Andy Neate excluded from Thruxton race meeting

Andy Neate has been excluded from the Thruxton rounds of the British Touring Car Championship season after an investigation into his clashes with Carl Boardley in the opening race of the weekend.

Neate had been forced to pit in the early stages of the race after a trip across the grass at turn one as the pair battled for position, which resulted in him dropping off the lead lap.

Further contact between the pair then occurred at the complex later in the race when Neate was running behind Boardley’s BMW, with the end result that both drivers were forced to retire.

Neate was handed an official reprimand and two penalty points on his licence for the incident, and also given a ‘strike’ against his name.

However, Neate was then excluded from the meeting for breaches of articles 1.1.4 and 1.1.9 of the Motorsport UK judicial regulations – with the series revealing that to be “an act prejudicial to the interests of motorsport generally in making a threat of physical assault by the use of his car to make deliberate contact with another competitor”.

Neate loses finishes of 23rd and 18th from the second and third races of the weekend as a result.