Thompson praises team's progress

The Briton, who finished third in the championship for the team in an Alfa Romeo last season, was delighted to take the first win for the Honda Accord Euro R - also the first for any Japanese manufacturer in the WTCC - given that the project began just weeks before the season and the team had to sit out the first four races of the year until the car was ready.

He finished third in the first race at Imola on Sunday, before fighting his way to victory from sixth on the grid in race two.

"I want to thank everyone concerned with the whole programme," said Thompson. "To be here after having such a strong weekend is testament to having a fantastic team with such a strong belief in the project.

"The car was so fast this weekend that I always had it in the back of my mind that we could be on the podium. We had a really clean race and I was beaming like a Cheshire cat as I crossed the line.

He is hoping to add to yesterday's success in the remaining six races of the year.

"We've achieved so much and we now need to concentrate on the last third of the season," he added. "Monza plays well to the strengths of our car, so we'll be aiming to get on the podium once or twice more in the remainder of the season."

N.Technology team manager Andrea Muller added: "It's been a fantastic weekend. We were very fast and it shows how good the Honda really is. The team did a really good job and James drove a perfect race, I'm very happy.

"I hope for another good result at Monza as it is another fast track."