York's James Thompson took a brace of third place podium positions yesterday at a soaking wet Knockhill to maintain his series lead after rounds 15 and 16 of the Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship.

Vauxhall Motorsport team-mate Yvan Muller also had a successful weekend, taking a Sprint Race fourth and a Feature Race second.

The Frenchman now lies a comfortable second in the drivers' standings ahead of Egg Sport's Matt Neal, who finally broke his spell of bad luck by taking a welcome Sprint Race win.

The Feature race was claimed by Honda's Andy Priaulx, with Muller and Thompson hot on his heels.

Egg Sport's Paul O'Neill finished sixth and fifth to regain sixth place overall in the standings.

In fact, it was a dominant display all round from the Vauxhall Astra Coupes, with a Vauxhall first, third and fourth in the extended 29-lap Sprint Race and a second, third and fourth in the 40-lap Feature.

Vauxhall's impressive haul has put the Luton marque firmly in the lead in the Manufacturers' title race, and they head to the penultimate round of the championship at Brands Hatch in two weeks with 409 points to MG's 236, Honda's 164 and Proton's 118.

Thompson said: "I'm happy with that result. My grid position made all the difference and gave me the opportunity to take a good result.

"I wasn't too worried about my bad start. Given the weather conditions, I decided to just sit back and let the race come to me."

As for the Feature Race, he added: "The weather was horrendous and anything could have happened but I managed to get through the weekend which I'm pleased about. It would have been so easy to make a mistake.

"I'm a bit disappointed not to have built on my championship lead but at least I haven't lost too much. There are only a few races now until the end of the season and there's everything to play for."

The heavens opened just as the grid lined up for the first race of the day and it didn't stop for the remainder of the afternoon. With conditions worsening by the second, it proved a chaotic start with second-placed Thompson dropping to fifth by the end of the first lap while eighth-placed Muller climbed to sixth and Neal gaining a place to move up to second behind pole-man Andy Priaulx.

Unfortunately for Priaulx, Phil Bennett diced with Aaron Slight's Barwell Astra Coupe and, with his Proton lodged in the gravel trap at the hairpin, the safety car was brought out on lap three, closing the field up.

Five laps later, the now 29-lap extended Sprint Race got underway with the Vauxhall pack hounding the front runners of Priaulx, Morr-ison and Reid.

Neal lost his second place temporarily but soon found his rhythm to consistently set fastest lap times and storm to glory, picking off Thompson at the hairpin before passing Reid and Priaulx on consecutive laps.

Thompson and Muller had also settled in the groove, Thompson having climbed to third by lap nine and Muller to fifth by lap 18.

Priaulx, meanwhile, lost his rhythm and dropped several places. With Neal leading, Reid second and Thompson third, all that remained was for Muller to move to fourth when Morrison ran wide on the final lap.

With conditions getting worse, the first five laps of the 40-lap Feature Race began under the Safety Car with pitstops starting almost immediately following the green flag.

Neal and Thompson came in first so, as the field crossed the line signalling the end of the first racing lap, poleman Priaulx led followed by Reid, Slight, O'Neill, Muller and Thompson.

Muller and Thompson had good stops but not good enough to catch Priaulx, while Neal and O'Neill battled their way through the field in tandem. And after trailing Reid for several laps, they both dived past to claim fourth and fifth.

So, while the win went to Priaulx, it was another Astra Coupe formation finish with Muller, Thompson, Neal and O'Neill in the other top positions.

Updated: 11:58 Monday, August 12, 2002