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Sam Tordoff and Matt Neal’s title battle heats up at Silverstone

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Silverstone will play host to the penultimate round of the 2016 British Touring Car Championship this weekend, and with a spell on the calendar at the rear-wheel drive friendly circuits out of the way, the title fight will be on an even keel between West Surrey Racing’s BMWs, Team Dynamics’ Hondas and the fast-closing Team BMR Subarus.

Sam Tordoff heads to the Northamptonshire circuit with the lead of the championship, a lead which he’s managed to hold on to since before the summer break, but Honda’s Matt Neal is close behind the Yorkshireman in his hunt for title #4, just five points adrift.

Mathematically, the top 13 drivers in the standings can still win the title, but realistically it’s unlikely that this year’s champion would come from outside the top half-dozen in the points table.

“This is the business end of the season and it’s where every point seems to count that little bit more when you’re in the thick of the title battle,” said Tordoff.

“Silverstone will be a challenge. The BMW’s greatest strength is in its handling, and as the National Circuit is mainly straights rather than corners, it means we can’t exploit this as much as we can at other tracks. But we’ve said that about several circuits this year and managed to come away with strong results.”

Although Tordoff believes the Silverstone National Circuit will not play to the BMW’s strengths, title rival Neal has the same fears about the Civic Type R, which hasn’t won at the circuit since 2013.

“I’d be fibbing if I said Silverstone was our most eagerly-anticipated track of the year,” said Neal.

“The Honda Civic Type R’s key qualities come to the fore in high-speed corners, where its grip and aerodynamics really score – but due to the National Circuit layout, that won’t really factor into the equation next weekend.”

“The title battle is still wide open and a small advantage can be eroded over the course of a single race, never mind a full weekend so we need to keep our heads down as consistency and staying out of trouble will be paramount.”