How an interview can change an opinion, guess he's in race mode at weekends but here, just chilled and chatting, a totally different guy. He's not up himself, real fun, like these interviews.

That period of Matt constantly on the verge of being the first privateer race winner was a golden age of BTCC, great times.

So wanted it to be longer!!!!! More details, more dirt, more inside knowledge and then the penny drops........ Plato next 😁. Great stuff keep it up.

Jonny, you have smashed 2020 and are now pretty much the best car-related KZfaqr. If I handed out KZfaq awards, I would present you with the golden exhaust pipe.

Another excellent video, loved the JP solo, it's just two mates chewing the fat, no egos, excellent! John Cleland for a future episode please?

Matt Neal... the most successful privateer in btcc history. Legend and a truley decent chap.

Great interview. I remember a poster Matt’s pit was giving out in the 90s; Matt with a cheeky smile on his face, polishing the PVC shorts of a Max Power girl with a cloth. Different times indeed.

Couldn't think of s nicer way to round out the year, well done Johnny for lining this up 👍

Matt Neal is a Proper Character .... His Tiffs with JP = 'Legendary' !! :-)

More interviews please. You are very, very good at it. By the way did I say, your are a very, very good interviewer

Jonny keep doing idol chats with car folks from the world over. You are moving in exactly the right direction. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Loving this channel more and more every video. Jonny's amazing access to the most interesting people in the car world along with his skill in interviewing make this the best car channel on KZfaq.

Loved the Max Power photos. Olivia on the roof with a bucket of water. Neither of them wanting to admit that they knew much about it at all. Great interview.

Jonno! Pulled it out of the bag again! I knew nothing of Matt Neal but I avidly watched him and Plato fight it out over the years (Yes, I was a 'Potato' fan). Mesmerized for the whole video and disappointed when it ended.

Just watched both chats with Matt and Jason + the two together. Please do more of these Jonny.

Was always Team Plato but a really nice snapshot of Matt away from racing. Top bloke, great series Jonny 👍🏻

Didn't know his back story, interesting person and humble as well.

Hi Jonny, I loved this video with Matt, It was brilliant and could listen to this type of chat for hours. More please. 👍 Big Thumbs up Thanks

Have always been a Plato fan..... but big respect for Mat after this and the one with Plato. Excellent Johnny

Really enjoyed this Matt neal is great and please do something with him and Jason love those guys

Loved this. Love BTCC. More please. Collard. Sheddon. Sutton. They would be good interviews. Thanks Jonny.

I remember meeting Matt and the guys from Rimstock at The Ford Fair at Blenheim palace in the mid 90s. Such a nice guy. I went to a lot of the Touring car meets and was at Silverstone sat at the end of the start finish straight and saw the barrel roll from behind. My favourite era of racing.

He's always had my support since the Max Power Primera days. I still lust after that shape Primera GT because of that car. I didn't realise he was into MX too. Top guy.

Enjoying Jonny 'Parkinson of motoring' Smith sitting opposite unique people of the car world. Fascinating to watch, every one of them 👌

Excellent. What an insight into a modern legend of a driver. Thank you!

What a nice guy, Matt Neal that is.

I've only just started watching this Matt has always been one of my all time favourites

Next guest - BTCC GOAT Jason Plato ;-)

Great insight into Matt Neal's world. So very humble and understated.

So many memories for me in this video.. and I'm sure many others growing up as a petrol head through the 90's/Early 00's! Top Work Jonny ;)

What a great guy, completely chilled and a great story teller

Love all the pics Matt pulled out. A man like myself; notes and pics documenting a lifes history 👍 great interview again 👏

Another great video Jonny, what a lovely guy Matt Neal is, real gent. Keep'um coming....!!

Keep it up.... It is so good to watch and hear the BTCC legends... I'am a big fan of the Touring Car racing and I think that you also have to do some garage/workshop tours... But keep up the good work

That was a fantastic little chat with Matt Neal more please

Loved both interviews with Matt Neal and Jason Plato. Took me right back to my early twenties where in post Apartheid SA, we could view the BTCC on our pay TV channel. Our own SATouring Car series eventually used those same Primeras in BP green, yellow and white colours. Before that they used a Nissan Sentra (Sunny/Pulsar in the UK) with the Primera engine. They were amazing to watch going around Kyalami. I still watch watch some of the old races from the late 90s to 2000s. Thanks so much for the great interview.

Great stuff Jonny. As someone approaching 50 I remember the glory days of BTCC and Max Power. Love the trip down memory lane. Love your content and channel. More please guvnor!

Brilliant interview. Love the fact that his first car was a Fiesta 950 Popular Plus as I had the same in the same colour lol. The BTCC is a fantastic championship. Hadn't realised he had done it for so long. Brilliant Jonny really enjoying your new channel ☺️

Love this type of interviews. It’s great to see legendary drivers talking honestly and truthfully about their rise to excellence. Keep them coming. Cough Seb Loeb cough!

