Matt Neal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Matt Neal |
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Neal at the Knockhill round of the 2017 British Touring Car Championship
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| Nationality |  British |
| Born | 20 December 1966 Stourbridge, England |
| British Touring Car Championship career | |
| Debut season | 1991 |
| Current team | Halfords Yuasa Racing |
| Racing licence |  FIA Gold (until 2021) FIA Silver (2022–) |
| Car no. | 25 |
| Former teams | VX Racing Peugeot Sport UK Team Mazda Tech-Speed Motorsport Pyramid Motorsport |
| Starts | 719 |
| Wins | 63 |
| Poles | 17 |
| Fastest laps | 52 |
| Best finish | 1st in 2005, 2006, 2011 |
| Previous series | |
| 2018 2002 2001 1998 1993 |
Mini Challenge UK ASCAR ETCC British GT Championship DTM |
| Championship titles | |
| 2005–06, 2011 | BTCC |
| Awards | |
| BRDC Silver Star | |
Matthew Stephen Phillip Neal, born on December 20, 1966, is a famous British racing driver. He has won the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) three times, in 2005, 2006, and 2011. Matt Neal also holds a record for winning the BTCC Independents Champion title six times. He achieved this in 1993, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2005, and 2006. He has also won races in the European Touring Car Championship. At 6 feet 6 inches tall, he was too tall to race single-seater cars easily. Matt Neal is also the Group Marketing Director at Rimstock, a company that makes alloy wheels, which his father Steve started.
Racing Career Highlights
Starting Out in Racing
Born in Stourbridge, England, Matt Neal began his racing journey in Motocross. In 1988, he switched to car racing, competing in the Ford Fiesta XR2i series. He became the British Group N Champion in both 1990 and 1991. He also helped drive a BMW M3 to victory in the 1990 Willhire 24 Hour race at Snetterton.
British Touring Car Championship: Early Years (1991–2001)
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Matt Neal first raced in the BTCC in 1991 with Pyramid Motorsport at Silverstone, driving a BMW M3. He finished 13th in his first race. Later that season, he raced for the Auto Trader Techspeed Team. In 1992, he joined his father's team, Team Dynamics, driving the BMW M3 that Will Hoy had used to win the championship the year before. After his car was badly damaged, he switched to a new BMW 318 for the last race of the season.
In 1993, he won the Total Cup, a special award for drivers without big manufacturer support. He then joined Mazda for a season that ended early due to a big crash at Silverstone. He returned to Team Dynamics in 1995 and stayed for several years. During this time, he often surprised the bigger teams and won the Independents' title three more times: in 1995, 1999, and 2000.
In 1999, Matt Neal made history by winning a race at Donington Park in a Nissan Primera. This was the first time an independent driver had won a race in the modern BTCC era, earning him a large prize from the series promoter, Alan J. Gow. He won another race a year later. The BTCC rules changed for 2001, and Neal briefly joined Peugeot Sport UK before taking a break from most of the season to race in the European Touring Car Championship.
Racing in Europe (2001)
After one race in the BTCC, Matt Neal moved to the European Touring Car Championship's Super Touring category. He raced with RJN Motorsport in their Nissan Primera, starting from Round 5 at Magny-Cours. He finished 14th in the championship with 266 points, winning one race in the final round in Portugal.
Back to BTCC (2002–2003)
Matt Neal returned to the BTCC in 2002 with egg:sport, driving a Vauxhall Astra Coupé alongside Paul O'Neill. He finished 3rd in the championship, ahead of his teammate.
In 2003, he switched to Honda Racing to drive a Honda Civic Type R. This marked the beginning of a long and successful partnership with Honda. He finished 3rd in the championship again, beating his teammates Tom Chilton and Alan Morrison.
Return to Team Dynamics (2004–2007)
Matt Neal rejoined Team Dynamics in 2004, which was then sponsored by Halfords. He finished 5th in the overall Drivers Championship and 4th in the Independents Championship.
For the 2005 season, the team developed a Honda Integra from a regular road car. This was unusual because independent teams usually raced cars that had already been used by factory teams. However, their hard work paid off, and Matt Neal won the drivers' title in the final round at Brands Hatch. Team Halfords also won the Teams and Independent Teams Championships. Neal finished every single race in the points that year, which was a first since the championship expanded to 30 races per year.
In 2006, Matt Neal drove the No. 1 Honda Integra and won the championship again by consistently finishing well. He secured his second title with a 4th place finish in round 28. After two years without any mechanical problems, Neal had a suspension failure just before the start of the final race.
