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Honda Yuasa Racing duo relishing title battle at Silverstone

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Honda Yuasa Racing duo Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal are targeting a strong points haul at Silverstone this weekend, with both men still firmly in the hunt to take the BTCC title.

Shedden tops the standings with just six races to go in the season, with his team-mate Neal in third. The pair’s biggest challengers come in the form of Team BMR’s Jason Plato and Colin Turkington in second and fourth respectively.

With just 33 points covering the quartet, the Honda drivers are hoping for a strong showing from the Civic Type-R around the short National layout at Silverstone.

“It’s been a bit of a turnaround since Snetterton last month, when we really looked to be up against it – but we’ve worked hard, got our heads down and here we are now leading the championship again. Silverstone hasn’t traditionally been our happiest hunting-ground, but with the regulations this year we have a bit more power from the engine than before so hopefully we can have a more competitive weekend,” said Shedden.

“It will be pretty tricky for me in qualifying and race one with 75kg of ballast on-board, but I can promise we’ll be giving it our absolute best shot. The aim has to be to leave still at the top of the drivers’ standings – hopefully having extended our advantage.”

Neal, who celebrates his 25th anniversary in the sport this weekend, added: “It’s always special to go to Silverstone and I have a lot of memories there – it’s not only where I made my BTCC debut, but also where I had my biggest shunt in 1994 and won my second title in 2006.

“We’ve got a spring in our step after Rockingham, but we’re mindful that Silverstone has historically been a tough weekend for us. Now we have the Type R, we’re in much better shape in the power department, but both ‘Flash’ and I will be carrying a lot of weight into qualifying so we still expect it to be pretty hard-going.

“The target is to get through the weekend with a reasonable clutch of points so we can go to Brands Hatch in with a proper shout.”