Paul O’Neil made a great start to his 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship campaign as he took his GoMobile.co.uk with Tech-Speed Chevrolet Cruze to the third spot on the podium in race three.

After qualifying ninth on the grid Paul would capitalize on problems further afield and finish the first race of the season in 7th. A further two place improvement ensued in race two where he would take the chequered flag in 5th in what was a faultless race by the Widnes-based driver.

Race three saw the reverse grid which meant that O’Neil would start from the second row of the grid in third. The S2000 Chevrolet Cruze was no match for Mat Jackson, who had the Turbo-NGTC engine, and saw himself slip to 4th but yet another puncture from Jordan elevated the 31-year old up to 3rd which is where he would finish taking his first podium finish of the campaign in just his first competitive weekend in the car.

After his three points finishes Paul now sits sixth in the Overall Drivers Championship standings with 20 points and third in the Independents Championship.

“This is just what the whole team deserves as these guys are the hardest working in the paddock,” he said. “The experience of the team and my own experience told me that the most important thing this weekend was to maximise the track time available to help us learn about the car, as we’d have learned nothing if I’d been parked in the gravel. I used my head all weekend and never gave up.

Paul O’Neil spent much of the final race infront of championship leader, Jason Plato, in the updated Chevrolet Cruze chassis and was able to keep him at bay in the car which Plato took the title in last season.

“Jason [Plato] and RML are the benchmark for us and to have been able to pull away from him in the final race was a sign to anyone who may have questioned what we can do with the car.”

Teams have a one week break next week before heading to Donington Park for the second round of the season.

Photo Credit: Pete Mainey (www.psmmotorsportimages.co.uk)

James Mappin is the editor-in-chief covering the British Touring Car Championship. You can contact him at james@btcccrazy.co.uk, on twitter @BTCCCrazy or on his personal twitter account @jamesmappin.