For the 2007 season, older BTC-spec cars like the Integra were no longer allowed to compete for the main title. So, Team Dynamics switched to a Honda Civic, developing it themselves. Neal won the third race of the season, but the SEAT and Vauxhall cars were generally faster. A big crash in the first race at Brands Hatch sent him to the hospital briefly. This cost him points, and his teammate Gordon Shedden finished 3rd overall, with Neal in 4th.
VX Racing (2008–2009)
In 2008, Matt Neal joined VX Racing. He won only one race at Rockingham, while his teammate Fabrizio Giovanardi won five races and kept his title. Neal finished 5th in the standings that year. In 2009, he started strong by winning the first race at Brands Hatch, but he did not win again that season. He finished fourth in the standings, behind Giovanardi.
Honda Racing (2010–2020)
Matt Neal returned to Team Dynamics for the 2010 season, racing under the Honda Racing banner with his former teammate Gordon Shedden. Neal lost out on the drivers' championship to Jason Plato late in the season, but he helped Honda Racing win the Manufacturers and Teams Championships.
Neal continued with Honda in 2011. The Honda Civic now used a new 2.0 NGTC Honda engine. For most of the season, the Civics were faster than other cars. After a close fight with his teammate, Matt Neal won his third drivers' title at the final round at Silverstone. This also helped his team secure the Manufacturers and Constructors titles.
In 2012, Neal drove the new NGTC Honda Civic. He achieved the first-ever win for an NGTC car in the BTCC in the second race of the season at Brands Hatch. Neal won two more races at Oulton Park. With his teammate Shedden winning another race, Honda Yuasa Racing Team became the first team since 2010 to win all three races in a single day. He finished the season second in the championship, behind Shedden.
Neal stayed with Honda for the 2013 season alongside Shedden. Before the Silverstone race, Neal broke his finger in a martial arts accident but was cleared to race by a doctor. He had surgery before the final race at Brands Hatch. Neal finished 4th in the championship that year.
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He was again paired with Shedden for the 2014 season, driving the new Honda Civic Tourer. Neal finished 9th in the overall standings.
For the 2021 season, Matt Neal did not appear on the BTCC grid for the first time since his debut in 1991. This happened after Team Dynamics lost sponsorship from Honda and GS Yuasa. The team then got sponsorship from Cataclean and fielded Shedden and Cataclean-backed driver Daniel Rowbottom for their 2021 lineup. Neal explained that the team had found a sponsor for a third car for him, but other teams objected to the plan. He described this forced break from his BTCC career as "not a retirement."
Other Activities
Matt Neal lives in Shenstone, Worcestershire.
He has appeared on Top Gear several times. He raced in the Historic People Carrier race in Series 5. In Series 6, he played in a football match using Toyota Aygos for James May's team. He also raced a Mitsubishi L300 motorhome in Series 10. Neal appeared again in Series 12's Bus Race, driving an Optare MetroRider. He then participated in Series 14's airport vehicles race. In Series 20, episode 2, he drove a Mercedes-Benz E-Class in a taxi race.
Matt Neal has also worked as a co-commentator with Martin Haven for Eurosport's coverage of the former World Touring Car Championship since 2010, and currently for the World Touring Car Cup.
In May 2009, he gave masterclasses at Oulton Park to Olympic gold medallist Ed Clancy and double World Cycling Champion Rob Hayles. He drove a Vauxhall Astra 888 road car, prepared by Triple Eight Engineering.
In March 2015, he drove for Milltek Sport in their diesel Golf in the Mugello 12-hour race, finishing second in his class. A week later, driving a powerful 1979 Bastos Chevrolet Camaro with David Clark, he won the Gerry Marshall Trophy race at the Goodwood Members Meeting.
During his break in 2021, Matt Neal joined Jason Plato for a live recording of a BTCC-themed podcast.
Fitness and Training
Matt Neal has shared that he stays fit by training in martial arts. He believes this helps him with his aerobic fitness and flexibility, which are important for racing. In 2012, Matt earned his 2nd dan black belt in the British Free Fighting Academy, after training with martial arts instructor Andy Hopwood.
Images for kids
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Neal at the Knockhill round of the 2017 British Touring Car Championship
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Neal driving the Team Dynamics Ford Mondeo at Silverstone during the 1995 British Touring Car Championship season.
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Neal demonstrates his Honda Integra at the 2006 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
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Neal won his second BTCC title in 2006.
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Neal driving the Team Halfords-run Honda Civic at Snetterton in the 2007 BTCC season.
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Neal driving for the Honda Racing Team at Brands Hatch in the 2011 BTCC season
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Neal, at the Knockhill round of the 2017 British Touring Car Championship.
See also
In Spanish: Matt Neal para niños
