VICTORY IN RAIN MOVES CLELAND INTO CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD


Thompson second Vauxhall Sport Take Teams' Championship lead
Vauxhall Sport driver John Cleland returned to the top of the
Auto Trader British Touring Car Championship after taking his
Mobil 1-backed Vauxhall Cavalier to a second and a victory in
the rain-affected rounds 11 and 12.

Young team-mate James Thompson retired early in round ii with
suspension damage but made amends by following Cleland home in
round 12, giving Vauxhall Sport the lead in the teams'
championship

The afternoon 5 races were interrupted by several red flags as
cars crashed out in the treacherous conditions.

Thompson started from second on the grid in both races, and
after making a better start than pole position man Alain Menu
in round Ii he tried to go around the outside at Druids
hairpin. "Menu lust understeered into me and broke my right
front wheel, giving me a puncture," explained 21-year old
Yorkshireman Thompson. "I then drifted wide at the next corner
and I was hit from behind, which broke the rear suspension."

All this action allowed Cleland into second place from fifth
place on the grid. As the rain worsened, Cleland fought off
the advances of the Volvo of Tim Harvey, but be succumbed on
lap nine, just as the red flags were brought out after Tim
Sugden hit the barriers and rolled after his windscreen had
steamed up.                        

With the positions for the restart based on the previous lap's
positions, Cleland re-started in second, and was able to hold
off Harvey and close on leader Alain Menu, setting fastest lap
on the way to second.

At the first attempt to start round 11, Thompson stormed into
the lead, ahead of Cleland, who started from third on the
grid. The red flags fluttered again on lap two after privateer
Nigel Smith spun his car to a halt in a dangerous position.

The re-start saw Alain Menu lead from pole position, but the
race was stopped once again after championship leader Rickard
Rydell inverted his car after the throttle stuck open.

After a stern verbal warning from the Clerk of the Course, the
drivers embarked on the fifth start of the day, which saw
Cleland rocket into the lead, ahead of Thompson. Despite
constant pressure from the Renaults of Menu and Will Hoy and
the Volvo of Tim Harvey, the pair completed the first one-two
for any team this season.

"The track conditions out there today were very, very)
slippery. It's unbelievably difficult to keep a 1000 kg car
with 300 bhp running on 9 inch tyres on the track," commented
the 42-year-old from Galashiels. "It's been a great day for me
much better than last time we were here, but there is a long
way to go, we're not even half way through the championship
yet. But it's nice to be at the front at the moment.'"

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS:
DRIVERS:1st; CLELAND 160 pts, 2nd: Menu 158, 3rd Rydell 147,
4th; Harvey 106, 5th; Radisich 96, 6th; THOMPSON 94

TEAMS:1st; VAUXHALL SPORT 254, 2nd: Volvo 850 Racing 252,
3rd: Williams Renault 188,

-- 
Stephen M Baines

 "[The Autosport sticker] started to peel off in the middle of Eau Rouge
 and it distracted me. In fact it was the first thing to hit the barrier"
    Tiff Needell - Jaguar XJR-15 Challenge - Interview with Autosport

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