Photo: BTCC.net

BTCC moving on to Brands Hatch

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The countdown has begun: there are now less than two weeks to run before the BTCC runs at Brands Hatch. The event, being broadcast live on national television, will host the penultimate three rounds of this year’s BTCC and could see Matt Neal crowned the 2006 Champion.

Brands Hatch, in Kent, is always a favourite fixture on the BTCC calendar – the circuit’s short lay-out surrounded by high spectator banks enables those watching to see virtually the whole lap.

It was at Brands in April that the 2006 BTCC got under way. Reigning champion Neal’s title defence got off to a dreadful start when his Team Halfords Honda crashed at high-speed at the notorious Paddock Hill Bend corner but he will return to Brands now holding a commanding 53-point lead over nearest challenger Colin Turkington.

If Neal maintains that advantage he will have provisionally won the most prestigious title in UK motor sport.

A second consecutive title would also put him in the history books as the first driver for 20 years to successfully defend his crown. Neal would also become the first driver in the BTCC’s two-litre era, established in 1991, to win two championships in a row.

But Team RAC MG driver Turkington and third-placed Jason Plato, in SEAT’s striking Leon, will not give up the chase easily. Plato won at Brands in April in a clean sweep of victories for the SEAT team and Turkington was also twice on the podium ahead of Neal.

BTCC Series Director Alan Gow says: “This is crunch time in the BTCC and I cannot think of a more dramatic venue to bring the title race at such a crucial stage. Matt has everything to lose and Colin and Jason have everything to go for.

“Matt more than anybody knows how quickly fortunes can change so I’m sure he will be taking a risk-free approach. There are a dozen or so other driver-car combinations out there easily capable of taking points away from him. Furthermore, we anticipate one of our largest grids for a long time, all racing around on what is a very tight and action-packed lap. It is going to be an intriguing contest at one of the UK’s great sporting venues.”