The official programme hailed James Thompson the local hero - and the 28-year-old York-born star left Croft Circuit as leader of the British Touring Car championships yesterday.

Thompson dominated the lunchtime sprint race from start to finish - although cars behind may have had eventful afternoons.

Tom Chilton, 17, who only passed his driving test on Saturday - ripped the sump out of his car on the kerbs at Clervaux dumping oil all over the circuit.

The incident was to prove a deciding factor for the remainder of the race.

Despite a four-lap safety car period to allow marshalls to clear up Egg Sport's Paul O'Neill and Matt Neal slide off on the residue, MG veteran driver Anthony Reid was to follow promoting team mate and Sunderland's own Warren Hughes to second place.

However, he too clipped the tyres at the exist of Hawthorn and then sliding wide, allowed David Leslie's Proton and young gun Colin Turkington's Atomic Kitten MG to slip by in the closing stages.

In the Production Class Harrogate's James Kaye was also pipped by German, Norman Simon's BMW on the final lap.

But at the front Thompson was left to cruise to victory with the comforting sight of his team mate Yvan Muller in his mirrors.

In the 25-lap feature race Thompson had a 30kg weight penalty to carry and had agreed to allow Muller past planning to ride shotgun in second to give the Frenchman a chance to build up a lead.

However, a mis-fire foiled Vauxhall's attempt to engineer a result and Thompson was forced to retire as a result.

Nevertheless, Muller still cruised to a convincing victory confirming the team's current domination of the season if nothing else.

A damaged bumper failed to slow Andy Priaulx who took second in his Honda adding to a creditable fourth in the earlier sprint race; indeed, some would argue he perhaps deserved the plaudits for driver of the day.

But, for Matt Neal a miserable afternoon was complete when he failed to finish for a second time having to watch Thompson climb to the top of the leader board as a result.

The Yorkshireman admitted there was some pleasure in his afternoon's work.

"It is good to be leading the championship, but then I know I could have been 30 points ahead if I had finished the second race," said Thompson.

"Motor racing is a rollercoaster sport and you have to be prepared to take the good with the bad.

"We have had the reliability so far this season but today it was my turn to have a problem."

Meanwhile, Hughes managed 11th in the second race after an off track excursion at Tower and admitted he would be going home feeling he could have done better.

"I think we've shown MG has promise and we are among the teams ready to score well if the leaders trip up, but I know today, I had a second place in my grasp and it slipped away," he said.