington during the opening lap. Behind their back, Sam Tordoff and Andrew Jordan initially fought for the third place but they were soon overtaken by Josh Cook. On Lap 10, Cook blasted around the outside of Neal’s Honda at the final chicane and then, on the next lap, he repeated a move against Turkington’s BMW.

Sam Tordoff finished fourth, ahead of Andrew Jordan, Senna Proctor and Adam Morgan. The reverse grid lottery draw put Morgan on the pole for the third race.

Adam Morgan wins the third race at Thruxton

Morgan’s victory put him into the championship lead

Adam Morgan converted his starting position into the second win this season and the sixth BTCC victory in a career. The maximum-points result also put him on the top of the championship standings after nine races.

Morgan’s second win of the season came in dominant fashion as his #33 Mercedes was in front for all sixteen laps. Behind his back, Jack Goff in aHonda Civic defeated Senna Proctor in a Vauxhall Astra in the fight for P2.

Sam Tordoff ended the Race 3 same as the Race 2, in the fourth place. After two podiums, Colin Turkington ended a good weekend with the fifth-place finish in the third race.

Check the full results of BTCC races at Thruxton Circuit

The next BTCC round is scheduled for June 9-10 at Oulton Park.

Photos: BTCC, Ciceley Motorsport,