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Title not yet Lost, says Muller

Former British Touring Car Champion Yvan Muller is refusing to concede that his title ambitions this year are already over thanks to the stunning start to the campaign made by arch rivals Team Halfords Honda

Muller has seen Matt Neal and Dan Eaves dominate proceedings at the start of the season after emerging as the early season favourites for title honours.

But heading into this weekend's round of the BTCC at Oulton Park, Muller is confident that his Vauxhall team can close the gap on their rivals.

"We have improved but there are still areas which are not really clear with our car," said Muller, who claimed a brilliant victory at Brands Hatch earlier this month. "We are not at the same level as Team Halfords yet or at the level we were last year, but there is potential and we have to keep working."

Honda's Eaves is keen to make amends at Oulton Park for a crash while trying to overtake Muller and a mechanical problem at that Brands Hatch event that cost him the series lead to teammate Neal.

"I know that I'm going to out-qualify Muller and beat Muller at Oulton," he said. ""His tactics at Brands caused me to make a stupid mistake I'll not make again. I've been kicking myself ever since. But it's not just Muller I've got to beat. The field is full of tough nuts and I need to crack them all.

"Oulton is my kind of track and I took my first win in the BTCC there last year. My dad John's also going to be there and I want to win for him on Father's Day."

Despite Muller's optimism about Vauxhall's long-term form, Eaves is confident that by the time some of Honda's rivals have made progress the championship will already be in the bag.

"Even if Vauxhall and SEAT get up to our speed, I'm confident by the time they do it will be too late to catch Matt and I," added Eaves. "Matt and I both want to win and as a result bring out the best in each other - Muller and Plato don't have their teammates pushing them, so probably aren't driving at their best.

"I was eight points ahead of Matt before Brands and now he's seven in front, so I could easily end up turning it around again at Oulton."

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