PERSHORE team duo Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal are ready to resume their Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship title battle at Snetterton this weekend.

Halfords Yuasa Racing's Honda Civic Type R cars boast a strong record at the Norfolk circuit and the outfit are out to regain the initiative in the teams tussle.

Shedden headed into the mid-season break at the top of the points table following a consistent opening half to the campaign.

The defending champion is looking forward to returning to the circuit where last year he prevailed in a thrilling, edge-of-the-seat last-lap duel for victory with Rob Collard.

Team-mate Neal did not always enjoy the rub of the green over the first five meetings of 2017.

But a landmark 60th career triumph at Thruxton, four further rostrum finishes and back-to-back pole positions prove the experienced driver could still threaten in pursuit of a fourth drivers’ crown.

Shedden said: “I’m certainly going to Snetterton in a much better position than I did last year when I was a long way behind in the standings.

"The flipside to that obviously is having to carry maximum ballast and that could mean we are in for a tough couple of meetings over the next few weeks but as I always say I’ll take the points in the bag any day.

"Qualifying and race one at Snetterton are likely to be difficult with the weight so it will probably be a question of playing the long game again but the Civic Type R was quick there last year and Matt reported positive feedback from the tyre test earlier this month too which is encouraging.

"The BTCC is so unpredictable and there are a lot of fast cars out there and we all know how quickly things can change in this championship.

"We just need to focus on our own job and make the best of every single opportunity, anything else we can’t worry about.”

Neal said: “I love the summer break but it’s always great to go racing again.

"There’s a lot still to fight for and with what we’ve seen over the opening five events as many as 10 drivers can realistically win the title.

"I think I’m driving pretty well but results escaped me a bit during the first half of the season so most of all I’m hoping for a change of luck over the second half.

"I think there’s no question that Flash (Shedden) and I have the car to do the job — the Civic Type R has been really strong everywhere we’ve been and is a tough act to beat.

"But with success ballast and other championship regulations that impact upon performance you just never know how it’s going to go so we’ll see how we get on.”

STANDINGS

Drivers: 1 Shedden 188 points, 2 Collard 177, 3 Colin Turkington 176, 4 Ashley Sutton 168, 5 Tom Ingram 140, 6 Neal 135.

Manufacturers: 1 BMW 421, 2 Honda 382, 3 Subaru 337, 4 Vauxhall 281, 5 MG 201.

Teams: 1 Team BMW 344, 2 Halfords Yuasa Racing 314, 3 Adrian Flux Subaru Racing 213, 4 Speedworks Motorsport 136, 5 BMW Pirtek Racing 123, 6 Eurotech Racing 116.