Thompson's title hopes dented as MG dominate

The MG team took the top prizes in a brilliant pair of BTCC races here yesterday. Anthony Reid and Warren Hughes scored a one-two in the opening sprint race while Hughes won the feature race.

In the sprint, the pair made the most of their front-row starts to sail to victory as all sorts of chaos played out behind them. The title challenger Yvan Muller took third place after his team-mate James Thompson retired with suspension failure.

In the feature race, Hughes withstood pressure from Vauxhall driver Paul O'Neill to win. O'Neill eventually dropped back with gearbox problems and Honda's Alan Morrison took second from Tim Harvey in the Peugeot and O'Neill.

The title-chasing Vauxhall drivers Thompson, Matt Neal and Muller all had trouble. Thompson's was worst. Muller made a mistake while trying to defend his position from the Englishman and knocked both cars into the gravel. Although Muller recovered and finished sixth, Thompson was stuck where he stopped. Neal got involved in a huge dust-up and had to be content with eighth place.

Thompson still leads the title chase, but only by four points, with one meeting – two rounds – to go.

GREEN FLAG BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP (Brands Hatch) Round 17 (26 laps): 1 A Reid (GB) MG 26min 38.150sec; 2 W Hughes (GB) MG +0.230sec; 3 Y Muller (Fr) Vauxhall +1.604; 4 M Neal (GB) Vauxhall +2.218; 5 G Howell (GB) MG +3.091; 6 T Harvey (GB) Peugeot +4.059; 7 P Bennett (GB) Proton +4.242; 8 A Morrison (GB) Honda +4.689; 9 D Leslie (GB) Proton +4.834; 10 P O'Neill (GB) Vauxhall +5.328. Round 18 (45 laps): 1 Hugh es 41min 39.999sec; 2 Morrison +1.641sec; 3 Harvey +3.266; 4 O'Neill +5.881; 5 Reid +9.637; 6 Muller +9.980; 7 Priaulx +10.144; 8 Neal +12.038; 9 A Slight (NZ) Vauxhall +12.334; 10 Chilton +12.522; 11 Simon +1 lap; 12 Bennett +1 lap; 13 Kaye +1 lap; 14 Pyper +1 lap; 15 Marsh +1 lap; 16 C Turkington (GB) MG +1 lap; 17 J Edwards Jr (GB) Honda +1 lap; 18 Blencowe +1 lap; 19 D Allan (GB) Honda +1 lap; 20 Fullalove +1 lap; 21 D Eaves (GB) Peugeot +2 laps; 22 A Templeton (GB) Peugeot +3 laps. Dnf: Boardman; Howell; Saunders; J Thompson (GB) Vauxhall; Leslie; M Thomas (GB) Honda. Leading overall Championship Standings: Touring Drivers: 1 Thompson 161pts; 2 Muller 157; 3 Neal 135; 4 Reid 125; 5 Priaulx 99; 6 Hughes 93; 7 O'Neill 76; 8 Leslie 68; 9 Morrison 55; 10 Harvey 47. Production Drivers: 1 Kaye 186pts; 2 Simon 153; 3 Marsh 109; 4 Edwards 91; 5 Pyper 85. Manufacturers: 1 Vauxhall 435pts; 2 MG 291; 3 Honda 185; 4 Proton 132.