Silverstone round 12: Feature Race report

The Frenchman took his mandatory pit-stop early on lap six, while running third behind the Ford Mondeos Rickard Rydell - who had led the field away from his pole position - and second-placed Anthony Reid, and then pushed hard on his new set of tyres.

After being a second behind Rydell on lap six, he emerged two seconds in front when the Swede took his stop on lap nine. Muller had already got ahead of Reid who took his stop on lap eight.

Although Honda's Tom Kristensen took over the lead at this point, the Danish star still had to make his pit-stop. When he did, on lap 12, Muller hit the front and never looked back.

Rydell held on to second position, but Reid dropped back to fourth after his pit-stop behind the third Ford Mondeo of Alain Menu. The Swiss driver was only a few tenths of a second ahead, however, and Reid pushed his team-mate hard throughout the race despite having to deal with a challenge from fifth placed driver, Honda's Gabriele Tarquini.

That battle was ended when Tarquini dived past Reid on lap 24 after the Scot outbraked himself going into a corner.

Reid was then the unlucky broadside recipient of a spinning Vauxhall Vectra which knocked his Mondeo into retirement. Vauxhall's Vincent Radermecker, who was running eighth, and Honda's James Thompson, one place ahead, were involved in a coming together which resulted in the Belgian spinning out. The damage to the rear end of his Vectra, after he hit the side of Reid's car backwards, put him out of the race.

Tarquini then moved into third place with two laps to go, overtaking Menu's slowing Mondeo. The Italian believed Menu, the 1997 BTCC Champion, moved to one side to avoid finishing on the podium and receiving success ballast for the next rounds.

But the Swiss star ended up finishing third after all when the stewards excluded Rydell from the results for a technical ineligibility on his Mondeo found in a post-race check.

Thompson came home behind Menu with Vauxhall's Jason Plato, who had earlier spun off the circuit after a coming together with Class B winner Alan Morrison's Peugeot, one place further back.

Kristensen, who dropped to ninth after his pit-stop, finished seventh on the road and moved to sixth with the stewards' decision.

Scotland's Colin Blair won the Michelin Cup for Independents division, despite running for 28 laps with his PRO Motorsport Nissan Primera stuck in fourth gear. His main rival for the Independents title Matt Neal, in a similar Primera, retired on lap 10 with a blown engine.

Morrison took the Class B honours after storming through the field from the back of the grid for the second time today. His Touring Car VIP Club Peugeot went ahead on lap seven after Barwell Motorsport's James Kaye (Honda Accord) had led from the start.

Class B pole-sitter Will Hoy did not complete a single lap after his Peugeot's clutch let him down at the start.

Muller: "I'm very happy with this result. It puts me right back in the championship. We made an early pit-stop and I just pushed hard on the new tyres to get ahead of the Fords and it worked. I am quite happy with the balance of my car now and I hope to keep it like this. The championship is still wide open and for sure anything can happen."

Tarquini: "I think Alain gave me the third place on the track. He was so slow on the straight and on the outside of the track he didn't try to stop me. He lost some points but he won't have 20kg of ballast for Croft, that is why I think he did this. I tried very hard all through the race and I am very happy to be here in third."

Blair: "I didn't expect to be here at all. My gearbox got stuck in fourth on the second lap. I was going to come in and stop but then I saw Matt had parked his car so I decided to keep going. I had to do 28 laps in fourth gear but at least I learned the circuit for next time."

Morrison: "It's great to get another win. The Peugeot is working absolutely fantastic. I am just delighted to be part of the team and to get the opportunity to show I can drive as well as the car can perform."

Round 12 results
1 Yvan Muller Vauxhall Vectra 43min 11.302sec
2 Gabriele Tarquini Honda Accord +8.916s
3 Alain Menu Ford Mondeo +10.126s
4 James Thompson Honda Accord +11.133s
5 Jason Plato Vauxhall Vectra +41.260s
6 Tom Kristensen Honda Accord +1:14.975s
7 Alan Morrison** Peugeot 306 GTi +2 Laps
8 James Kaye** Nissan Primera GT +2 Laps
9 Mark Lemmer** Honda Accord +2 Laps
10 Colin Blair* Nissan Primera GT +3 Laps
11 Nick James** Honda Integra R +3 Laps

Michelin Cup for Independents winner: Colin Blair
Class B winner: Alan Morrison
Fastest lap: Yvan Muller Vauxhall Vectra 1m24.448s

NOT CLASSIFIED Rickard Rydell Ford Mondeo (Excluded); Vincent Radermecker Vauxhall Vectra (Accident); Anthony Reid Ford Mondeo (Accident); Robert Collard** Nissan Primera (Blown engine); Matt Neal* Peugeot 306 GTi (Blown engine); Will Hoy Peugeot 306 GTi (Clutch)
*= Michelin Cup for Independents runner
**= Class B runner