YORK'S James Thompson has warned new world champion Andy Priaulx to watch his back in 2006 when he claims Seat will be title challengers.

Priaulx won the World Touring Car Championship last weekend to add to his European crown from 2004, but Thompson expects to challenge his fellow Briton after joining Seat.

The former British champion finished eighth in the series with one win after his debut season with Alfa Romeo.

But, after joining a Seat team including Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini, Thompson is confident of maintaining a title challenge next year.

He said: "Seat are very ambitious and want to win, and that fits in perfectly with my mentality to life and racing.

"This year has been my first full season of racing in the World Touring Car Championship and I've gained a lot of knowledge about the circuits."

Added the York-born ace: "There are eight or ten drivers in the series who can win races, so my first year in the world series was always going to be a bit of a learning one as I got to know all the tracks.

"Year two was therefore always going to see a sizeable improvement in my performance and I didn't want to waste that potential by maybe not racing there and returning to the British Touring Car Championship.

"The programme for next year is very strong and I think we have a good chance of winning both the drivers' and manufacturers' titles."

Updated: 11:11 Thursday, November 24, 2005