Sprint race: Muller wins for Vauxhall

It came at the expense of poleman Matt Neal whose victory hopes disappeared with a controversial drive-through penalty. Warren Hughes just clung on to second place, as James Thompson mounted a late-race challenge.

"It's all bullshit," seethed Neal, after fighting back to fourth place following the penalty, which was imposed for starting out of position. "They say I lined up too far to the left. There are five sets of white lines there and they are all worn out. I don't mind draconian penalties but they have got to be clear-cut."

Neal had led away from pole as fellow front row man Thompson fluffed his getaway with too much wheelspin. That put Muller second from Tim Harvey's fast-starting Peugeot. The works MGs were next, with Anthony Reid ahead of Hughes.

Reid nipped past Harvey at Cascades and Hughes followed through on the run-up to Island before the safety car was deployed because John B&Q had crashed at Hilltop. When the safety car pulled off, Neal led a lap before taking his penalty in the pits and starting a great comeback drive.

Hughes soon found a way around Reid to take second place, but Muller was already building a comfortable lead. Hughes spent most of the race pacing himself in second place, but it all came alive again in the closing laps. Muller had slowed after feeling a vibration - "but I wasn't sure if it was a vibraytion or in my mind," mused the Frenchman later. Whatever, that and encountering a Production-class car at Druids while yellow falgs were flying almost entirely wiped out his lead. At the same time, Thompson had closed right in on Hughes.

Muller just held on to win, while Thompson crawled all over the back of Hughes' car in the final few yards, but to no avail. "He gave me a little hit on the last corner but it wasn't a problem," said Hughes.

"The cheeky rascal!" countered Thompson. "I was trying to go round the outside and he drove me off on to the grass, which is fair enough - I'd have done the same."

Harvey had an eventful race before an alternator problem put him out. He had battled hard with Reid and later impressive new boy Colin Turkington in the Atomic Kitten MG. Turkington wound up clipping the Knickerbrook barrrier after going most of the way to outbraking the 1992 champion. He pitted to check the damage, then returned to lap quickly again.

Reid eventually took fifth place behind Neal, and Aaron Slight battled up to sixth place and first in the Indepenedents Cup, fighting past David Leslie's Proton in the closing stages. Leslie dropped another place on the run from Lodge to the flag as Andy Priaulx nipped past in the Honda.

James Kaye dominated the Production class in the Synchro Motorsport Honda Civic Type-R, once he had disposed of the fast-starting BMW of Norman Simon.

Yvan Muller Vauxhall Astra 31m13.725s
Warren Hughes MG ZS +0.856s
James Thompson Vauxhall Astra +1.347s
Matt Neal Vauxhall Astra +5.466s
Anthony Reid MG ZS +10.994s
Aaron Slight Vauxhall Astra +10.415s
Andy Priaulx Honda Civic Type-R +21.423s
David Leslie Proton Impian +21.451s
Gareth Howell MG ZS +24.832s
Alan Morrison Honda Civic Type-R +28.448s

James Kaye Honda Civic Type-R 32m27.790s
Mark Fullalove Peugeot 306 +8.074s
Alan Blencowe Alfa Romeo 156 +10.6s