NEAL LOOKS TO MOVE ON
Matt Neal has said he won't be letting a poor weekend last
time out hinder his march towards a second straight Dunlop
MSA British Touring Car Championship title when he lines up
on the grid at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk this coming
Sunday (13 August).
Team Halfords Honda driver Neal's lead, as he arrives in
East Anglia, is down to just 22 points over rising star Colin
Turkington in his Team RAC MG.
At Donington Park ten days ago, Neal could only manage a
best result of fourth in the three races while Turkington
was twice on the podium with a win and a third.
Neal said: "I'm going to Snetterton with a very positive
attitude rather than licking my wounds from Donington. I'm
not happy about what happened, but I just need to move on.
"In qualifying I'll be looking to get as close as possible
to the front. I didn't make the best of qualifying at Donington.
Lots of things then went and kicked off in the races and I
seemed to get involved in them all.
"It probably reminded me of just how important it is
to qualify well."
Neal, though, faces a tough challenge. For the fifth race
meeting in a row, as championship leader his Honda Integra
will be laden with maximum success ballast - an extra 45kgs
in weight - during Saturday's qualifying session and Sunday's
first race. However, he refuses to blame the weight for his
off-form performances at Donington.
He added: "Donington was a poor weekend, but it was
going to come sooner or later. I've got to take it on the
chin and get on with it.
"I suppose the big moment came when I slid off the track
in the rain and only finished eighth and Colin won. It wasn't
a case of ‘oh bugger, he's won'. It was a case of I'd
made a mistake and let me and my team down.
"It was needless points dropped and I was very annoyed
with myself."
Neal's run to historic back-to-back BTCC titles is going
to be far from easy - in recent rounds the level of competition
throughout the field has grown, with more than a dozen drivers
regularly challenging for race wins and podium finishes.
Now in his 15th season of the BTCC, Neal knows this could
present Turkington with a golden opportunity to further close
the gap and believes the young pretender will be a strong
contender for victory honours at Snetterton.
The 38-year-old said: "The MG has always been quick
in a straight line and this year it seems to have found some
more. Colin does appear to be a real threat now. His car is
doing well and so is he."
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