Eoin Murray believes podium finishes are a possibility at Brands Hatch this weekend when he and his Quest Racing team return to Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship action in their Alfa Romeo.

Irishman Murray missed Knockhill’s most recent rounds because his Italian machine suffered extensive damage at Snetterton a fortnight earlier.

But the 23-year-old, a revelation in his first few BTCC outings, believes he can be a challenger for top three results at Brands. In addition, his car will be free of the ballast it has had to carry in its first three meetings as penalty for starting the season late.

Murray told BTCC.net: “The car is 100 per cent again so hopefully its performance will be very good, just as we saw at Croft and Donington Park. The Brands circuit is very fast and flowing and that tends to suit the Alfa.

“Like everywhere we go, Brands will be a bit of an unkown for the team in terms of set-up, but we’re getting to grips more and more with every meeting on which direction to go with the car.

“I think it’d need something strange to happen for a win to come our way, but a podium is definitely on. My goal is to qualify in the top six and stay there in the races.”

Murray watched the Knockhill action just over two weeks ago on television back home in Ireland. What he saw left a bitter-sweet taste in his mouth.

He added: “It was agonising not being there racing, but when I saw how much damage there was then maybe Snetterton was a blessing in disguise.

"Perhaps I could have avoided all the accidents and ended up with a pile of points, but then again I could have been one of those caught up in everything and the damage would meant my season was over.

“We’re running on a tight budget and as a result I’ve actually been driving fairly cautiously to try and keep out of trouble, but everyone in the team is doing a great job with what we’ve got. Provided the car remains undamaged then I think we’ll have a very strong finish to the season.”