The Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) rolls up to Brands Hatch this weekend with Honda Racing in hot pursuit of its title rivals. A successful pre-season testing programme enabled Alan Morrison, Tom Chilton and Matt Neal to show the pace of the Civic Type Rs during the first and second rounds of the series at Mondello Park over Easter weekend. Indeed, Morrison and Chilton took a podium position a piece behind double-race winner James Thompson.

The Bank Holiday Monday race schedule incorporates the fourth round of the Champ Car World Series, but the BTCC shares equal billing at the meeting for what is expected to be a bumper crowd at the 1.22-mile Indy Circuit. With Morrison and Chilton lying third and fourth respectively in the drivers’ championship and Matt Neal aiming to turn his fortunes around, the stage looks set for one of the closest and most exciting races of the year.

“I’m really looking forward to the atmosphere at Brands Hatch,” said Morrison, the 32-year-old Ulsterman who lies third overall in the championship. “The circuit is fantastic and I’m hopeful that I can continue the form I showed at Mondello Park. Overall, I’m happy with the best start that I’ve made to a BTCC season, but I have mixed feelings about the first event. I was on a high after finishing on the podium in race one, but then I was slightly disappointed with the circumstances surrounding the second leg – which had promised so much at one stage. The wet weather threw a bit of a spanner in the works and I don’t think anyone was really able to show their full potential.”

It was also a day of mixed fortunes for 18-year-old Tom Chilton who crashed out of race one, only to show his undoubted potential through the most challenging of conditions in the second leg. “It was my first wet race for Honda Racing and I initially struggled with visibility,” said Chilton. “However I was able to analyse where I was losing time and then corrected it for the second race which was a good result for the whole team. I hope that I can make up for the heavy ballast in my car at Brands Hatch. It is one of my favourite circuits. I have been there so many times in different types of cars that it really does feel like my home circuit.”

Honda Racing has strong team ethics and Matt Neal personifies the spirit within the camp. He was taken out of the first race by another driver and then had to retire with a wheel problem in race two, but his first thoughts were for his colleagues in the pitlane.

“Luck definitely wasn’t on our side at Mondello,” explained the 36-year-old Worcestershire driver. “More than anything else I was disappointed for the team, who have worked so hard to put Honda Racing in such a competitive position. Everybody has raised their game in the championship and it’s going to be one of the most challenging seasons yet. I’m in an advantageous position with the ballast after Mondello. So, I’m aiming to make the most of that situation to qualify on the front row and get the best possible start – which is so vital at Brands Hatch.”