THE RACE for the British Touring Car Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championship is wide open heading into the penultimate weekend of the season at Snetterton.
Honda drivers Dan Cammish and Matt Neal have voiced their belief in making a title-charge, with Honda (566) narrowly trailing leaders BMW (599) with six races remaining, the former being within touching distance of leading driver Ashley Sutton (261) by seven points in the latest standings.
The pair both claimed second-place finishes last time out at Croft, with Cammish denied a win in the final race after being demoted a place following contact with Josh Cook – the fellow Honda driver who gratefully took the win.
While the decision was a sore one for Cammish to take, the 31-year-old halved the deficit to Championship leader Sutton and has his eyes fully set upon top-three finishes.
“With a bit of misfortune for Ash and Collin (Turkington), that puts me squarely back in the hunt,” he said in reference to his previous outing.
“The car has been awesome all season, so I think that position is justifiably ours.
“Onto Snetterton, which is an old-school circuit that I really like, I’ll be targetting podiums again like I’ve achieved in the last two seasons.
“The circuit suits the front-wheel-drive cars, so I hope that we can keep pulling out a points advantage to go to the final at Brands Hatch in a strong position to challenge.”
For Neal, placed eighth in the rankings on 160 points, confidence is high after a place on the podium, though he insists that it is the prospect of helping out his teammate Cammish and claiming silverware for Honda and Halfords Yuasa Racing that is serving as his motivation for the remainder of the campaign.
“Croft was a great weekend for me, I was a tad disappointed to lose the win but when I looked back at the video I just ran that little bit wide after locking my brakes,” he said on reflection.
“Overall, it was a great points haul for the team and brings us back into contention for all titles – helping out Dan in the Drivers’ Championship.
“My role is very much now to help him and the team claim as many Championships as we can.
“I go into Snetterton remembering my historic win there for the Diamond Double in 2018 – and hoping I can replicate that form. The car is great around there, and it really suits the high-speed corners, so I’ll be giving it my all.”
