Round 5

Yvan Muller - 1st place.


That was a fantastic race with so much ballast - you made it look easy!

No no, it's not easy! Maybe it looks that way, but it's never easy. It's not easy when the car is light but with all that ballast it is even harder. It was a tough race, very tough.

When Matt was catching you were you just taking it easy to look after the tyres?

I was pushing, but at the same time not too hard to be conservative with the tyres. Here it is difficult and can be dangerous for the tyres, so I was trying to balance pushing and being conservative.

Were you at all worried after what happened to Paul at Brands Hatch that Matt might be a little forceful if he got close?

For sure I was aware of this, but I think Matt has thought about this as well!


Matt Neal - 2nd place


I'm guessing that you're happy with 2nd?

Over the moon! And it's a good grid position for the second race which is mega important.

On the last lap do you think Yvan was just conserving his tyres or do you think you could have overtaken him?

I think he was pushing really hard actually. I was watching him closely and he overshot a couple of corners, I could see he was starting to struggle a little bit. I'd have love to have seen the look on Ian Harrison's face!

On a more controversial note, since the incident at Brands Hatch we've heard Paul O'Neill say that he doesn't bear a grudge, but we haven't really heard your side of the story.

I think there's a lot of people on the periphery, on the outside, all trying to put their penny's worth in. There was a gap there, I put my car into it, Paul closed the door. It was one of those things. I would never do anything malicious to Paul, he knows that, he's one of my best friends. I'm paid to do a job: to win races for Honda just as he is for Vauxhall. It was a hard race - like this one!

Looking forward to the next race later today, you've got another front row start! Feel like you could win it?

Well, it's worrying that Yvan was fully ballasted up in the first race and now we'll have some too! You never know what's going to happen, you need a bit of luck on your side but we'll be gunning for it, that's for sure.


Paul O'Neill - 3rd place


Another podium - you're making a habit of these!

Yeah! When Alan jumped the start I got a bit distracted, I was looking at him and not the lights so I didn't make a great start. Then the next minute I saw this BIG accident behind me and lost my concentration again, so lost the leaders for a bit. Then I was just fending off Turkington when the safety car came out.

Then when the safety car came in, Morrison went straight to the pits for his drive-through and I tried to close up on Jimmy. I think I made his life hell for a few laps then he ran wide onto the grass so I got alongside him. But then I lost him, I was losing a lot of time through the Complex, the car was understeering a lot. I just took my time and when I saw Jimmy dive in the pits and I got some free track I though I'd try to go as fast as I could on my own.

Then when I came in I had a great stop, and I think we were side by side - it was like Yvan again all over! But to be honest, Yvan gave me more room than Jimmy: Jimmy came right across me so I backed off, followed him and then him and Matt were side by side and I just thought "right!" - to be fair to him he let me through, because I think he was stuck in a gear, and then once I was past I just thought "don't drive like a prat like you usually do!" but I seemed to just drive away from him. It was the best - I love it!

This year you seem to be really finding your self confidence - are you starting to believe now that you're as good as James and Yvan?

Well, you just said that and I was gonna say no I'm not. But to be fair, I was only ten kilos lighter than James. You have good days and bad days, and James had a good qualifying, but he's always said to me that yesterday is not the same as today, and I just capitalised: he was a wounded animal today.

But going back to your question, I've had it drummed into me that I can compete with these guys, and I think I can, but I've got to get better to beat them. You know, to beat Yvan you've got to be one of the best in the world. And James too. Yvan drove a stormer didn't he, with forty kilos of ballast?


Gavin Pyper - 6th place


Talk us through that incident on the first lap - obviously Rob Collard has his point of view, it would be good to hear yours.

Well I'm sure he's blaming me, but at the end of the day I was as far over to the left as I could be and he was just banging into me. Whether he was getting hit or something, I don't know. I kept my position and he spun himself in front of me.

Now, everyone else that's come up to me - and I think they said it on the commentary too - said that I was being squeezed off the track. What am I going to do: drive onto the grass the whole time? He came off worse but there was plenty of other space he could have gone into.

After that though, you had a blinding race. Could you talk us through it?

Oh it was a good race. I was on my own for a while, but then Alan Morrison caught up with me, I made a little mistake and he got past. But it was a good race and I think we've learnt a lot.

Round 6

Yvan Muller - 1st place.


Yvan, congratulations. You'll have the Championship wrapped up at this rate.

