DAN Eaves fears his and teammate Matt Neal's British Touring Car Championship lead will be overturned by Yvan Muller and Jason Plato Brands Hatch on Sunday.

The Moreton-in-Marsh driver believes his Team Halfords Honda will not be as competitive as it was last time at Thruxton where he landed an historic three wins in a day to move to the top of the table.

He says his team needs to turn its relatively poor qualifying performances into top of the grid times if he to stand a chance of winning around Brands' twisty Indy track.

Eaves, aged 29, said: "Qualifying has been our weak point and qualifying well at Brands is everything - it's like Monaco without the barriers. One bad qualifying session could put us back us for all three races.

"Matt and I will go into the meeting with maximum success ballast in our cars and at an up and down track like Brands that will hurt."

Eaves currently has 80 points to Neal's 72 and Vauxhall driver Muller's 65. Plato is on 44 in his SEAT.

Eaves, born in Evesham, added: "We put Muller and Plato in their place at Thruxton but they will come out all guns blazing this weekend and could do us some serious damage.

"They both have very strong records at Brands whereas it's not a circuit I particularly like. I wouldn't mind if they continue their personal spat and take points out of each other, though.

"I also think Muller's teammate Colin Turkington will also be tough to beat. He's been on pole there before and it's only bad luck that has stopped him being higher in the championship so far."

You can see how Eaves fares on Sunday if you tune into ITV's live coverage.