Qualifying: Thompson at the double

"It's good to be fastest and dishing it out," enthused Thompson after qualifying. "I thought I'd be up against it because of my problems in free practice - I didn't get a single trouble-free lap until qualifying started." Those problems were caused by a gearbox which swapped cogs on its own initiative, but they appeared to have been cured by a new 'box fitted before qualifying and he bagged the two pole points.

The man Thompson feared was Muller, but he ran into his own problems almost as soon as the green flag was waved. On his first flying lap he clouted the stack of tyres on the kerb at the chicane - placed there to keep cars off the kerb, but not according to Muller, and others, in the same place it had been in earlier. Bodywork and suspension damage was Muller's reward. "They should have a mark and always put them back in the same place," reasoned Muller, who had Matt Neal's subsequent close encounter with a different stack of tyres at Clervaux to thank for his chance to set a decent time. The tyres and gravel scattered by Neal brought out the red flag, and gave Muller's crew time to complete repairs in time for the final blast.

Before the red flag, it was Priaulx who led the way, but in the final seven minutes Thompson - also sporting minor body rips from tyre whacks - and Muller annexed the front row. In the second part of the session Thompson and Muller again leap-frogged Priaulx, but the Honda man was still delighted with his two third spots. "We can build on this and carry it forward for two good races tomorrow," he said.

Just as happy was the second Honda driver Alan Morrison who set fourth best time for both races. "I'm happy to be on the second row," he admitted. "It's a step in the right direction and I'm really looking forward to the races."

MG has fifth on the grid for both races, with Anthony Reid for round 11 and Warren Hughes for round 12. Neal will start sixth in both races, while a close group of MGs, Vauxhalls and Protons battled for the remaining top 10 slots with Dan Eaves' Peugeot.

In BTC Production regular quick men Gavin Pyper and James Kaye took a pole apiece in Alfa 156 and Honda Civic Type-R respectively, while the consistent Norman Simon was third twice. Kaye is still miffed and bemused by the personal permanent 30kg weight penalty, which has been imposed on him. "I could have been eating pies and drinking Tetleys all winter," he muttered.


1 James Thompson (Vauxhall Astra Coupe) 1m25.511s 89.54mph
2 Yvan Muller (Vauxhall Astra Coupe) 1m25.680s 89.37mph
3 Andy Priaulx (Honda Civic Type-R) 1m25.813s 89.23mph
4 Alan Morrison (Honda Civic Type-R) 1m25.928s 89.11mph
5 Anthony Reid (MG ZS) 1m26.027s 89.00mph
6 Matt Neal (Vauxhall Astra Coupe) 1m26.035s 89.00mph
7 Colin Turkington (MG ZS) 1m26.108s 88.92mph
8 Warren Hughes (MG ZS) 1m26.196s 88.83mph
9 Phil Bennett (Proton Impian) 1m26.530s 88.49mph
10 Dan Eaves (Peugeot 406 Coupe) 1m26.533s 88.48mph

BTC Production
1 James Kaye (Honda Civic Type-R) 1m30.450s 84.65mph
2 Gavin Pyper (Alfa Romeo 156) 1m30.824s 84.30mph
3 Norman Simon (BMW 320i) 1m31.558s 83.63mph


1 James Thompson (Vauxhall Astra Coupe) 1m25.267s 89.80mph
2 Yvan Muller (Vauxhall Astra Coupe) 1m25.339s 89.72mph
3 Andy Priaulx (Honda Civic Type-R) 1m25.432s 89.62mph
4 Alan Morrison (Honda Civic Type-R) 1m25.678s 89.37mph
5 Warren Hughes (MG ZS) 1m25.780s 89.26mph
6 Matt Neal (Vauxhall Astra Coupe) 1m25.860s 89.18mph
7 Anthony Reid (MG ZS) 1m26.016s 89.02mph
8 Dan Eaves (Peugeot 406 Coupe) 1m26.132s 88.90mph
9 Paul O'Neill (Vauxhall Astra Coupe) 1m26.166s 88.86mph
10 Aaron Slight (Vauxhall Astra Coupe) 1m26.176s 88.85mph

BTC Production
1 Gavin Pyper (Alfa Romeo 156) 1m30.108s 84.97mph
2 James Kaye (Honda Civic Type-R) 1m30.371s 84.73mph
3 Norman Simon (BMW 320i) 1m30.868s 84.26mph