MATT NEAL is finding life tough at the top of the British Touring Car Championship's leaderboard, after a rain swept weekend at Ireland's Mondello Park.

The Droitwich driver grabbed two podium places on the Irish circuit to keep his place at the top.

However, Yvan Muller emerged as the main contender for the title amidst the pouring rain by winning two races.

It means that after 18 rounds Neal leads the drivers' championship with 204 points and the Frenchman is hot on his heels with 191 in second place.

Muller stamped his authority on the weekend in qualifying, when he coped best with the wet track to take first place on the starting grid.

Neal and fellow Team Dynamics driver Dan Eaves, who had been second in the championship before the weekend, could only manage fifth and tenth place on the grid respectively.

In round 16 Neal made up for his disappointing qualifying round by steadily moving through the field in his Honda to finish third, while Muller lead from start to finish.

Neal grabbed his second podium place of the weekend in round 17, posting the fastest lap of the race to earn a bonus point.

Vauxhall's Colin Turkington won the race, but Muller's title challenge stalled once again and he finished sixth.

In the final race Neal was distracted from chasing down Muller, after getting involved in a battle with Seat driver Jason Plato.

Neal and Plato both ran off together after the Honda driver had tried to overtake him in a daring manoeuvre on a turn.

The Droitwich driver was able to return to action, but Plato's race was over.

The clash though disrupted Neal's progress as he finished round 18 in seventh place.

Meanwhile, Muller overtook Arena Motorsport's Tom Chilton at the halfway stage to win his second race of the day, setting a new lap record in the process.

Neal will be hoping to regain his grip on the title in two weeks, when he races at Snetterton in rounds 19, 20 and 21 of the championship on August 7.