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Rockingham BTCC: Matt Neal to race despite road crash injuries

Matt Neal will try to defend his lead in the British Touring Car Championship at Rockingham this weekend despite being injured in a road accident

Neal, who leads Honda team-mate Gordon Shedden by 10 points, was knocked off his motorcycle earlier this month.

The 45-year-old suffered a fractured metacarpal, dislocated thumb and forefinger injuries.

There had been concerns the triple BTCC champion would not be able to compete this weekend, but a test at MIRA on Thursday has helped Neal decide to race.

"I did half a dozen laps to see what I could do," he told AUTOSPORT. "It's the right hand - I'm alright on left-handers, not so good on right-handers, so Tarzan hairpin at Rockingham will be difficult.

"It's painful, but we'll see what we can get out there. I've just got to score some points."

Neal has seen a hand specialist and is currently on painkillers. His hand is expected to take more than a month to heal.

The injury comes just over a year after Neal broke his hand in a martial arts accident, though he battled on to secure the 2011 crown.

Neal has taken four wins this season in the NGTC Honda Civic and is 36 points clear of leading non-Honda driver Jason Plato in the title race.

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