VX Racing ended round two of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship on a high, with a double podium finish for Colin Turkington and Yvan Muller. The podium celebrations came at the end of a testing weekend for the team, with all drivers working hard to find a set-up for the VX Racing Astra Sport Hatch cars. Results from the first two races were mid-field rather than the team's usual podium finishes, with Turkington fourth and seventh in the first and second races respectively, and Muller sixth and third place. Third driver Gavin Smith suffered a run of bad luck, which culminated in a retirement in the final race.

VX Racing arrived at Thruxton with hopes of adding more victories to its impressive record at the track, but it became clear early on in the free practice sessions that the team would struggle to find a set-up for the new VX Racing Astra Sport Hatch that would suit the tyre compound developed specially for the circuit. Turkington, Muller and Smith lined up third, fifth and seventh for race one, but a problem with the starter motor on the grid meant Muller was forced to start from the back of the field. The Frenchman soon scythed through to sixth place, whilst Turkington remained with the front runners for the early stages of the race but was under constant attack. The young Ulsterman lost his position on the third lap and fell back into fourth where he remained until the end of the race. Smith had a quiet race with a set-up that made driving conditions very difficult. Despite problems with under-steer, he brought the car home in ninth commenting, "It was the hardest race I have ever had."

Muller demonstrated once more why he was crowned 2003 BTCC champion with some spectacular demonstrations of car control. In the second race the Frenchman was battling hard with Jason Plato for second position when the pair clashed through the chicane and Muller held a sideways slide and his position, but ultimately finished third. In the final race of the day Muller again battled with old rival Plato, but came out on top to finish third for his second podium finish of the day. Muller said "In the third race the car was the best it had been all day, there was a fair amount of contact which led to some problems, but I just got on with it. It has been a difficult weekend, but we got there in the end. We now go to Brands Hatch with more experience of the car and return to our usual tyres."

Turkington suffered a poor start to the second race after getting bogged down on the start line.The university graduate, however, showed he was on the pace and moved up to finish in seventh position. He showed his true ability in the third and final race where his skilful driving landed him a second place finish in an eventful and thrilling race. "That was an exciting race," Turkington reported, "It makes up for the disappointment earlier on in the day. We got the car right for the third race, so we made progress, and it's good to be on the podium at last."

Smith's run of bad luck continued into the second race as the Dubliner again fought under steer to come home in tenth place. The reverse grid rule for the final race benefited Smith as he started on pole for the first time in his BTCC career. He was unable to convert the pole into race success as a collision with Tom Chilton ended his race before the end of the first lap. Smith explained "It has been a really frustrating weekend for me. We have struggled with the balance of the car, but I was really looking forward to the third race and being on pole. Tom Chilton tried to stop his car on the grass and it just didn't work, he had nowhere to go but into me. It destroyed my race. I'm just glad this weekend is over. I'm looking forward to the next round at Brands Hatch and being able to put this weekend behind me."

Stuart Harris, VXR brand manager, was pleased with the continuing development of the VX Racing Astra Sport Hatch; "It was a mixed bag of results this weekend but it ended well. Given where we started this morning, to actually finish second and third in the final race at a meeting where we didn't think we'd end up with much, to be honest, is fantastic. Roll on Brands Hatch!"

The 2005 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship is the first year of competition for the VX Racing Astra Sport Hatch. This year VX Racing will be aiming to repeat the triple-title winning success of the past four years and continues its title hunt at the next round of the Dunlop at Brands Hatch on 5 June.