YORK'S Touring Cars racer James Thompson finished in the top five qualifying times in preparation for this afternoon's two series round at Oulton Park.

The Redstone Honda team driver's fastest lap for the series' ninth round was 1 minute 24.37 seconds, the fifth best, and he followed that with fifth in 1:24.12 for the tenth round qualifier.

It placed him in the top ten overall but he will have to work hard to challenge the top group of drivers.

Alain Menu feels his Ford team are victims of their own success in this year's Auto Trader British Touring Car Championship.

Ford went into today's two rounds of the series at Oulton Park with a commanding lead in the manufacturer's title chase and with their three racers at the top of the driver's leaderboard with just two points separating the trio.

But Menu believes championship organisers TOCA have been treating Ford unfairly after he was denied a pole position double at the Cheshire circuit because of a disqualification.

The Swiss star and his team-mate Rickard Rydell were demoted to the back of the grid for the feature event after the front wings of their cars were found to have breached technical regulations.

That is hardly the most serious offence in the rule book, yet it is not the first time Menu has been on the receiving end of what he considers an injustice this season.

And the 1997 champion is so frustrated that he is even thinking of quitting the series.

"Things are getting worse and worse," said Menu, who bounced back from his disqualification to channel his anger in a positive direction and capture pole position for the sprint race.

"This is a hard championship to win but TOCA seem to want to make it even harder for us.

"I guess they are a bit worried that we will just run away with it, but such is life - we'll still do it.

"I was taken off by Jason Plato at Thruxton, protested twice and got turned down twice - whenever we appeal against something we lose.

"Some days I wish I was rich enough that I could just walk away from this championship and go home to Switzerland. But unfortunately I'm not."