Current Green Flag British Touring Car aces Matt Neal and Anthony Reid will contest Sunday 26 September’s BTCC Masters race at Donington Park, Leicestershire. Their participation brings the Masters entry list – which already includes an unprecedented eight former champions – to 15, leaving room for just one more name. BTCC Series Director Alan Gow is expected to reveal his final ‘Master’ in the next week.
Donington Park brings back Neal’s happiest BTCC memory – it was there in 1999 he scooped the £250,000 jackpot for becoming the first independent competitor to beat the might of the official manufacturer squads. Neal, who currently races for the Computeach Racing with Halfords independent squad, has been in the BTCC since 1991 and at Brands Hatch last month celebrated his 250th race in the championship.
Reid joined the BTCC in 1997 and has twice been championship runner-up, with Nissan in 1998 and Ford in 2000. In 2001 he led British manufacturer MG into the BTCC and continues to be an ambassador for its cars, having taken the MG ZS model to numerous wins with independent team WSR. Reid goes into Donington Park’s finale lying third overall and still with a mathematical chance of winning the title.
The BTCC Masters will pitch champions and other top drivers from the championship’s two-litre era against one another in identical Holiday Inn SEAT Cupras for 20 laps of Donington’s National circuit. The race will take place straight after the final round of the 2004 Green Flag BTCC – making Donington Park on 26 September one of the most important fixtures on the motor sport calendar.
Matt Neal (GBR): BTCC 1991-2004, multiple race-winner & four-times Independents Champion (BMW, Mazda, Nissan, Vauxhall, Honda)
“The list of names is fabulous and it’s just great to be on it and racing against those drivers. I want to beat them all, but if that’s not possible then certainly Alain Menu and John Cleland because of the size of their egos! £15 to get in – the place is going to be choc-a-bloc. I think it’s sad that Vauxhall aren’t letting their drivers (James Thompson and Yvan Muller) race as they effectively count for three championships between them. I’m sure James, knowing that he is always up for the crack, would love to have done it, but them not doing it has allowed me in!”
Anthony Reid: BTCC 1997-2004, multiple race-winner & twice Championship Runner-up (Nissan, Ford, MG) “I’m doing it for the prestige of being asked to do it – it’s real kudos for me that I’ve been asked to participate. It really is the Masters, like going to Augusta for the golf masters. It’s going to be like the war film The Longest Day – I’ve got three BTCC races, I’m going for the title, and then the Masters! If there’s one driver I would like to beat then maybe it’s Alain Menu – we were team-mates and fierce rivals in 2002, but he just pipped me to the title at the final round. But really, to compete against the cream of drivers to have raced in the championship in the last 15 years is going to be great fun.”
