British Touring Car Championship sees VX racing placed 1st and 2nd

The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) had its opening round at the Brands Hatch circuit yesterday, with VX racer Matt Neal sealing the 100th victory for the Triple Eight Engineer.

The VX racing team stole the show at the Kent circuit, taking the Drivers', Teams' and Manufacturers'/Constructors' titles.

The results from yesterday's race were:

Championship Standings Drivers' Championship 2009:

1. Matt Neal- 38 points
2. Colin Turkington- 32 points
3. Rob Collard- 29 points

Manufacturers'/Constructors' Championship:

1. Vauxhall/VX Racing- 62 points
2. Ford/Team Aon- 50 points
3. Honda/Team Dynamics- 40 points

Teams' Championship:

1. VX Racing- 53 points
2. Team RAC- 52 points
3. Airwaves BMW- 42 points

Matt Neal said: "It was a dream start to my season, but I had to fight for it. I was relieved when Andrew was behind me, but when he had a problem Turkington was back behind me and then Fabrizio got stuck in the mix which was good.

"He started coming on strong at the end which was a bit worrying. My car was excellent, although like others, it was sliding around a fair bit. Great start to the weekend for us."

Teammate Andrew Jordan also had a good start to the BTCC. He said: "Neal and Giovanardi, in fourth and fifth place, were poised to move forwards at the first possible opportunity and when Jelley made a mistake the duo were quickly past him.

"Meanwhile Jordan was displaying his potential, calmly picking off his rivals ahead and pushing each lap. With only six laps to the chequered flag Giovanardi picked up a puncture, forcing him to pit.

"Jordan had impressed with a sterling performance, improving from his 16th place start position to finish fifth, bouncing back from his earlier retirement with an abundance of style and maturity."