From its earliest guise as Rimstock Racing – fielding BMW M3s and 318s – to the latest works Honda, Yuasa-backed outfit we know today, Team Dynamics has a 20-odd year history in the British Touring Car Championship.

They were founded by Steve Neal in 1992 and, when joined by his son Matt for their debut season after he had made his BTCC debut the season previous, quickly established themselves as one of the leading Independent outfits. The Indy Drivers’ title for Neal came in four of the next seven seasons – 1993 (BMW 318), 1995 (Ford Mondeo) having skipped the previous year, 1999 and 2000 (both Nissan Primeras). This included Neal’s outright race win at Donington Park in ’99 – the first ever by a BTCC Independent entry.

In 1997, they started with the Mondeo which they had run since ’95 but switched to the Primera at the halfway stage. They flirted with multi-car lineups a couple of times in the nineties, Ray Bellm, Andy Wallace and Alex Portman joining Neal in ’93 and former champion Robb Gravett coming on board for the ’96 season.

Their first outright BTCC title came in 2005 – again via Neal – when the Team Halfords-liviered (but Dynamics-run) Honda Integra Type-Rs proved superior, and the team – aided by Dan Eaves’ third overall and second in the Indy points – scooped up the Independent Teams’ Championship award too. They repeated the feat in 2006, with Gordon Shedden joining the team and finishing fourth overall.

By Dynamics’ standard, a ‘lean’ period followed. With the BTC-spec cars no longer allowed, a switch to the Civic proved initially unsuccessful and a Fabrizio Giovanardi-led VX Racing took their crown. Neal departed for the Vauxhall squad for the 2008 and 2009 season, while Dynamics placed third and fifth in the Teams’ standings. This time included a Civic for Shedden – the team’s only real regular driver – and also saw them field James Thompson and Johnny Herbert at times during the 2009 season.

Since 2010, Dynamics have been the works Honda team, winning a trio of Manufacturer’s titles on the spin. Their first year as a manufacturer effort saw Neal and Shedden finish second and third. They also supplied the Drivers’ Title-winning cars for the past two seasons – Neal and Gordon Shedden finishing top of the pile in 2011 and 2012. The team’s development of the Civic has seen it transform from a frontrunner to a pacesetter – a monopoly the 2012 titles an example of this.

TEAM DYNAMICS BTCC HISTORY

# Driver Specification Car Pos. Pts.
1992 – Rimstock Racing
12 Matt Neal  Supertouring BMW M3 16 5
BMW 318is
1993 – Rimstock Racing
11 Ray Bellm   Supertouring BMW 318is 29 0
Andy Wallace BMW 318is 28 0
13 Matt Neal BMW 318is 20 3
88 BMW 318i
27 Alex Portman BMW 318is 25 1
1995 – Team Dynamics
77 Matt Neal  Supertouring Ford Mondeo Ghia 21 12
Teams Championship 11 12
1996 – Team Dynamics
27 Robb Gravett  Supertouring Ford Mondeo Si 24 0
Privateers Championship 4 103
77 Matt Neal Ford Mondeo Si 22 1
Privateers Championship 3 155
Teams Championship 12 1
1997 – Team Dynamics
77 Matt Neal  Supertouring Ford Mondeo 21 0
Nissan Primera eGT
Privateers’ Championship 5 166
Teams Championship 12 0
1998 – Team Dynamics Max Power
77 Matt Neal  Supertouring Nissan Primera GT 13 35
Michelin Cup for Independents 3 121
Teams Championship 8 24
1999 – Max Power Racing Team Dynamics
77 Matt Neal  Supertouring Nissan Primera GT 9 109
Michelin Cup for Independents 1 353
Teams Championship 6 55
2000 – Team Dynamics Max Power Racing
9 Matt Neal BTC-spec Nissan Primera GT ’00 8 129
Nissan Primera GT ’98
Independents Championship 1 348
Touring Teams Championship 4 47
2003 – Team Dynamics
45 Gareth Howell BTC-spec Vauxhall Astra Coupé 16 14
Independents Cup 6 80
Touring Teams Championship (-5 Penalty Points) 9 9
2004 – Computeach Racing with Halfords
3 Matt Neal BTC-T Honda Civic Type-R 5 181
Independents Championship 4 253
4 Dan Eaves Honda Civic Type-R 8 148
Independents Championship 3 254
Teams Championship (-20 Penalty Points) 4 303
2005 – Team Halfords
5 Matt Neal BTC-T Honda Integra Type-R 1 316
Independents Trophy 1 367
8 Dan Eaves Honda Integra Type-R 3 269
Independents Trophy 2 313
25 Gareth Howell Honda Integra Type-R 12 54
Independents Trophy 9 67
Teams Championship 1 573
Independent Teams Championship 1 725
2006 – Team Halfords
1 Matt Neal BTC-T Honda Integra Type-R 1 289
Independents Trophy 1 337
25 Gareth Howell Honda Integra Type-R 11 80
Independents Trophy 9 97
52 Gordon Shedden Honda Integra Type-R 4 204
Independents Trophy 3 233
Teams Championship 1 512
Independent Teams Championship 1 622
2007 – Team Halfords*
1 Matt Neal S2000 Honda Civic 4 195
52 Gordon Shedden Honda Civic 3 200
Teams Championship (-50 Penalty Points) 3 345
2008 – Team Halfords*
9 Tom Chilton S2000 Honda Civic 10 107
52 Gordon Shedden Honda Civic 7 144
Teams Championship (-20 Penalty Points) 3 231
2009 – Team Dynamics
35 James Thompson S2000 Honda Civic 9 114
Independents Trophy 7 144
45 Johnny Herbert Honda Civic 19 8
Independents Trophy 17 14
52 Gordon Shedden Honda Civic 14 34
Independents Trophy 12 48
55 David Pinkney Honda Civic 18 10
Independents Trophy 13 33
Manufacturers Championship 2 429
Independents Teams Trophy 5 149
2010 – Honda Racing Team
4 Matt Neal S2000 Honda Civic 2 229
52 Gordon Shedden Honda Civic 3 218
Manufacturers Championship 1 546
2011 – Honda Racing Team
2 Matt Neal S2000 Chassis
with NGTC Engine
Honda Civic 1 257
52 Gordon Shedden Honda Civic 2 249
Manufacturers Championship (-10 Penalty Points) 1 621
2012 – Honda Yuasa Racing Team
1 Matt Neal NGTC Honda Civic 2 387
52 Gordon Shedden Honda Civic 1 408
Manufacturers Championship (-30 Penalty Points) 1 902
2013 – Honda Yuasa Racing Team
1 Gordon Shedden NGTC Honda Civic
2** Matt Neal Honda Civic
Manufacturers Championship

* 2008 Team Halfords were neither a works or an independent entry.
** Donington Park Neal used car number 500 as it was his 500th BTCC race.

Profile by Scott Mitchell