Great guy, met him at Auto Sport when I was 14 and led me to want to go into Motorsport and Automotive industry

I'm just catching up on your channel Jonny & this vid was brilliant !!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS from Mark in Ohio !!!

I'm a bit of an anorak not tin tops but but now the F1 has become boring I've actually started to watch touring cars and I've been invited to start moshling at touring car meetings it's refreshing it's like I've come back to real racing your channel will be passed on to many of my friends

Just brilliant Jonny. You need to get Tim Harvey and John Cleland on.

Hi Johnny I enjoyed watching the interviews with matt and also the two with JP as well. I had fond memories as my gaffer in the late 80's early 90's was best friends with matt and he raced the fiesta xr2i challenge car. Cadwell Park I was mechanic for my gaffer and matt was the with his R32 skyline. We all went into Skegness on the piss what a laugh matt is a great bloke and it was a pleasure to get pissed with him. Happy days.

Fantastic chat, loved the photos! Didn't feel like 30 minutes at all, flew by. Great episode, keep up the good work!

Another legend of the BTCC great watch hope there is a full video coming of him and Jason together 🙏

Jonny this interview and the one with Plato are bloody excellent wish they both could of been longer more chat about their old cars and more chat about the late 90s era of Btcc please keep more like this coming.👍

Wow, Jonny. What a guest!!! Truly superb!!! 👍👍👍

Really enjoy this one. Please do more of this type of interviews. They are amazing!

Please more!!!!!! Seriously, awesome video!!!Thank you very much Sir!!!

Yes, more of this. Just watched this and Jason Platos one back to back! Brilliant!!

Talking about Renault 5 turbos. I bought one many years ago from a pal who couldn't get insured. Had it for 3 years then sold it back to him. He still couldn't get insured so parked it behind his father's shed. A few years later we went to his sisters 21st and ended up back at their house. I asked what he done with the r5. He still had it. My heart broke when I went around the back of the shed to see a tree growing up through it. Only positive was I sold it back to him for more than I paid originally. Small money back then but if I had it today I'd be a happy man

I don’t know how I missed this, but Matt was always my favourite driver, purely biased by living near to Team Dynamics and Matt living round the corner from me 😂

Brilliant. Just Brilliant. Both Matt and Jason, what lovely guys. Top of the class for you Jonny.

I loved the bit where Mr Neal was talking about collecting autographs of F1 drivers. I’ve almost certainly got an autograph book kicking about somewhere with both his and Jason Plato’s signatures in from BTCC weekends at Thruxton in the 90s/00s.

The Parkinson of Petrol Power, awesome firewall-side chats Johnny. Well done and make us more like these 👍🏻

Funnily enough my father had a huge accident in the late 1950s . He was taken home from hospital and I was taken into the bedroom to see him. I was only four. It was pretty shocking and I can remember it like yesterday . Matt talks about his dads accident and it brings it all back.

Glade to see that someone else's dad used to put the kids in the boot of the car for race days. We when to the British super bikes when Norton were doing well. Me and my brother were in the boot for about an hour so we could get in for free. Anyway as my dad pulled up to the gate, there was a sign saying "kids go free". Hour in the boot for nothing😁. I have sured this video with him.

These episodes are amazing. Just wish they where longer hahaha! If you make them 3 hours long id watch them. Amazing!

Brilliant interview. I was lucky to have met / interviewed Matt a few times around the first championship win years and it's no surprise to see how well he comes across here. A genuinely nice bloke who makes time for motorsport fans. He's a big fan of other drivers too!

I first found out about Matt Neal through reading Max Power in the 90s. Then I remember watching that race when he got his first independent win. To this day it's the greatest most exciting motorsport race that I've seen. Glad that he's still going.

Gotta say, seeing Matt like this is so good. I've met him a number of times at BTCC and he's always been lovely to chat to. Silly story, but attaches itself to Matt talking about being superstitious. In Oct 2011 at Silverstone we were there for the weekend and walking through the pits we saw a chap washing Matts wheels before quali, and he invited my 5 year old son to wash them with him (which he loved doing). Matt got pole for the Sunday. On Sunday we were walking by the pits again, and the lovely chap saw my boy and asked him to wait for him, and he ran off into the garage. He came back out and asked my son if he'd like to sit in Matt's car to bring him luck for the race. Matt was there to take pics of with my boy as well. I guess him washing his wheels was seen as a good luck charm :) Such a great memory for us both :)

This is a great mini series of interviews, and something different. Jason and Matt, two of the greats of the last 20 or so years.

matt was the driver who got me interested in btcc

My BTCC hero. Thanks so much for that little bit of entertainment. It can’t be easy for you to just arrange to meet with legends, but it’s so worth it when you do. More interviews with drivers and designers please. Great show.

