Thruxton, 26 May 2003/…Yvan Muller completed a hat trick of consecutive wins for Vauxhall Racing in rounds five and six of the MSA Green Flag British Touring Car Championship, despite carrying maximum ballast, whilst Paul O'Neill also put in an exceptional performance that saw him celebrating twice on the podium with a brace of third place finishes. James Thompson drove a professional race with first class pit stops from the Vauxhall Racing team, but lacked the speed to stay with the front-runners in both races.

Race 1

Vauxhall Racing's Yvan Muller celebrated another win and Paul O'Neill enjoyed another third place finish, while James Thompson had to settle for fourth in the first race of the day at Thruxton circuit watched by a large bank holiday crowd.

Thompson lined up on the front row in second place, with Muller in fourth spot on the second row and O'Neill one row behind in fifth. As the green flag waved for the start, Muller was off the mark into second place, with Thompson taking third and O'Neill in fifth. A four-car incident in the middle of the pack on the opening lap caused a safety car period with the race re-starting on lap seven. Morrison took his jump-start drive-through penalty, which promoted O'Neill into fourth place with the VX Racing drivers holding these positions until the pit stops. Thompson was the first of the three VX Racing drivers to pit, with O'Neill stopping on the following lap and Muller the lap after.

Muller's pit stop proved critical to the final result, with the VX Racing crew giving Muller a pit stop around six seconds, a time which put him into the lead. Thompson's stop was quick enough to put him into second place, with O'Neill in fourth spot. Thompson struggled to keep Matt Neal behind him with success ballast working against the Yorkshireman, a factor that Neal worked to his advantage, with him finally passing Thompson at the end of lap 17 when Thompson's severe understeer resulted in a big slide. O'Neill also managed to slip through as Thompson ran wide, to put him into third. Meanwhile Muller worked hard to defend his first place, as the lighter car of Matt Neal challenged him in the closing laps, but the wily French man kept Neal at bay until the chequered flag.

Yvan Muller:

"It's an exceptional result because of the ballast we're carrying, but I had to work hard for it. During the safety car period I could feel that my gearshift wasn't working properly and I was still suffering understeer, but I didn't let that put me off. It was a tough race and I wanted to win - I was trying, but I knew that I mustn't try too hard. At the end I was aiming to keep Matt (Neal) two car lengths behind me, but I had to overtake a car in Goodwood which allowed him to close up. After that I just had to make myself as 'large' as possible until the end."

Paul O'Neill:

"I lost concentration slightly at the start, firstly with Morrison's jump start and then with the multi-car incident behind me. The safety car period let me collect myself and after it went green again I knew Morrison would go into the pits (to take his drive through penalty), so I started to work hard to close up on James (Thompson). I was losing a lot of time in the complex as my understeer was particularly bad through that section, but overall I was happy with my car. In the closing stages I took advantage of James running wide and dived through. I then just made sure I kept my head and drove hard to the end."

James Thompson:

"I got a good start, but struggled with understeer throughout the whole race. My team gave me a great pit stop which gained me a place, but Neal challenged me hard and with my tyres rapidly going off, I just couldn't hold him back and ended up having a big moment, which not only gave him a chance to get through, but also let my team mate get through too. I'll be looking for a better result this afternoon."

Mike Nicholson:

"A great drive by Yvan and great work in the pit stop by the VX Racing gave us a win this morning which we didn't really expect. It's great to see Paul on the podium again too, but I'm sure James is disappointed. He's a fighter though, so there'll be no doubt he'll be ready to challenge for a win this afternoon."

Race 2

Muller started from pole, with team mates O'Neill directly behind and Thompson alongside on the second row of the grid for the second race of the day. As the lights went out to signal the start, the lighter Honda pulled away ahead, with the VX Racing trio chasing hard behind. A tight battle swung between Muller and Neal for the race lead through the twists and turns of the Thruxton track, but it was Neal that grasped first place as the cars crossed the line at the end of lap one. Muller settled for second, with Thompson behind in third and O'Neill close on his heels in fourth. Morrison in fifth quickly took O'Neill, followed by Thompson, dropping these two down the order. O'Neill then managed to get round Thompson, who was suffering with serious understeer, who was then also passed by Anthony Reid. On lap five, the VX Racing line-up was led by Muller in second, O'Neill in fourth and Thompson in sixth. A puncture for Honda Racing's Matt Neal put him off track on lap eight, to give the lead to Muller, which he retained until pitting. After the completion of all the mandatory pit stops Muller had comfortably retained his lead until passing the chequered flag. Although O'Neill continued to pressure Morrison until the end, he settled for another honourable third place, with Thompson back in fifth.

Yvan Muller:

"It was a very tiring race and very physical, because of trying so hard to conserve my tyres. I couldn't lift off at all as the racing was so intense. It's fantastic to win two races with maximum ballast. I must thank my crew too, who worked so well all day and gave me such slick pit stops."

Paul O'Neill:

"I'm just so happy - I just don't want to finish a race off the podium now! The car performed exactly as I wanted it to, and was so consistent. I was racing hard but managed to keep my position. I'm ecstatic about achieving the result I have, behind Yvan who raced brilliantly all day. My next aim is to move up a step on the podium!"

James Thompson:

"To be honest, it wasn't the best weekend's racing for me and I'm not entirely sure what's wrong. I had the same set-up as the others (Muller and O'Neill) but for whatever reason it didn't happen for me, and seemed to work the tyres extremely hard. To be so far off the pace compared to the other two and to be 40 kilos less doesn't really add up. It's so frustrating that it got worse during the weekend rather than better. We need to carefully review what happened today and then move on to ensure a better performance at Silverstone."

Mike Nicholson:

"It was great to see the Vauxhall Astra Coupe triumphing again this weekend, this time with Yvan Muller, even with the car carrying so much ballast. Paul continues to prove himself as his confidence continues to grow and he shows himself to be a worthy contender in the touring class. Of course, we're disappointed that James couldn't join the others on the podium, but it's still early in the season and we know that he's a talented enough driver to come back strongly as the year goes on."