2:05pm Monday 7th June 2010
SPICE Girl Mel C’s sporty half-brother Paul O’Neill had a weekend he would wheel-y like to forget after almost failing to get into gear on the Oulton Park motor racing track.
The Widnes 30-year-old was as popular as ever with the massive crowds at the two-day Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship meeting at the Cheshire circuit but only managed to give them a brief glimpse of his capabilities as a driver.
In the first practice session on Saturday, he lost a rear wheel and had to coast back to the pits.
It was only his driving skills that prevented serious damage to his Honda Integra.
When he got back on the track his gear box failed, meaning a new one had to be fitted overnight for race day.
The first two outings on Sunday were also bad news for Paul, with the gear box again failing.
By the time race three was due the mechanics had sorted out the trouble but Paul had to start at the back of the grid in last place, before finally showing his skill behind the wheel.
To his credit, Paul put up the time for the fastest lap, 1min 28.131secs, with an average speed of 90.92mph.
He is lying in seventh place in the BTCC 2010 Championship and fourth in the Independants Trophy 2010.
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