The Honda Racing Team heads to Croft in North Yorkshire this weekend for the fifth meeting in this season’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship with star driver Matt Neal aiming to increase his advantage on top of the standings.

Civic racer Neal has taken three wins so far this season and heads the chase for the coveted title by eight points. His Honda Racing Team partner Gordon Shedden is in the top six with four podium finishes.

Neal will have to carry 45 kilos of success ballast going into the three races on Sunday because he is leading the series. Despite that, the 43-year-old thinks he can conquer the 2.18-mile track. Neal said: “I really like the circuit because it has a bit of everything; there are fast corners that really challenge the drivers and there are slow bits too where your car needs good traction. Our Civic is strong in all those areas, so that makes me optimistic. Carrying 45 kilos in the first of the three races means qualifying is going to be tough for me but if I get into the top six, then I can build my weekend from there.”

The North Yorkshire track traditionally hosts a huge crowd on race weekend because it is the BTCC’s only appearance of the season in the North East. Neal loves the atmosphere it creates. “There are two areas where the crowd can get really close at Croft, and that creates a special feeling,” he adds. “It is a weekend I always look forward to.” 

Scotsman Gordon Shedden has shown blistering pace so far this year in his Civic – he set a lap record last time out at Oulton Park – and is knocking on the door of a crucial first win of the season. He thinks Croft would be the ideal place to kick start his campaign for the second half of the year.

“I have had some bad luck which has kept me off the top step,” said ‘Flash’. “But the thing that keeps me going is that I know the car is fast and that I am fast. I have been on the front row of the starting grid more times than not this year and I have set a number of fastest laps. That shows it is all there.”

“Croft is a great circuit and it will play to our strengths – but the field is so competitive this season it will be hard to get to the front,” he added. “I need three solid finishes but I have every chance here. It is a track I like because you have to be aggressive and the racing is always close. It creates a great atmosphere too and for me, being from Scotland, it is almost like a local circuit.”

British Touring Car Championship standings (after 9/30 rounds):

1. Matt Neal, Honda Racing Team, Honda Civic (67)
2. Jason Plato, Racing Silverline, Chevrolet Lacetti (67)
3. Steven Kane, Airwaves BMW, BMW 320si (59)
4. Paul O'Neill, Sunshine.co.uk, Honda Integra (56)
5. Mat Jackson, Airwaves BMW, BMW 320si (53)
6. Gordon Shedden, Honda Racing Team, Honda Civic (50)

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