The Honda Racing trio of Alan Morrison, Matt Neal and Tom Chilton have thrown down the gauntlet to their British Touring Car rivals during the first six rounds of the ultra-competitive series. With Matt Neal winning round three at Brands Hatch each driver has achieved a podium finish. Driving Honda Civic Type Rs the team has established a consistent pattern to its qualifying and race performances.

The Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship moves to the home of British motor racing this weekend. The Silverstone International Circuit is the venue for the seventh and eighth rounds of what is already proving to be one of the most exciting championships in recent times.

Yvan Muller may be leading the 20-round series but he is already looking over his shoulder at the hard-charging threat from Honda Racing. The threat was particularly evident during the last two rounds at Thruxton when Matt Neal claimed pole position and led both races before his progress was curtailed by a slow pitstop and puncture respectively. Alan Morrison then took on the mantle for Honda Racing in race two and pressured Muller all the way to the chequered flag.

“We’re now at the stage where we can have a straight fight with any of the other cars,” explained 36-year-old Neal. “In fact, I’d say that the Civic Type R even has the edge over the competition in some places. All we need to do now is to get all three cars running at the front at the same time and to be working as a team.

“There’s no doubt that we ran well at Thruxton. From a personal point of view, luck wasn’t on my side, but it won’t always be like that. I’m a great believer that fate will eventually swing back in my favour. Let’s hope that it will start to do so at Silverstone, where I’ll be going for a second consecutive pole position and perhaps a race win, especially with a weight advantage on my side.”

Alan Morrison has a disadvantage to overcome with the ballast on his Honda Racing Civic Type R for the seventh round of the championship. “I’ve got an almost maximum ballast for Silverstone, but I’ll be working hard with the team to get on to the first couple of rows in qualifying,” said the 32-year-old Ulsterman. “Then, I’ll give it everything to finish on the podium or maybe even clinch my first victory of the season.

“The last round at Thruxton showed just how much progress we’ve made with the car in the past 12 months. I felt that I drove well but was still slightly disappointed with the results. The speed’s there and now all we have to do is transfer that winning edge to our race strategy. If we can do that, then we’re going to be hard to beat – especially if we can get Lady Luck on our side.”

Tom Chilton bounced back into action at Thruxton after missing the previous two races at Brands Hatch. “I knew that I had to redeem myself at Thruxton,” explained the 18-year-old driver from Reigate in Surrey. “I had to get to the chequered flag on each occasion because I needed the points. I managed to do that – even with one of the wheel nuts missing for the last lap of the second race!

“I always knew that I would be on a steep learning curve this season. I’ve already learnt that I’ve got to keep it smooth and not to push too hard. So, I was cruising around Thruxton and it paid dividends. I like Silverstone and have an advantageous weight differential for this weekend, so I’m aiming for a couple of top six finishes – and maybe even the podium.”