Neal: Nothing to lose at Donington
Matt Neal says he has nothing to lose for the remainder of the British Touring Car Championship season, as he attempts to close the gap to series leader Jason Plato at Donington Park this weekend
The Honda driver trails Plato by 20 points after each took a victory last time out at Knockhill, but he believes that it is the Chevrolet driver who will be feeling the most pressure with two rounds and six races still to go.
"I've got everything to gain and nothing to lose," said Neal, the BTCC champion of 2005 and '06. "If I crash or something, then I wasn't leading the championship anyway, whereas if Jason does, then we all close in on him. It's him that will be feeling the pressure and hopefully me putting it on him.
"He's got to be nervous. He's been second so many times in this championship after all. And it's his to lose at the moment. I've got everything to gain."
Neal believes that the stars at Donington could be Arena Ford drivers Tom Onslow-Cole - third in the championship - and Tom Chilton. This is despite the latest performance penalties imposed on their Focus STs limiting the squad to just two podium finishes out of a possible six at Knockhill.
"They've got something more than they showed at Knockhill, and while I think they'll be strong at Donington, they'll be even stronger at [the season finale at] Brands Hatch.
"Having said that, Jason will be quick everywhere and we've got all the good bits on our car now, having had the engine upgrade at Silverstone and now improved damping, so hopefully me and [team-mate] Gordon [Shedden, fourth in the points] should be in good shape."
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