Matt Neal calls boost situation “a joke”

The issue of turbo boost in the BTCC has reared its head again, after championship leader Matt Neal called the situation “a joke” after qualifying 11th at Snetterton.

Neal was between 3mph and 6mph slower than the fastest cars through the speed traps on Saturday, with the Triple Eight MGs which have dominated the weekend to date near the top.

Neal said carrying the 45kg of success ballast as series leader hurt him more than the other title-chasing Hondas of Gordon Shedden and Andrew Jordan, who qualified third and fourth respectively on lower weight.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes, Neal said: “It is compounded with me with the weight, which doesn’t help. We had another niggly problem, but the weight and the boost are the main things.

“If I can get through the first race without too much hanging off the car, get the weight out, then we can work from there, because it makes a big difference around here.

“The boost is a joke. It just shows it up now we are at a power circuit. It has been covered up at the handling circuits.

“You can’t get around that kind of speed down the straights. It is meant to be an equal formula, and it isn’t at the minute.”