Neal powers Honda Racing on to front row

Matt Neal recorded the second fastest qualifying time at the first round of the 2003 Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship at Mondello Park. The Honda Racing star, who won one of the races at the corresponding event last season, was 0.365 seconds behind pole position Yvan Muller after a thrilling 20-minute qualifying session. Neal’s team-mates Alan Morrison and Tom Chilton qualified in fifth and ninth positions respectively in their Honda Racing Civic Type Rs.

The drama unfolded with Chilton running off the track at Sport Ireland Bend and the resultant red flag being shown with just under half the session remaining. That left a hectic nine-minute dash around the 2.25 mile circuit near Dublin, with most of the drivers in the 21-strong BTCC field unable to improve on their times from their first stint out on the track.

Neal was delighted with his qualifying performance in the Honda Racing Civic Type R. “I’m over the moon with my performance today,” said the 36-year-old Worcestershire driver. “We made a few changes to the set-up between the free practice sessions this morning and that helped us to improve our times – we were really on the money this afternoon.

“I was shocked at the time [1:45.932] I did in the second free practice and that left me wondering if I could repeat it again! I feel more nervous for qualifying than I do for the races. It’s an intense 20 minutes and you’ve probably only got four laps that count towards your final qualifying time. Nerves are always good and I’ve been quite nervous this week. I just want to get on with it now and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s two races.”

Morrison was also pleased with his grid position. “I’ve been driving well within myself today and have still managed to achieve some relatively fast times,” admitted the 32-year-old Ulsterman. “The track temperature is much lower than it was last week when Honda Racing completed its final test. It’s also been quite windy which blows a lot of dust on to the track surface and then it’s like driving on marbles! This has meant that I have been driving as cautiously as I can do under the circumstances.

“Ideally I wanted to be on the front two rows, but at least I’m in the next best position on the grid. That’s obviously going to make it slightly more difficult, but with the pace that we’ve shown in the Civic Type R this morning, then I’ll be disappointed if we’re not up there fighting for the podium positions in the races. Everything’s going well at Honda Racing and so I just hope that we’ll be able to turn it on for tomorrow’s races.”

While Chilton was frustrated at not being able to complete his first qualifying session for Honda Racing, the 18-year-old Surrey driver is looking forward to the challenge of racing the Civic Type R: “I’m happy to have qualified in the top ten and I hope to make some progress through the field under racing conditions. My aim tomorrow is to do as well as I can, which will mean finishing both races. If I can do that, then you never know what might happen – that’s the beauty of motor racing.”