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.
