A STRONG performance in the third outing of the 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton means Pershore-based Honda Yuasa Racing will head to Oulton Park atop the manufacturers’ title chase.

Drivers Gordon Shedden and Shenstone’s Matt Neal are first and third in the drivers’ standings.

From second and third on the grid and carrying hefty ballast, the first race of the day around the ultra-quick Hampshire circuit saw Shedden and Neal both leap-frog pole-sitter Árón Smith to dominate throughout, clinching Honda Yuasa Racing’s first one-two of the campaign as Shedden secured his second season success.

While Neal retired from the second encounter following an unavoidable clash with Smith as they duelled over fourth — albeit not before setting fastest lap — Shedden sped to an excellent third place, threatening the leaders over the first half until his tyres began to fade and thereafter consolidating his position.

The Scot added to that with fifth in the weekend’s third and final showdown, meaning he now holds an eight-point championship lead.

Three-time BTCC champion Neal unquestionably stole the show as he stormed through the pack from 25th and last on the starting grid to take the chequered flag a superb sixth. The 48-year-old sits third in the points table.

“We did a cracking job in qualifying, and that set us up nicely for Sunday,” said Shedden. “The car was perfectly-balanced in race trim, even with the weight on-board, and in the first one I used the strengths of the Civic Type R to pull away.

“To get a podium with maximum ballast in race two was awesome – we were really chuffed with that – and to then conclude the weekend with more solid points in race three was a real bonus. As championship leader, I’ll go to Oulton with a whole load of weight in the car, but we’ll worry about that in a little while…”

“To put both cars inside the top three in qualifying definitely exceeded our expectations,” echoed Neal. “In race one, I tried to get a quick lap in early on and then look after my tyres given that I was carrying maximum ballast. The incident in race two was just unfortunate; Árón braked a lot earlier than usual and I tried to avoid him but he turned in, which broke my suspension.

“The boys did a terrific job to get the car repaired for race three, which was fun but frustrating at the same time. It was enjoyable fighting my way through, but I was constantly tucked up behind other drivers, so I couldn’t exploit the Civic Type R’s full potential.

“Still, both Gordon and I are well placed in the championship, so it’s game on!”

“Honda Civics have always gone well at Thruxton, and we set the cars up to manage the ballast situation in race one,” said team principal James Rodgers.

Meanwhile, Rob Austin Racing achieved something of a breakthrough result in Thruxton’s Dunlop British Touring Car Championship races with a first top-ten result at what has traditionally been its bogey circuit.

Austin, from Evesham, finished ninth in the second of three races. Behind, team-mate Hunter Abbott finished 14th — the first time both RAR Audis have finished a BTCC race at Thruxton together inside the points.

The result made up for disappointment in races one and three. In race one Austin finished 14th ahead of Hunter in 16th and in race two Austin, up to seventh early on, limped home a lowly 17th after contact from rivals’ cars damaged his Audi’s steering.

Hunter was also out of luck, needing a pit stop to replace a deflated tyre.

Austin said: “It’s been massively positive for us. We didn’t have a good qualifying so tried something a bit out of the unknown for us with the car’s set-up for race day and it’s transformed its performance around the circuit.”