Thank you, but the Championship is still long. Many times in the past I have had this advantage and I have lost. It was good to win the race but it is still not enough.

Before Matt went off you were giving him a really hard time. Do you think you could have got past him?

We had a really good race together, he passed me, I passed him, he passed me again! I don't know if I could have beaten him but for sure I was trying.

And after he went off, were you still pushing as hard?

I was still pushing hard, but for some laps I was pushing a bit less to look after the tyres.

On to Silverstone, can you repeat your success there?

I do not know. Before we came here I was just maybe expecting to be on the podium. I will try the same for Silverstone.

What's the latest with your jet ski record attempt - you haven't done it yet.

No because the weather has not been good, it's been too windy. For two weeks we have been in the south of France waiting, but for two weeks we have had nothing. We will be back there for the next twelve days, but if we cannot do it before then it will have to wait until perhaps September, or perhaps next year.


Alan Morrison - 2nd place.


Congratulations, the second time this year you've been on the podium. How was the car round here?

The car's been really good all weekend, Matt was on pole for the first race and I was P3. I should have been on the podium in the first race as well but I got a stupid drive through penalty, I went when the lights went green but then they put it back to red, then back to green! So that screwed that race up for me, but the car was good - the speed's there and it's just a matter of getting it all dialled in right.

How much more development is there to come on the car? You and the Vauxhalls are at a pretty similar level now.

Yes, a wee bit more to come from Honda, but it's tough. We've got a good car, a good team and it's going to be a good season.


Paul O'Neill - 3rd place


You do like your third places, don't you?

Oh wow, this is like the fourth one, isn't it! Four thirds in a row - not easy to say after a couple of glasses of champagne!

When I came here this weekend it was just damage limitation because I know I'm not very good round here. So on free practice I gave it my best shot and I was consistently as quick as Jimmy and Yvan. I just pushed and pushed, and ended up with two third places!

I should have had second here, but Alan drove really well, so did Yvan. It was proper touring cars: the first few laps there were cars banging, it was really good. Respect to Alan, I cut him up at the first corner and he backed off, really good racing!

So now you've proved that you can drive round Thruxton!

Oh yes! I want to come here for the rest of the year now! It's a proper circuit because the cars never really get loose anywhere else, and here they're just always on the edge. I prefer that, I don't really like slow corners. I'm really pleased, now I'm just looking forward to Silverstone and getting on with the job.

How was the car for you today?

Really fine, in both races. If you think about it there's a lot of load, the cars weigh over a ton, and you're hitting the kerbs all the time. I've got to give Dunlop their due, there were no blow-outs except for Matt, but last year [with BF Goodrich] we had loads and we really struggled.

We've made so much progress with Dunlop that I think we've just made these tyres our own, which is great.

The success ballast doesn't seem to be hurting the Vauxhalls much either.

Well I think we've got really good engines, really good mid-range and it just pulls away. It felt like I was running ballast-free! I'm really looking forward to Silverstone to see what we can produce there.

You just need to move up a few steps now, don't you?

I'm starting to get all gutted now because if I'd won that race at Brands which I should have, I could have been right up there. But I've already got more points than I had last year!

I always do quite well at Silverstone: I had a second there last year, and had two thirds in Production. I'll be going all out for a win. I don't fear anyone any more - I used to but I don't now, they're just names to me.

James has always told me to just keep going and rack up points, but I never thought I'd get as many as I have.


Matt Neal - 11th place


Great start - it looked at one point as if Yvan was well and truly stuck behind you - then what happened?

Hmm, well he got me round the back but then I managed to do him in the end! It was a good dice, it was close but clean. He pushed but we could respond, and I thought we'd got it all under control.

Then two or three corners before the tyre let go I got a smell of burning rubber, then it just went as I turned into Gooodwood. We're running exactly the same setup, everything on the car is the same as the first race, and the same as Alan [Morrison] and Tom [Chilton]. So it's a bit of a mystery.

So on to Silverstone - at least you can look forward to qualifying nice and light.

I tell you, it would be nice to actually run with ballast for a change! Oh well, look on the bright side, eh?


Dan Eaves - DNF


Bad luck. Just before Carl Breeze retired it looked as if you two made contact.

Yes, his car had an electrical problem right in front of me as he came out of the chicane and there was nowhere for me to go so we touched.

And then can you confirm it was a suspension failure which caused you to retire?

Yup, the rear suspension failed from where Phil Bennett hit me from behind, so that was my race over.



This page © 2003 www.BTCCinfo.co.uk.