Matt Neal has said he won't be letting a poor weekend last time out hinder his march towards a second straight Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship title when he lines up on the grid at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk this coming Sunday (13 August).
Team Halfords Honda driver Neal's lead, as he arrives in East Anglia, is down to just 22 points over rising star Colin Turkington in his Team RAC MG.
At Donington Park ten days ago, Neal could only manage a best result of fourth in the three races while Turkington was twice on the podium with a win and a third.
Neal said: "I'm going to Snetterton with a very positive attitude rather than licking my wounds from Donington. I'm not happy about what happened, but I just need to move on.
"In qualifying I'll be looking to get as close as possible to the front. I didn't make the best of qualifying at Donington. Lots of things then went and kicked off in the races and I seemed to get involved in them all.
"It probably reminded me of just how important it is to qualify well."
Neal, though, faces a tough challenge. For the fifth race meeting in a row, as championship leader his Honda Integra will be laden with maximum success ballast - an extra 45kgs in weight - during Saturday's qualifying session and Sunday's first race. However, he refuses to blame the weight for his off-form performances at Donington.
He added: "Donington was a poor weekend, but it was going to come sooner or later. I've got to take it on the chin and get on with it.
"I suppose the big moment came when I slid off the track in the rain and only finished eighth and Colin won. It wasn't a case of ‘oh bugger, he's won'. It was a case of I'd made a mistake and let me and my team down.
"It was needless points dropped and I was very annoyed with myself."
Neal's run to historic back-to-back BTCC titles is going to be far from easy - in recent rounds the level of competition throughout the field has grown, with more than a dozen drivers regularly challenging for race wins and podium finishes.
Now in his 15th season of the BTCC, Neal knows this could present Turkington with a golden opportunity to further close the gap and believes the young pretender will be a strong contender for victory honours at Snetterton.
The 38-year-old said: "The MG has always been quick in a straight line and this year it seems to have found some more. Colin does appear to be a real threat now. His car is doing well and so is he."
Admittance to Snetterton's BTCC race day on Sunday is FREE for children aged 12 and under. Details of all ticket pricing for adults can be found the www.snetterton.co.uk website.
