Former champion expects competitive Brands outing.

Double HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship title winner Matt Neal has admitted that he expects to be on the pace when the new season kicks off this weekend at Brands Hatch.

Neal moves away from the family run Team Halfords outfit for the 50th anniversary season to take on a new challenge as part of a three-driver line-up at defending champions Vauxhall, running alongside the man who took his BTCC crown last season Fabrizio Giovanardi and second-year driver Tom Onslow-Cole.

Testing at Rockingham and Brands Hatch saw Neal - title winner in both 2005 and 2006 - inside the top ten in what looks set to be a tightly-knit field for the season ahead and admitted he was looking forward to a competitive start in his new surroundings.

"Brands Hatch is a great track," he said. "Even though it's short it's exciting to race there. The trickiest section is Clearways because you carry so much speed through but it's great fun.

"Testing has shown that the Vectra VXR is a very good car and I'm confident we will be competitive right from the start."