Brilliant inter yet again Mr Smith….Neal v Plato or Plato v Neal(let’s not be bias here) Loved & still ❤ British Touring Cars…& these 2 legENDS 🎊..⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✌🏻

I am full of admiration towards Matt. I think he would have succeeded in anything where he would have put his heart. Talent is nothing without hard work IMO.

Who can seriously dislike this or any video like this!? Again, Jonny you've done an awesome job of putting these videos together, I've watched this one after the Plato interview and after the 2 part Plato and Neal interview and just can't get enough of it! If I can add a few more names to the comment I left on the part 2 Plato and Neal interview video they would be, Rickard Rydell, Frank Biela, Jo Winkelhock and possibly Derek Warwick.. I'm sure there's more great names I've temporarily forgotten to mention but you should get where I'm coming from! 😁

06:40 - I always loved the mk1 Espace when it was new and I was a kid. Looked like a space ship to me.

Been waiting to watch these since they came out at Christmas! Changed my opinion of Matt - can’t wait for Plato’s now!

Loved this episode , would to see more like this Johnny. First time I remember seeing Matt Neal was in the pits at brands hatch when we was carrying the spare parts for Martin Bell's touring car BMW 3 series

So good to watch this. I was lucky enough to know Matt and his father Steve back in the early 90’s. Matt is such a good guy. Its exciting to see his sons starting their own races careers. Matt’s enthusiasm for bikes got me started! One day all the lads attended a 4 hour kart racing event at Rye house in Hertfordshire. Matt singlehandedly led our chaotic team to a win, despite the fact it was pissing with rain and we were the only team on slicks !

More interviews like this please! Excellent!

Thank you for this. Matt Neal is one of my heroes and I have followed his career from the first race of his BTCC chapter. Of course everyone of my age will always remember his first win as an independent, but he has had many more great moments over the years. I am proud to say that I have every BTCC race from 1988-2019 on either tape or DVD so I can honestly say I have been a big fan for years.Thanks again & have a great christmas.

Brilliant - could listen to Matt all day - proper proper racer - hard as nails 👍🏻 amazing again Jonny

Okay, I had no idea he'd raced a Group A Skyline. That's cool as hell! I know one won the 1991 Spa 24h but you don't really hear about them racing in the western hemisphere. // Update: Oh hang on, *Group N* (just "class A" within the championship he entered). So more closely production-based than the full 600hp firebreather in JTCC. But still!

Reminds me of my old Grandfather, the Captain (land army captain from WW2). He had a ton of old cars stacked up in the drive. As he got older didn''t have the energy to work on them so his driveway was like a broken down version of Beaulieu, with old beaten up Triumphs and Morris Minors.

All of the Idol Chat's have been exceptional. There is something about the informality of a KZfaq video and the lack of the usual media full stops and pauses like adverts that let the interview evolve which helps them be so engaging. They are so good to watch, but also Jonny, your interview style, letting people talk without interruption, the pre-interview research which is evident from the incisive and explorative questions all mean you put people at ease and tease out fantastic nuggets of information. That's some skillset!

This is absolutely top notch interviewing. Relaxed style, great connection with interviewee, excellent background knowledge, balance of light and serious ... more of this please!

Excellent episode, thanks Jonny & Matt

The 90s touring cars were just the best!

Loved this mini-series with Matt and Jason. These chats with significant figures in Motorsport and the motor industry are great. Looking forward to who else you get to interview in future.

I watched this and the Plato chat back to back. Superb insights into their experience of life and career. I remember the early 90’s all too well! Thanks Jonny, more idol chats please :)

Finally uploaded past 98%! Great chat, really enjoyed it. Thanks both.

Johnny Smith, great show! These guys really got my eyes open to cars! BTTC in the 90s so great. Fantastic interview and great show

More like this please Jonny - Class act!

More episodes like this please. Great stories and cars.

Another fab interview, many thanks!

Another superb interview. Thanks 👍🏼

Fantastic Jonny...that was brilliant.

Yes Jonny! Great content! I grew up watching the Touring Cars in the 90’s and the Max Power era. Great times remembered with this and the Plato content. Great stuff 👍👍👍 Thank you and Merry Christmas.

Loved this series, great to see the personalities come through. More please Jonny!

More interviews with btcc drivers please These are fantastic so far👍🏻

Loved this, Jonny. I didn't realise Matt and I would have been in the same year at school. It's fantastic that he and Jason still compete in BTCC - long may the continue.

Brilliant....just watched all your latest vids! Really enjoyable, funny and spot on! More of these please..great stuff!

Thank you jonny for bringing such great content .

This channel keeps getting better. Keep up the good work

I thought this felt like a part 1 of 2. Can't wait for the Plato / Neal video.

Yes. More content like this please. You should have got Matt to show you round the Rimstock factory.

Now we see why Matt was so willing to race RVs and people carriers with Richard Hammond on Top Gear, given his Espace ownership!