Thommo reigns in Spain
It was a great day for James Thompson and the N. Technology Alfa Romeo squad on Sunday.
The British driver, and former BTCC champ, scored a brilliant double victory in the third round of the WTCC in Valencia.
Thommo started on pole in race one, and while the rest of the field were crashing into each other at turn one, the Brit put in a series of blinding laps to edge out a lead he would never lose.
Nicola Larini's increasingly fast 07-spec Chevrolet Lacetti finished second, with the Seats of Muller and Gene finishing third and fourth. Nobbled by a weight penalty, Priaulx's BMW finished fifth.
In race two, James Thompson was even more impressive. With the top eight grid positions reversed, Thompson had his work cut out to take victory.
However, by lap three the British driver was beginning to scythe through the pack. He overtook Muller and Gene's Seats with clean moves (rare these days in WTCC) and soon homed in on the leading BMWs.
The Beemers of Priaulx, Jorg Muller and Rangoni were locked in an intense battle, but Thompson got the better of all of them to take a fantastic win.
Muller took second in a BMW, with Priaulx third. It was by far the best WTCC race of the season so far.
And when you consider that Thommo's Alfa is a two-year-old car with no manufacturer support, this was one hell of a double victory.
Nick Trott