Matt Neal: Silverstone Interview

Touring Car Championship. At Donington Park two weeks ago, in his NissanPrimera, he took the first ever pole by an Independent runner, following it
up with the first ever race win.

This weekend, at Silverstone, he's proved that it was no flash in the pan,
qualifying third for the 15-lap Sprint race and forming part of a unique
Nissan 1-2-3, behind the works cars of David Leslie and Laurent Aiello.

Autosport caught up with Matt after his fine performance in qualifying, to
ask him about his amazing race win - and also about the huge quarter of a
million pound payout that his victory brought.

Q: Third on the grid - do you feel that confirms that Donington wasn't just
a one-off?

MN: Well, I'm certainly relieved! We came up with some development parts at
Donington which were fantastic, but when we tried them here, they were
giving me grip in the wrong places.

We suffered with a lack of dry running
in the test on Friday, so we've been playing catch-up today. We used the
Donington set-up in first qualifying, and it didn't work, so for the second
session, we reverted to the settings we used here a month ago - and it
worked.

I didn't feel that it was a particularly good lap - when I finished, the
team congratulated me on the radio, but I wasn't so sure. I made a few
niggling little errors - the car felt quicker, but I didn't feel that I
drove it very well. Maybe I could have got down to a 1:23.0, but no better
- the front row definitely belonged to Leslie and Aiello.

Q: When we spoke to you at Donington, it was after you had taken pole, but
before your race win. Now you've had time to think about it, how does it
feel?

MN: As much disbelief as winning the pole, actually! Getting the pole, to
go with second in the earlier qualifying session, was already beyond all
expectations. To come away with a win was just unbelievable - I still have
to pinch myself when I wake up, remind myself, hey, I've won one!

Actually, I wish it had been a couple of months to the next race, because
you're only as good as your last result: I've enjoyed being the last person
to win a race. It's allowed me to be more confident, especially when it
comes to racing at the front.

Until you've got it, you feel you have to win
- second isn't good enough. Now, I can settle for second or third - and if
you're getting into a position where you can take second or third, then I
feel the wins will naturally follow. I haven't got to take stupid,
unecessary chances.

Q: When you came out after your pit-stop, after you had stalled and dropped
to fifth, did you still think you could win the race?

MN: No, I thought it was all over. I thought, Matt, you've blown it, you
idiot - oh well, maybe Silverstone... So when I got out there, I just
concentrated on settling the two new tyres down. But once I'd done that,
the car felt strong, so I thought, let's push. That was it, basically - I
started to think, well, maybe I can have a go at these guys, and it all
worked out.

Q: How much difference will the money make to your season?

MN: A tremndous difference. Some of it has already gone, divvied out to
various places, and helping to keep the bank manager happy! It may help us
do some more testing, which of course helps our performance. Everyone
thinks that Team Dynamics are the 'fat cats' of the Independents division;
Yes, we spend a fair bit of money, but we try to spend it in the right
places.

We've had some of our equipment for quite a long time, and some of
it isn't as flash as some of the other Independents. It will just enable us
to smarten things up a bit, put on a better show for the sponsors.