Matt Neal vows Honda will fight back from tough start

Matt Neal admits that he has been disappointed with results so far for the new Team Dynamics Honda Civic Type-R but says it is only a matter of time before the car starts challenging for race wins.

Dynamics made the switch for the FK8 version of the Type R over the winter but have so far picked up just one podium finish with the new car thanks to Dan Cammish at Donington Park.

Triple champion Neal has endured a tough start to the year and has failed to score in three of the six races run so far, with his best result to date being sixth place in the opening race last weekend.

That means Honda currently sits fourth in the manufacturers’/constructors’ points behind Vauxhall, BMW and Subaru – albeit with the competitive nature of the season to date being reflected in the fact that the quartet are covered by just 14 points.

Speaking following the second round of the year, Neal admitted it was taking time to get the best from the new car but said he was optimistic that once ‘in the window’, the FK8 would be regularly fighting at the front.

“I’m a bit disappointed so far, but it’s early days and we are still learning,” he told TouringCarTimes. “The outgoing Civic is a car that we knew inside out and back to front, and whilst it’s great to see them going well with other teams, the FK8 is a totally different animal that we haven’t quite got a handle on yet.

“This car is built around a whole new platform, which is great for Honda, and on paper, it is better in every area compared to the old car. That leaves us optimistic about what we can achieve with it once we discover what makes it tick.

“Dan has got some good results so far and we’ve shown flashes of speed, but we have work still still to do. We need to get the car in the window and we are currently finding that there are certain things it is doing that are the opposite to what we would expect, which is leading to some head scratching.

“The field this season is so competitive and we’re not where we want to be yet, but we know that it’s only a matter of time. We just have to keep our heads down, work hard and the results will come.”