YORKSHIRE racer James Thompson will be aiming to boost his standings in the British Touring Car Championship when the series comes to Croft tomorrow.

The 26-year-old from York, who teams up with Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen for Redstone Team Honda, bounced back to win last time out at Silverstone after missing several of the earlier rounds following a massive accident at Brands Hatch in April. However his recent success means his Honda Accord will be handicapped by 40kg of extra weight.

On a positive note, Thompson has a great record of success on home turf having scored Sprint Race victories at Croft in 1998 and 1999.

"Honda and I have always enjoyed strong results at the track and we went well there in pre-season testing. Tom is sure to be buoyed up after winning Le Mans but, hopefully my home advantage will more than make up for the 40kg of success ballast. Having missed four rounds, I just want to win some races and, perhaps, get myself back into contention for the championship," says Thompson.

Having now scored two victories in the French endurance classic, Kristensen will be very much in demand at Croft both by the media and by autograph hunters. He has already underlined his touring car talents with a victory at Knockhill and is certain to be among the front-runners in both of tomorrow's two BTCC showdowns.

Says Kristensen: "It was a fantastic weekend in France but now I must get back to BTCC business. Making the switch back to the front-driven Honda from the more powerful Audi sportscar won't be a problem for me as I'm used to racing all kinds of different car. "Honda has won three of the last five rounds so we are all expecting to have a strong second half of the season. Croft is a very interesting track with all types of corners - I'm really looking forward to another good weekend."

Lining up alongside Thompson and Kristensen in the third of the Honda Accords is former BTCC champion Gabriele Tarquini.

Championship leader Alain Menu spearheads Ford's hopes of success in the North-East. The 1997 champion hasn't won at Croft since 'doing the double' at the 2.1-mile circuit's inaugural BTCC meeting three years ago. However, with three victories from the opening four rounds, Menu has been the man to beat in 2000. He currently holds a five-point advantage over fellow Ford racer Anthony Reid at the top of the series standings.

Ford's third driver Rickard Rydell, however, could be the pick of the Mondeo men. The Swede arrives at Croft after four poor results have seen him slip back from joint leader to fifth. But with no ballast this weekend, the 1998 BTCC champion will be looking to relaunch his title bid on a circuit that has bought him much success in the past. He's hunting for a hat-trick of Feature Race victories at Croft having won the longer 30-lap pit-stop showdown in both 1998 and 1999.

BTCC spectators will also be able to witness an exciting package of support racing action, including Slick 50 Formula Ford Zetec, Ford Credit Fiesta Zetec, Autobytel Lotus Elise Series, Formula Renault 2000, and Elf Clio Renaultsport UK Cup championships.

BTCC Qualifying takes place today with the races tomorrow. Round 13 (Sprint Race, 15 laps, 31.9 miles) starts at 12.25pm with round 14 (Feature Race, 30 laps, 63.81 miles) scheduled to begin at 2.55pm.