MATT NEAL ON CARS, COMPETING AND STARS OF THE FUTURE
When Matt Neal was crowned champion at the end of the 2006 British Touring Car season, it was a long-term, dream come true for the Midlands racing star. “I’ve wanted to be a racing driver since I was four years old. Even when everyone else wanted to be a footballer or an airplane pilot, all I could think about was driving a car.”
“Back in 1986, my Dad brought me an old MK2 Fiesta and we trailored it down to Silverstone for a test day. There was me in my Dad’s old work jumpsuit from the 60’s and his leather winkle picker race shoes which were about two sizes too small! I looked like I’d just stepped out of a time warp. The feeling I had was total fright. I’d played other sports at pretty high levels but this was something else. The track was SO big and SO wide. It was awesome.”
For Matt, it has been a long road to the top and twenty years later he finally celebrated winning the 2006 British Touring Car Championship by break dancing on the podium at Silverstone.
Many young boys and even grown men hold a similar dream of becoming a racing driver but are held back by the financial commitments of buying a car, paying to practise on track and then to compete. For Matt, there was no master plan to aid his entry into motorsport, just a strong determination and endless support from his father.“I never had a set strategy to get in to motorsport, it just seemed to happen and I made the most of the situation I found myself in year on year. There were certainly times when I came close to not continuing because of accidents or lack of sponsorship and it was times like this that my dad picked me up emotionally. By the skin of my teeth I’ve gotten through.“
“People from the outside see the good times and the ship sailing along nicely but they don’t see the rough waters that you sometimes have to get through. I still have to deal with massive amounts of stress to help find funding so programs can happen and my career can continue. The racing is almost the easy bit afterwards! You have to put yourself in the sponsor’s seat and ask yourself why they would put money into a program and what they will get out of it. As soon as you do that and you can hand on heart answer their questions with logical replies then you will stand a chance.”
For Matt, budding racing stars should never see the financial requirements of motorsport as such a daunting prospect that they don’t even try to live their dream.“I do believe that luck plays a massive part, not just in motorsport but in life generally. Being in the right place at the right time and meeting the right guy who is in the right mood can be your entry point. Then when you get the opportunity, you need to be able to perform under pressure which can be tricky. I know so many talented individuals who haven’t had the luck or backing to make it big and also some fairly average guys who by chance and situation have made a nice living for themselves.”
In 2007, Matt has joined the judging panel for Dunlop’s Race Academy which offers the chance for seven budding racing drivers to train with top drivers, gain their ARDS licence and for one winner to join the professionals on track in the Sportmaxx Cup. The aim of the academy is to take away the cost of training and offer a wildcard in to motorsport. Matt feels that more brands and companies should be supporting new talent and offering young people an avenue in to motorsport.“The problem we have in motorsport is that the government and business look at F1, who are the top 0.1% of the sport, and see them making obscene amounts of money. Their attitude is ‘why should we put money in when you’re all creaming it’. What they don’t see is the normal guys who are struggling to make it happen. If anything, the sport’s top earners should also put something back in to grass roots rather than getting that extra boat in Monaco.”
What advice would Matt give to young people who are daunted by motorsport’s financial glass ceiling?“It’s all about dedication, perseverance and that vital ingredient; luck. 95% of racing is head down and hard work. You have to cope with tears, disappointment and pressures from all sides. That said, when you do it, boy it feels good and makes up for that 95% ten times over.”
Dunlop Race Academy 2007 will offer a schedule of training with Matt Neal and Calum Lockie to twenty-one budding racing drivers and then the chance for one winner to race on track with the professionals in the Sport Maxx Cup.
In 2005, Simon Shaw from Warrington won the Dunlop Race Academy and in his first race at Silverstone, qualified an astonishing sixth on the grid in the Ginetta Championship. Simon went on to be awarded a sponsorship deal from Dunlop and has continued his career in 2007 in the BARC/Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup.
For a chance to make it into the Dunlop Race Academy this summer, simply visit driversknow.co.uk and apply online.
