NOT even an apology could help contain Dan Eaves' anger as he saw the chance of finishing second behind newly crowned Dunlop MSA British Touring Car champion Matt Neal cruelly snatched from his grasp at Brands Hatch last Sunday, writes Mervyn Collins.

After winning the opener and then finishing runner-up in race two, the Moreton-in-Marsh ace had high hopes of overhauling Yvan Muller in the chase for runners-up spot.

Muller, however, had other ideas and a multi-car pile-up early in the decider eliminated three of the biggest names in the championship - Eaves, Muller and Plato.

As they completed lap one, Muller ran into the back of Eaves' Honda Integra and the pair of them went spinning off into the barriers. Plato was unable to avoid them and also ran off the track into retirement.

Disgruntled

"I've watched the replay on television and he definitely did it on the purpose," a disgruntled Eaves moaned. "The in-car footage shows that he had plenty of time to brake. He told me that he was unsighted but he's an ex champion and surely he was capable of stopping the car and preventing the shunt.

"He's done it in a way to just put me out but he's managed the triple whammy and it's me who it has hurt the most as I was confident of getting the finish I needed to move into second place overall on an afternoon when his car wasn't going well at all."

"He knew he was on the rails so he's just come and taken me out. He apologised but that didn't really help," Eaves lamented.

The driver of the day at the Kent circuit was undoubtedly Matt Neal who, for the first time in his career, finally became crowned BTCC champion.

Neal's family-run Team Halfords squad has also become the first independent team to win British motor sport's most prestigious title against the might of the manufacturer outfits since 1991.

"It's an emotional moment. It's fabulous," said Neal. "Everybody who's involved in backing this team has won today."

Teammate Eaves, the Evesham-born 30-year-old, was determined to end the season on a high and his victory in the opener showed he meant business.

He led all the way from the first BTCC pole position of his career and set a new race lap record around Brands' full-length Grand Prix circuit to secure his fifth win of the season at the wheel of his Honda Integra.

Eaves' only worry came when a safety car period erased his advantage over the field, but at the restart he was again able to draw clear.

Plato took his third win of the season in race two after pressuring early leader Eaves into a mistake.

The Cotswold man had led from pole but 2001 champion Plato seized his moment to move into the lead when the Team Halfords driver made a mistake at the tricky Westfield Bend.

Plato then went on to achieve an untroubled victory ahead of Eaves but all eyes were on Neal in third who, having set the race's fastest lap, crossed the line to seal the title.

Muller, meanwhile, finished 12th - out of the points - and that meant he was now just four points clear of Eaves in the battle to be championship runner-up heading into the day's third race, the final race of the 2005 season.

It was Rob Collard who came out on top to take his second win of the season but the chief talking point, though, was the multi-car pile-up that saw Muller's extraordinary antics leave a sour taste and Eaves in third place in the final overall championship standings.

"It's been a great season and I've won five races," a delighted Eaves recalled. "If you'd have said at the start of the season that I would finish third then I would have snatched your hands off."

The Cotswolds driver will now take three months off before testing starts for the 2006 campaign. However, before then there's a far more important date for his diary when he marries Bryony Hesman in Moreton in February.