Matt Neal keen to benefit from lightweight Honda

Matt Neal says he hopes to benefit from the lack of ballast on his Honda Civic Type R when the BTCC heads for Silverstone this weekend.

Two tough weekends at Rockingham and Knockhill have seen Neal slip to ninth in the championship standings – meaning he will now carry less weight into the penultimate rounds of the year.

The triple champion will now seek to try and use that to his advantage in order to help Honda in the battle for the manufacturers’ title and vowed to push hard to repeat his success of twelve months ago.

“I’m feeling really buoyant coming to Silverstone and I really can’t wait to get back out on track,” he said. “We’ve had a challenging couple of rounds but we’re in much better shape for Silverstone and I’m confident we will have one of the most competitive packages out there.

“Better still, we won’t be carrying too much weight and in a championship where the smallest edges can make the biggest difference, that can only be a positive at this critical stage of the season. I believe in the Halfords Yuasa Racing team and the car, so I am going to be pushing for every possible point.”

Team-mate Dan Cammish meanwhile will also seek to impress having taken his maiden pole last time out at Knockhill.

“After a big step forward at Knockhill I’m eager to maintain that forward momentum at Silverstone and bring home another strong set of results for the Halfords Yuasa Racing team,” he said. “Looking ahead to Silverstone, the new Civic Type R should be well suited to this circuit and we will surely benefit from having a lighter car than many of our direct competitors.

“With this in mind, I come into the event feeling energised and confident of a successful weekend.”