Matt Neal calls for regular “alternative” race

Matt Neal says it was a great to “mix things up a bit” with the special Diamond Double event at Snetterton and has called on the BTCC to make an ‘alternative’ race a feature on a more regular basis.

The race ran to double the distance of a regular BTCC event and awarded double points as part of the series’ 60th anniversary celebrations, making a change from the norm of three races of equal length.

Speaking following his victory in the event, Neal said he would like to see the championship introduce a different format for a race on a more regular basis in future.

Previously, the series ran races that featured two drivers sharing a car over an extended length, as well as a mixture of sprint and feature races that included pitstops.

“It was good to something to change things and I’ve been telling them we should do it for a while,” he said. “I said we should have a race with a pit stop or driver change that would really throw a curveball in the mix.

“I’m probably showing my age but I’ve wanted to do it for a long time and I think the Diamond Double showed it can work. I was worried that the longer race might be boring when there were no pit-stops but I certainly wasn’t bored; I ended up counting the laps down corner by corner!”