The Honda Racing Team drivers Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden are both predicting a tough fight when the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship reconvenes at Rockingham in Northamptonshire this weekend.

Honda Civic racer Neal thinks the competitiveness of the series means there will be eight different drivers who will be battling for glory over the weekend’s three rounds.

Neal is sixth in the points after the opening meeting at Thruxton in Hampshire at Easter and he thinks he will be able to climb up the points table during Sunday’s contests.

Neal said: "We know we have a quick car with the Civic and we’ve learned some lessons from the opening rounds at Thruxton which means we have more knowledge of the car. But Rockingham is a very tough circuit because it has a flat out stretch and that leads on to a twisty infield section.

"It always promotes close racing because the layout means that no one type of car will have a huge advantage anywhere. The BMWs will be strong, the Chevrolets will be quick and our Honda will be right in heart of the fight."

Scotsman Gordon Shedden was leading the opening round of the season before he was sidelined with a tyre failure on his Civic. He is full of optimism ahead of the rounds in the Midlands.

"It’s a track I like," said 'Flash' Gordon. "I have won there before and I have also been on pole position there with the Civic. That was when we were just starting out with the car and it is a lot better now, so that makes me think we’ll be in a strong position to rack up our first win of the year."

Team boss Steve Neal says work in the Honda Racing Team's base should improve the car’s performance even further.

"We've made huge strides with the development of the car’s suspension and every time we go on the track we are learning new things about how it handles," said Neal, father of team driver Matt. "We will be using the information we learned in the opening meeting to give us an even better Honda Civic at Rockingham. I am optimistic."

(LB/GK)