ONE TO GO AS REID & NEAL MAKE IT 15 FOR BTCC MASTERS
Current Green Flag British Touring Car aces Matt Neal and
Anthony Reid will contest Sunday 26 September’s BTCC
Masters race at Donington Park, Leicestershire. Their participation
brings the Masters entry list – which already includes
an unprecedented eight former champions – to 15, leaving
room for just one more name. BTCC Series Director Alan Gow
is expected to reveal his final ‘Master’ in the
next week.
Donington Park brings back Neal’s happiest BTCC memory
– it was there in 1999 he scooped the £250,000
jackpot for becoming the first independent competitor to beat
the might of the official manufacturer squads. Neal, who currently
races for the Computeach Racing with Halfords independent
squad, has been in the BTCC since 1991 and at Brands Hatch
last month celebrated his 250th race in the championship.
Reid joined the BTCC in 1997 and has twice been championship
runner-up, with Nissan in 1998 and Ford in 2000. In 2001 he
led British manufacturer MG into the BTCC and continues to
be an ambassador for its cars, having taken the MG ZS model
to numerous wins with independent team WSR. Reid goes into
Donington Park’s finale lying third overall and still
with a mathematical chance of winning the title.
The BTCC Masters will pitch champions and other top drivers
from the championship’s two-litre era against one another
in identical Holiday Inn SEAT Cupras for 20 laps of Donington’s
National circuit. The race will take place straight after
the final round of the 2004 Green Flag BTCC – making
Donington Park on 26 September one of the most important fixtures
on the motor sport calendar.
Matt Neal (GBR): BTCC 1991-2004, multiple race-winner &
four-times Independents Champion (BMW, Mazda, Nissan, Vauxhall,
Honda)
“The list of names is fabulous and it’s just
great to be on it and racing against those drivers. I want
to beat them all, but if that’s not possible then certainly
Alain Menu and John Cleland because of the size of their egos!
£15 to get in – the place is going to be choc-a-bloc.
I think it’s sad that Vauxhall aren’t letting
their drivers (James Thompson and Yvan Muller) race as they
effectively count for three championships between them. I’m
sure James, knowing that he is always up for the crack, would
love to have done it, but them not doing it has allowed me
in!”
Anthony Reid: BTCC 1997-2004, multiple race-winner &
twice Championship Runner-up (Nissan, Ford, MG)
“I’m doing it for the prestige of being asked
to do it – it’s real kudos for me that I’ve
been asked to participate. It really is the Masters, like
going to Augusta for the golf masters. It’s going to
be like the war film The Longest Day – I’ve got
three BTCC races, I’m going for the title, and then
the Masters! If there’s one driver I would like to beat
then maybe it’s Alain Menu – we were team-mates
and fierce rivals in 2002, but he just pipped me to the title
at the final round. But really, to compete against the cream
of drivers to have raced in the championship in the last 15
years is going to be great fun.”
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