Team-mate battles / Other comparisons 2012

There's some interesting line-ups this year with a couple of reputation on the line.

Honda Neal v Shedden

New car to both drivers, no differences in experience, hopefully Honda will allow them to race equally. I still feel Shedden is the quickest driver of the two, and hope he'll be able to put a solid run together this year. Last season Shedden suffered more than his share of bad luck (mech failure at Brands, turbo exclusion at Donny) and arguably should have been champion.

This year I'm going for Shedden to come out on top, and not only that, be series champion as well.

Motorbase Jackson v Smith

So Jackson back in the Ford, no changes from last year, tipped by many to be a strong contender for outright honours this year. Griffin last year was no comparison, but this year I expect Aron Smith to get a lot closer. I can't help feel they are in danger of being blown away by the full NGTCs in the 2nd half of the year.

WSR Collard v Onslow-Cole (v Foster?)

Really interesting one IMO, I rate Collard and Onslow-Cole about equal, both solid drivers, but neither really top drivers. I find it really hard to predict which way this will go, but I've got a feeling it might just be Collard who comes out on top due to his long experience in the 320SI. It will be interesting to see how close Foster can get to Rob and Tom given his form last season - I wouldn't be too surprised to see him not too far adrift.

Toyota Wrathall v Morgan

Frank clearly impressed last year, but with no real competitor to draw comparisons with it was hard to judge just how good he was. Adam Morgan should be a lot stiffer competition this season, and it'll be interesting to see how they compare. It will also be interesting to see how they shape up compared to the Austin Audi this season, which appeared to be on their pace by the end of the season, if not marginally faster.

ES Newsham v James (v Wood/Binz)

I expect Dave to blow Chris James out of the water, by several seconds a lap if I'm honest. The more interesting comparison will be against Lea Wood, but I think that Dave will have the upper hand over the season.

Other comparisons are rather obvious, such as:

Plato v Neate. If Neate outscores Plato across the season with Jason having competed at all the events then I will do a naked lap round the Brands GP circuit. I am that confident on this one!

Jordan v Smith. Not quite as confident here, but I still expect Jordan will have a significant edge over Smith, and probably outscore him at least 2-1.

Plato will be undisputed team leader, as with McDowall. I think, however, that Neal will beat Shedden again. Neal is a smart fellow.

Don't want to sound like a party pooper but Wrathall and Morgan aren't team mates. Morgan is racing for Speedworks and will be partnering Hughes.

I think this season could be our closest yet while Honda get up to speed with their new car

I know that.... hence why it was "Team-mate battles / Other comparisons"

No disrespect intended to Andy Neate, but I can't help wondering why Triple 8 didn't go for 2 top-line drivers, as they've done when they've run works cars in the past? Especially when you've got people like Turkington, Giovanardi and Thompson without full time drives. If the MG is as good as it looks, surely they would want 2 potential champions in the car - is it just a budget issue?

Of course it's budget. There's absolutely no chance any team would employ Andy for his driving.

I was curious to see what you would say about Plato and Neate. Judging by the weekend performance you will not need to be running round butt naked at Brands in the Autumn. I was hugely disapointed in Neate's lack of performance compared to JP's.

Sheddan car not working properly at the first event. Well you have to make sure the son gets the point lead early on so he can be team leader when it comes to crunch time at the end of the season....I jest ofcourse.