WORCESTERSHIRE race ace Matt Neal has slipped to second place in the British Touring Car Championship after yesterday's races at Silverstone.

Neal, from Hanbury, near Droitwich, shared first place with fellow Vauxhall Astra Coupe drivers James Thompson and Yvan Muller going into the double-header.

But he could only finish sixth in the 15-lap sprint race and third in the 25-lap feature race to trail Thompson, who won the feature race, by four points.

In the sprint race, Neal qualified in pole position in his Egg Sport-backed car and he and team-mate Paul O'Neill enjoyed a thrilling fight with the MG of fellow front row man Warren Hughes.

Unfortunately for Neal, his wet tyres rapidly went off leaving him struggling to maintain position.

O'Neill on the other hand grabbed his opportunity and kept a cool head to claim another well-deserved podium in his debut BTCC season. He was followed over the finish line by David Leslie in the Proton Impian, with Hughes taking victory.

The feature race, in which Neal qualified seventh on the grid, saw Thompson get off to a cracking start. Climbing from fifth to second by the end of the first lap, he went on to relentlessly pursue the MG of Anthony Reid.

So as the race got under way, it was Reid followed by Thompson, O'Neill and Neal. Muller meanwhile fell foul of a nudge by Dan Eaves and finding himself pushed off the track, had to climb up through the field once again.

After the reshuffle of pitstops, Thompson was hot on the heels of Reid and, helped by a new set of tyres, he was able to pass Reid on lap nine for the lead -- a lead which was not relinquished for the remainder of the race.

The battle for third and fourth saw the Egg Sport cars regularly trading places until the more experienced Neal won through giving him enough points to maintain second in the championship, and also to keep Egg Sport second in the Teams Championship, 20 points behind Vauxhall Motorsport.

The next rounds of the series are at Mondello Park in Ireland on June 23.