Series leader Matt Neal hits out at “moronic” driving standards

Matt Neal has hit out at what he called “moronic” driving standards at Snetterton this weekend, after escaping from Norfolk with his championship lead intact.

The Honda Racing Team man’s margin at the top has been trimmed to nine points, following a good weekend for his closest title rival, Eurotech Racing’s Andrew Jordan.

The triple champion’s ire was directed at both his competitors, and the boost levels, which have hampered the Honda Civics down the fast straights of Snetterton.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes, Neal said: “People are just firing in the back of you, just because they have more boost, and can go faster down the straight.

“I got some points at the end of it, amazingly, but the only reason I did that is because so many people were smashing into each other and having each other off.

“The driving out there was moronic. There is no other word to describe it.

“Snett does promote it. You’ve got tight sections and long straights where the guys who haven’t been competitive so far, and have been given more boost, can just put their foot down and catch you up.

“I was coming down the pit straight on the radio going  ‘one car length, two car lengths, three car lengths, four car lengths, five car lengths’ – and that was the speed the car in front was dropping me.

“I understand the problem. If we didn’t have this handicapping system, we [Honda] might disappear. But to have a car five or six miles an hour faster than you down the straight is actually dangerous.”

As the series heads north in three weeks’ time, Neal wasn’t optimistic that things will change much there.

He said: “Knockhill is always a little bit ‘elbows out’. It is going to be more of the same there, I guess.”