Matt Neal: “I needed two or three more laps”

Honda Racing Team’s Matt Neal charged through the field to take the runner up spot in race two at Donington Park, and reckoned he could have caught leader Colin Turkington “in two or three more laps.”

The triple champion started seventh on the grid and although he lost ground at the start, he was the fastest driver on the circuit in the closing stages.

Neal came out on top in a thrilling battle with Triple Eight Racing’s Andrew Jordan and Ciceley Racing’s Adam Morgan, but just ran out of time to catch Team BMR’s Turkington.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes, Neal said: “It didn’t go to plan to start with as I got a bit boxed in. For the first few laps I just didn’t seem to get my way.

“Then it all settled down and there was good pace in the car, so I just tried to move forward from there. It got a bit busy on occasions!

“Two or three more laps and I could have been giving Colin some hassles and headaches.”

Reflecting on his battle with Jordan and Morgan, Neal added: “They had a bit of a side-by-side coming out of Coppice, and I got a run. But we’re all so even in a straight line now, and I had nowhere to go.

“I backed out and just thought we’d have to go side-by-side through the chicane [with Morgan], hit the first apex and hold my line through the second one.”

Neal said the changes to the rules have contributed to the big differences in performance from race to race.

He said: “Yes, by virtue of the back that we’re carrying more weight. It hurt Jason [Plato] and it hurt Flash a lot as well. Turks got away with it because he was able to make a break while we were all having a scrap.”