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Teams rack up the miles at Rockingham

By MJP Media | 10 March 2016

Honda Yuasa Racing's Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden were testing at Rockingham today along with Simpson Race Exhausts' Matt Simpson and Handy Motorsport's Rob Austin.

Matt Simpson with his Simpson Race Exhausts Honda Civic

As the pre-season fever surrounding the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship hots up, Honda Yuasa Racing together with Simpson Race Exhausts and Handy Motorsport headed to Rockingham in an attempt to steal a march on their rivals ahead of the big season launch at Donington Park on the 22nd of this month.

After yesterday's cold and wet conditions at Oulton Park it was a pleasant surprise to find Rockingham marginally warmer and significantly dryer today. In collaboration with Speedworks Motorsport, Simpson Race Exhausts' Matt Simpson and Handy Motorsport's Rob Austin, who were out in the rain yesterday, were at Rockingham today with Matt racking up the miles and looking more and more at home in the Honda Civic Type R.

Matt Neal's Honda Yuasa Racing Civic being setup in the garage

Luck deserted Rob Austin early on in the Handy Motorsport Toyota Avensis as he was forced to retire the car with a fuel pump issue after only an hour at the circuit. The session was red flagged as Austin's stricken car was recovered to the garage where the problem was immediately found.

Meanwhile, both Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal were collecting lots of data from the new cars and they certainly looked good as they put plenty of track time to good use. Fans are still left hanging on the 2016 colour scheme for the Honda Yuasa Racing cars as they continued running one car in a light camouflage look and the other in a straight matt black finish.

Gordon Shedden out on track in his un-liveried Honda Yuasa Racing Civic

The only exclusive news that we can bring you from the Honda Yuasa Racing team is that both Matt and Gordon have road-going Honda Civic Type Rs and have chosen to decorate their gear levers in what Gordon described as 'appropriate fashion'. In reality this means that Gordon's gear lever is adorned with a rather fetching red and white knitted bobble hat, whilst Matt has chosen a rather different approach and finds himself changing gear via a highly unusual pink sock!

More testing action will follow next week but if there is any more fashion news from the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship we will of course bring it to you immediately.

Touring Car content supplied by MJP Media