Thompson hoping for home win

The taxing Croft circuit is hosting rounds 13 and 14 of this year's series, and a bumper crowd is expected to cheer on the Honda hero as he tackles the 2.13-mile circuit.

Thompson will be hoping to repeat his race-winning performance of last year and add to his two wins of 1999, the most recent being at Donington nearly two weeks ago.

'It was great to get back to winning ways,' said Thompson. 'Croft is my home circuit and one where I really enjoy racing.

'I won there last year and I would love to do so again. I am very confident we can go well.'

Leading the championship is Nissan's Laurent Aiello.

Having won six of the first 10 rounds, the Frenchman had a disappointing meeting at Donington, despite taking second in the Feature race.

'We had problems with understeer all weekend,' said Aiello. 'We need to sort that out before Croft, because if not the others will get even closer.

'I want to score as many points as possible to maintain my lead at the top of my table.'

Aiello's team-mate David Leslie still has his sights set on this year's title, after a Donington win took him to third in the championship.

He said, 'The season is not even at half-distance yet. There is plenty of time to close the gap to Laurent [Aiello] and I will be aiming to do just that.'

Current champion Rickard Rydell has struggled with an under-performing Volvo this year.

The Swede won at Croft last year and holds the best qualifying record of any driver this season.

Having topped the test session at Snetterton recently, hopes are high for a similar performance at this weekend's meeting.

Vauxhall's pilots Yvan Muller and John Cleland have shown excellent race pace this season, but have struggled in qualifying.

BTCC veteran Cleland said, 'We just need to get a decent grid position to start with.

'It's great to overtake people, but it would be better to be out in front showing what we can do.'

Renault star Jason Plato lies fourth in the championship, and is starting to emerge as a serious contender to Aiello.

'We have made good progress in testing,' said the ex-Renault Spider ace.

'We showed at Donington that we are back up among the front-runners, so hopefully we can maintain that improvement at Croft.'

Ford's Alain Menu and Anthony Reid have also shown potential this season.

Last year's runner-up Reid, said, 'Croft is one of my favourite circuits. It is almost purpose built for the front-wheel-drive touring cars, unlike most of the other circuits we race on.

'I finished second and third there last year, and I'd be happy to repeat that next weekend.'

In the battle for the Michelin Cup, Matt Neal holds the advantage over his Independent rivals, with a victory and three further podium finishes.

He currently holds fifth place in the overall standings.

His nearest rival is Mark Blair in the ADR-run Vauxhall Vectra.