Eoin Murray hopes to make another step forward after a strong performance in the last round of the championship at Snetterton as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship resumes this weekend at Brands Hatch in Kent for round eight of the 10 round championship. As the fight hots up at top of the championship between Jason Plato and Fabrizio Giovanardi a huge crowd is expected at the 1.2 mile Indy circuit. Brands Hatch is one of the best circuits for spectators as they can view most of the track which always provides close racing.

With the racing being so close and not many overtaking opportunities Eoin knows qualifying will be the key for good race results. Eoin comments “Brands is always very close racing so we need to be at the top of our game to make sure we have a good grid position for the first race Sunday morning. I hope we can work on a perfect setup during the first two free practice sessions and then it’s up to me to delivery the perfect lap during qualifying”. The Alfa Romeo will have a new sponsor for this weekend, Gordon Kellett Motors a main Saab dealer in Dublin. Without the support of such Irish companies racing would not be possible.

Murray believes more points-scoring performances are in the offing at Brands Hatch after his Quest Racing team made a breakthrough in reliability with his Alfa Romeo 156 at Snetterton. Murray’s car has been plagued by mechanical problems throughout 2007, although when it has run cleanly the Irishman has proved rapid – a fact borne out by his strong seventh-place result at Snetterton three weeks ago.

Notably, he failed to start Brands’ opening three rounds in April after crashing out of qualifying when part of his car’s suspension broke – the single lap he managed to complete before the breakage would have put him 12th on the 26-strong grid, just half a second from the pole position time.
 

Murray said: “I have to thank all my sponsors for their support because the first half of this season has been really difficult. I have a lot of sponsors and friends coming to Brands so I don’t want to disappoint. The team have sorted our reliability problems and, after our genuine front running pace at Snetterton, we are confident of another strong weekend.”

Tens of thousands from across the South-East region are expected to descend on the world-famous circuit near Dartford this weekend to see big names drivers such as Jason Plato, Fabrizio Giovanardi and Matt Neal go wheel-to-wheel. Brands Hatch will likely have a major bearing on who ultimately lifts the coveted BTCC Champion’s Trophy for there will be only two fixtures to go afterwards – Knockhill, Fife on 2 September and Thruxton, Hampshire on 14 October.

It was at Brands Hatch in April that this year’s BTCC started before the championship trail set off to entertain enormous crowds at circuits around the UK. Plato won two of the three rounds in his SEAT Leon and continues to lead the standings with a 14-point advantage over Vauxhall’s Italian ace Giovanardi. Reigning champion Neal, in his Team Halfords Honda, is a further 41 adrift. But with 15 points for a win and nine rounds – including Brands’ three – remaining, there is time yet for the title race to take a twist. In addition to the BTCC’s headlining latest three rounds at Brands Hatch on 19 August, there will be a further eight races from the high-profile supporting BMW, Porsche, Renault and SEAT championships.