Touring Cars: Muller joins Thompson at top of standings after Oulton double

Yvan Muller took two British Touring Car Championship wins at Oulton Park yesterday to draw level with James Thompson at the top of the points standings. The Honda driver, Dan Eaves, took his maiden series victory in the other race.

Yvan Muller took two British Touring Car Championship wins at Oulton Park yesterday to draw level with James Thompson at the top of the points standings. The Honda driver, Dan Eaves, took his maiden series victory in the other race.

Muller won the first, beating poleman Thompson away from the line and withstanding intense pressure from his Vauxhall team-mate. Matt Neal, in the independent Team Dynamics Honda, was third but had to play catch-up after a "horrible start" dropped him to fifth from his third place on the grid. But he worked his way past Rob Collard's Astra and then Colin Turkington's MG. "By then the other two had gone and they were too quick to catch," admitted Neal.

The dispute for 10th place, which gains pole for race two with the race one top 10 reversed, went to MG driver, Anthony Reid, despite a down-on-power engine.

Race two brought the win for Neal's team-mate Eaves. He beat poleman Reid - still not happy with his engine - to the first corner and never looked back, though he did worry when the safety car came out following a dramatic crash between Collard and SEAT's Rob Huff as they battled for fourth place. Neither was hurt, though each angrily blamed the other.

On the re-start Eaves sailed clear again, while Jason Plato, in the other SEAT, passed Reid for second. Reid fended off Neal to take third place. Muller was eighth but made a storming start to race three on a track liberally coated with oil by a replacement engine in Reid's MG.

Plato led early on, but dropped back and then retired as Muller went clear to win from Neal, Thompson and Collard.