The ebullient and ever-cheerful Midlander, whose son Matt became a three-time BTCC champion with the team he had founded, began his racing career after he bought a Formula Junior Kieft in 1959 with some of the proceeds from an insurance payout following a motorcycle accident.
Eventually Neal moved into saloon cars and became one of the renowned exponents of Minis – ironically one of the tallest drivers shone in the smallest of cars.
Driving for the factory Cooper team in 1968, Neal scored an overall race win in the British Saloon Car Championship (the forerunner of the BTCC) at Crystal Palace, where due to the short circuit the smaller classes were split from the bigger divisions. He also claimed some good results, again in the 1300cc class, in the European Touring Car Championship.
Neal moved to the Britax Cooper team for 1969 alongside Gordon Spice, but eventually wound down his driving career after an accident on oil at Brands Hatch caused an eye injury.
Source: Autosport