BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIPS
ROCKINGHAM MOTOR SPEEDWAY
22ND JUNE 2003

Honda Take 1-2 in Inaugural
Rockingham BTCC Race

Matt Neal won the first ever British Touring Car race held at Rockingham in his Honda Civic Type R less than a second ahead of his team mate Alan Morrison. The third spot on the podium was filled by championship leader Yvan Muller after an epic battle had the large crowd on the edge of their seats.

Neal got the best start, leading the twenty two car field in the first corner just ahead of pole position holder Morrison. MG's Anthony Reid got a storming start away from the line to finish the opening lap in third just ahead of Muller, having lined up seventh on the grid. At Deene corner on the opening lap Tom Chilton, Carl Breeze and Dan Eaves disappeared in a cloud of dust as they took to the grass. The two 307's of Breeze and Eaves struggled back to the pits where they retired. Chilton managed to get going, ending the first lap in 14th place.

Neal and Morrison at the front of the field then started to pull away from Reid in third place. Reid's teammate Colin Turkington race ended in a cloud of smoke as the engine appeared to fail on lap four at the Tarzan hairpin. The two Hondas at the front then provided the crowd with a side by side battle on lap 5 as Morrison challenged Neal for the lead. For half a lap the two Civics were door-to-door, with no quarter asked for or given from either driver, with Neal eventually keeping the upper hand.

After a short safety car period to remove debris from the track and a round of pitstops, the two leaders then settled into a rhythm, pulling away from the chasing pack led by Reid. However, as the race entered the second half, Yvan Muller started to challenge Reid for third. An epic battle ensued as the Frenchman would nose ahead of his Scottish rival for Reid to fight back at the next corner to regain the place. This squabbling allowed the second Vauxhall of James Thompson to join the party.

On lap 22 Muller finally took 3rd place and made it stick, with Reid immediately coming under pressure from Thompson. Meanwhile the third Honda of Tom Chilton had been carving his way back through the field after his off on the opening lap and was challenging Thompson as the race entered the final two laps.

Chilton finally made his move on the penultimate lap to take 5th from Thompson. He then caught and passed Reid as the MG seemed to bog down as the cars streamed back onto the oval part of the track for the final time. At the front of the field Matt Neal and Alan Morrison took the chequered flag to the delight of the mechanics who were cheering their drivers from the pit wall. Muller came in third with Chilton taking an excellent 4th place six seconds further down the road.

"That was extremely hard work," said Matt Neal on the podium. "I always enjoy getting on the top step of the podium but that Irishman (Alan Morrison) certainly made me work for it."

2003 Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship - Round 9 Result

1	Matt NEAL	Honda Civic Type-R	46m10.496s 25 laps
2	Alan MORRISON	Honda Civic Type-R	+0.817s
3	Yvan MULLER	Vauxhall Astra Coupe	+21.019s
4	Tom CHILTON	Honda Civic Type-R	+27.051s
5	James THOMPSON	Vauxhall Astra Coupe	+27.830s
6	Anthony REID	MG ZS	+28.477s
7	Robert COLLARD	Vauxhall Astra Coupe	+28.562s
8	Warren HUGHES	MG ZS	+28.706s
9	Gavin PYPER	Vauxhall Astra Coupe	+29.772s
10	Paul O'NEILL	Vauxhall Astra Coupe	+30.301s

Fastest Lap
Alan MORRISON Honda Civic Type-R 1m43.592s 84.89mph 136.63kph

2003 GREEN FLAG BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP - Round 10

Muller Victorious in Second Rockingham BTCC Race

The 14,000 strong Rockingham crowd witnessed some high octane touring car action, with championship leader Yvan Muller winning the second British Touring Car race of the day from MG ZS driver Anthony Reid.

The two Hondas of Matt Neal and Alan Morrison lined up on the front row and both drivers got a cracking start as the lights flashed to green. Neal and Morrison took up where they left off in the first race and the two cars were battling side by side through Turn 4 at the end of the opening lap. Morrison dived to the outside of Neal as they crossed the line and took the lead into the first chicane. As the two cars battled down to the Deane hairpin Matt Neal's Honda disappeared in a cloud of engine smoke. In the confusion Anthony Reid and Yvan Muller moved ahead of the two disorientated Honda drivers. Matt Neal's race was run as he pulled off the track and Morrison continued in 3rd place.

Anthony Reid then started to move away from the chasing Muller, the Frenchman seemingly content to keep the gap to his rival at just over one second. The second Vauxhall of James Thompson then came under pressure from Warren Hughes in the No 6 MG ZS for 4th place. The mandatory pitstops started on lap 11 and as the positions shook out Reid was still leading with Muller in second and the Thompson/Hughes battle still going strong. On lap 14 the MG got the run on the Vauxhall as they got bank onto the banked part of the circuit. The two cars were side by side across the finish line, with Hughes holding the advantage at the first corner.

On Lap 17 the safety car was deployed after Michael Bentwood's BMW was tipped into a spin by Tom Boardman's Peugeot 307 on the high speed banking at Turn 4. Bentwood's car hit the concrete retaining wall before coming to rest in the centre of the track. Despite some body work damage, Boardman kept his car running to finish the race.

The race restarted on lap 23 and as Reid led the pack down towards Deene he made a mistake under braking allowing the two Vauxhalls of Muller and Thompson to move ahead of him. Reid fought back and regained 2nd place from Thompson before the end of the lap but struggled to catch Muller. Warren Hughes then has Thompson in his sights and on the penultimate lap Hughes put the nose of his MG on the inside of the Vauxhall at Deene, forcing Thompson to take a wide line out the corner.

Yvan Muller took the chequered flag less than a second ahead of the MGs of Anthony Reid and Warren Hughes. "I've enjoyed racing here at Rockingham and I think we've given the spectators plenty of action to watch," said Yvan Muller after the race. "In fact, I think there may have been too much action sometimes!"

BMW driver Michael Bentwood was released from the circuit medical centre after being declared fit.

2003 Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship - Round 10 Result

1	Yvan MULLER	Vauxhall Astra Coupe	48m54.339s 25 laps
2	Anthony REID	MGZS	+0.805s
3	Warren HUGHES	MGZS	+4.162s
4	James THOMPSON	Vauxhall Astra Coupe	+4.620s
5	Robert COLLARD	Vauxhall Astra Coupe	+7.215s
6	Paul O'NEILL	Vauxhall Astra Coupe	+8.401s
7	Tom CHILTON	Honda Civic Type-R	+8.588s
8	Phil BENNETT	Proton Impian	+10.956s
9	Carl BREEZE	Peugeot 307	+16.702s
10	Dan EAVES	Peugeot 307	+18.585s

Fastest Lap Warren HUGHES MGZS 1m43.697s 84.81mph 136.49kph

Driver Championship Positions after 10 Rounds 1 Yvan MULLER 142 points
2 James THOMPSON 111 points
3 Paul O'NEILL 68 points

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