Matt Neal fears carrying the series leader’s maximum success ballast in his car will affect him more than ever in this weekend’s crucial, title-deciding final three Dunlop MSA British Touring car Championship Finals rounds at Silverstone.
As championship leader, Neal’s Team Halfords Honda Integra must contest all of Saturday's free practice and qualifying sessions and the first of Sunday’s three races laden with an extra 45kgs of weight.
The Droitwich driver has had to cope with the ballast for the opening phases of the last seven race meetings, having led the standings since Mondello Park in April. But Silverstone’s short National circuit – where the title outcome will be decided on Sunday – could make life tougher than at any other track.
Neal said: "It’s such a simple circuit, with three long straights and four corners that it doesn’t take a lot for more drivers to be right up there on the front-running pace.
"Any weight penalty on a track like that is going to hurt probably more than anywhere else because every fraction of a second counts and the ballast will affect my car."
Neal, though, believes he can still put up a fight thanks to his Honda’s slippery aerodynamic shape that has made it a potent force on faster circuits.
He added: "Those three long straights could help – the Integra is very good at the end of the straights against something like the SEAT. I expect I’ll lose out with one hand, but then maybe gain with the other."
Neal also said he had expected his closest challenger Jason Plato’s team SEAT to give Team Halfords a much more difficult time in fighting for this year’s championship. Plato needs to overcome a 35-point deficit to Neal in Sunday’s three races if he's to win the Drivers' title, while Team Halfords holds a 55-point lead over SEAT Sport UK in the fight to be Teams’ champion.
"I do believe that we haven’t won this championship – SEAT has lost it," said Neal. "Its car, the Leon, is very good and very fast. But we’ve kept plugging away and picking up the wins and it’s been their misfortune or whatever that’s enabled us to get into this position."
Sunday's final three rounds of the 2006 BTCC season at Silverstone will be played out in front of live ITV1 cameras. Silverstone circuit has reported a boom in sales of race day tickets which can still be booked at advanced prices - £15 per adult - until midnight Wednesday 11 October via the hot line 08704 588 260 or website silverstone.co.uk. Admission for children is free.
