The Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship enters a new era this weekend when it visits Rockingham Motor Speedway for the first time. The ninth and tenth rounds of the UK’s leading motor racing series take place on the 2.45-mile International Circuit with Honda Racing among the favourites to win Sunday’s two, 25-lap races.

Honda Racing has been hit by a plague of misfortune in the season’s opening four rounds, most of which would generally be classified as “racing incidents”. This has resulted in the Civic Type R drivers’ positions in the championship not reflecting how competitive they have been in all the rounds so far. However, it is inevitable that the team will soon reap the reward of more race wins and podium places.

Matt Neal has been particularly unlucky with two non-finishes to show for all his efforts in the last rounds at Silverstone. He was comfortably leading the first race when he had to retire in the closing stages and then suffered the same fate in race two when lying third and closing on the leaders.

“I’m afraid that Silverstone was a question of what might have been,” said the 36-year-old Worcestershire driver. “I should have added to my victory at Brands Hatch, but it didn’t happen and now we’ve got to concentrate on the next round at Rockingham.

“I haven’t raced at the Northamptonshire track in the past, but I have a good idea of the circuit layout and what to expect. It’s a fantastic facility and I’m looking forward to the experience of racing there for the first time. The car’s really strong at the moment and it will be light for qualifying and the first race, so we should be up there challenging for race wins again.”

Alan Morrison has a slight advantage over his team-mates in that he tested at Rockingham last season. The 32-year-old Ulsterman was impressed with his first taste of the International Circuit: “I had a good time there and rate it as a challenging circuit. It is tight and twisty in places, but there are also some fast sections – like when you are up on the banking. Qualifying is crucial, because it’s quite hard to overtake. My ideal plan would be to get on the front row and make a good start. We’ll have to see how it goes!

“I have mixed feelings about Silverstone. I was forced into the gravel in the first race, but then I was able to claw my way back up to fourth at the chequered flag, which wasn’t a bad result. As television viewers will have seen, I ended up crashing out of race two in spectacular style, spinning round at over 100mph. It was a three-way collision and I felt that I was unlucky to end up worst off – but that’s the way it goes sometimes. At least I was able to hold on to fourth place in the championship and now my goal is to reduce the gap on the top three.”

Tom Chilton – also beset with misfortune at Silverstone – drove admirably from lowly positions in the early laps to finish both races in the top ten. The 18-year-old Surrey driver is confident that his superb displays will yield the results he craves for in his first year with Honda Racing.

“I feel that I’m driving really well at the moment,” said Chilton, “and it’s a shame that I had a few problems which left me with a lot to do at Silverstone. My confidence is growing and I am having to learn new tracks all the time, so I don’t see any reason why I should have any problems at Rockingham. It is also a good track for spectators, so let’s hope for a bumper crowd and a really good day for Honda Racing.”