Umar Hassan sits down with three-time British Touring Automobile Champion Matt Neal to speak about his profession within the championship, rivalry with Jason Plato and first win at Donington Park in 1999.

“I’ve embraced it way more simply than I believed I’d,” Matt Neal tells me about his year-long sabbatical from racing within the British Touring Automobile Championship.

The Stourbridge driver has raced within the championship, each part-time and full-time with groups comparable to Triple Eight Racing and Team Dynamics since 1991.

In a BTCC profession spanning over 30 years, Matt has gained 63 races, three BTCC titles with Crew Dynamics and 193 podium finishes.

Motor racing has been in Matt’s DNA as his father Steve beforehand raced within the BTCC within the 1960’s in a Mini Cooper S, making him a second era touring automotive driver.

Debuting within the Tremendous Touring period

The BTCC within the 1990’s was recognized for the Tremendous Touring period, with producers spending thousands and thousands of kilos to develop their vehicles and signal one of the best drivers to race for his or her groups.

Gabriele Tarquini, Alain Menu, John Cleland and Rickard Rydell have been a few drivers who raced within the championship’s Tremendous Touring period.

In his rookie BTCC season in 1991, Matt raced for 3 groups, which have been Pyramid Motorsport, BRR Motorsport and the Auto Dealer Techspeed Crew.

Matt mentioned:

“I had been within the Group N class for a few years and received the chance by begging, borrowing and stealing some further sponsorship and I received myself a drive on the British Grand Prix in a M3.”

“Frank Sytner was my first team-mate, a fairly formidable man and there wasn’t a possibility with that staff. We managed to get a bit extra sponsorship and the E30 M3 was the weapon of selection and there have been a number of groups with these knockabout spares.

“We dropped into one other staff for one race, however with a special sponsor after which once more for the tip of the 12 months so I had three particular person runs with three completely different groups that 12 months, all BMW although!”

The primary BTCC win at Donington Park in 1999

Matt had eight seasons of racing each full-time and part-time within the BTCC below his belt, however by no means gained a race within the championship.

For the 1999 BTCC season, Matt raced for Crew Dynamics, the staff his dad co-founded in a 1998 Nissan Primera.

Within the second race assembly at Donington Park in Leicestershire, he went on to assert his first BTCC win and declare £250,000 for being the primary unbiased staff to win a race within the championship.

Matt mentioned:

“It was fairly surreal. I awoke the subsequent day and I had an aura of deflation as a result of I attempted and fought so laborious for therefore a few years to get there.

“I had a very good PR man on the time and I keep in mind strolling into the workplace and he was on the telephone to Australia. Everybody was kicking off about this large win and I believed I don’t actually wish to discuss to anybody at that time, it’s a race I’ve saved saying so you set your self up and say now, subsequent race.”

Rivalry with Jason Plato

Through the second-half of his BTCC profession, Matt had a long-standing rivalry with Jason Plato within the 2000’s.

Each Matt and Jason had many bumps, scrapes, crashes and some fisticuffs of their battle for race wins and BTCC titles.

The notable second of their BTCC rivalry was at Rockingham in 2011 when post-qualifying, Matt threatened Jason that he was going to “rip his f*****g face off”.

Matt mentioned:

“I’d have smashed his face in and burnt his home down. You possibly can’t think about the hatred concerned.

“At one level, I must go to a race assembly and have a lawyer as a result of he would do something whether or not if it will be authorized, on-track, off-track, he would attempt something to have a go at me.”

10 years after their post-qualifying change at Rockingham, in what was as soon as a aggressive rivalry between Matt and Jason, they’re now pals once more.

Matt added about how the friendship is between him and Jason:

“Turning the clock again 10 or 15 years in the past, I’d haven’t trusted him (Plato). Now, the final 5 to 6 years, he’s one of many few drivers I’d belief driving alongside.

“Off-track, we’ve received a friendship now. I wouldn’t say we’re finest buddies however we’ve received a very good friendship once more, again the place we have been earlier than. There may be nonetheless a little bit of distrust there from either side from me to him and him to me however now I belief him (Plato).”

Favorite BTCC title to win

Throughout his lengthy profession within the British Touring Automobile Championship, Matt Neal has gained three BTCC titles (2005, 2006, 2011).

He joins earlier champions comparable to Gordon Shedden, Frank Gardner and Win Percy, who’ve gained three BTCC titles.

When requested about which BTCC title was essentially the most satisfying to win, Matt mentioned:

“Possibly the primary one as a result of we had gone to the Honda Integra that 12 months. It was a little bit of an animal in pre-season testing and Vauxhall launched the brand new Astra with Yvan Muller and he was on hearth.

“I suppose he was the favorite and Jason was in there within the SEAT. To get one over on each these guys and do it in a brand new automotive was a particular 12 months for us. It was a troublesome 12 months, the racing was hard-going and fairly brutal so it was good to return on high on that one.”

Put up-sabbatical plans for the 2022 BTCC season

Having loved his one-year sabbatical from the championship, Matt mentioned that he has not retired from racing or competing within the BTCC for the 2022 season.

Nevertheless, he didn’t rule out giving his twin sons Henry or William, who’re third era touring automotive drivers a drive for subsequent season’s championship.

Matt mentioned:

“I’ve embraced my new function this 12 months and I’m cool with it and possibly that tells me one thing. I’m nonetheless engaged on many alternatives which places me again on the grid for subsequent 12 months.

“I want to give my sons Henry or Will a go if doable as a result of I’ve had my flip so it’s time to present them (Henry or Will) a drive. I’ll do no matter I can as a result of if I’m not racing now (BTCC), then I’ll be racing someplace I’m positive.”