MATT NEAL won his 300th race in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) to keep his tilt for the drivers' title rolling but he was denied third place in the 15th round at the Croft after a collision with Jason Plato.

The reigning champion from Droitwich tasted highs and lows at the Yorkshire circuit. The Team Halfords driver started on a high by winning round 14, which was also his 300th race in the tournament.

However, the weekend ended sourly for Neal after he was stripped of third place in the final round and demoted to fourth because of an incident with Seat's Jason Plato.

Despite the set back Neal still has a 37 point lead over his nearest rivals, Colin Turkington and Plato, in the drivers' standings.

He said: "It was just one of those things - there was certainly no malice in it. I'm just sorry Jason took it so badly, but I'm not going to get upset about it.

"Overall, I'm really pleased with the way my day has gone. I've still pulled four points on Colin and Jason's only made up five on me."

Neal went into rounds 13, 14 and 15 in a strong position at the top of the standings with his 300th race coming up.

He started third on the grid after the qualifying session but slipped to sixth in the opening race, which was won by in-form Plato.

Neal bounced back in round 14 to win his 300th race in the championship. Plato had led the race, which was his 200th, from the start but he was passed by the reigning champion on a hairpin corner two laps from the end.

A delighted Neal said: "Until then Jason hadn't made one mistake - I just couldn't crack him. But he braked a bit earlier than normal and I was a bit closer. I didn't need asking twice. I'm sure he wanted to win because it was his 200th race but I'm older and have done another 100 races on him so he'll have to wait his turn."

Neal thought he had got the better of Plato again in round 15 when he raced past him on a hairpin, but officials relegated him to fourth after he was judged to have taken a short cut and gained an unfair advantage.

Neal will be aiming to continue his dominance when he races at Donnington Park in rounds 16, 17 and 18 on July 30.