James Thompson said he was pleased with the continued potential of the new LADA Priora after his second World Touring Car Championship outing in the car on home soil at Brands Hatch.

The Briton – who gave the car its debut in Portugal on his return to the series – qualified in 20th place but showed the potential of the Priora during the morning warm-up, when he posted the eighth quickest time.

In the opening race, Thompson was running well in the midfield before being forced to take a trip over the grass at Graham Hill Bend to avoid an incident ahead. Not only did that see the former N.Technology man lose places, but he also picked up a broken damper which affected the handling of the car and left him to finish 18th.

Thompson was again able to mix it in the pack in the second race of the weekend, battling with the Independent BMWs of Felix Porteiro and Philip Giepel, but more handling issues eventually left him with a 22nd place finish – although he was pleased to see more progress from the new car.

"The main thing is that we are in the mix and fighting, which is putting on a good show for everyone and getting LADA's name out there. I'm also very pleased that we were able to bring the car home in one piece on both occasions, meaning that the team can now concentrate on development in the period leading up to the next race, rather than worry about fixing any sort of damage.

“Our warm-up time on Sunday morning - where we were eighth - was the first time that we have been inside the top ten during any session, so that's definitely more proof of our potential."

Both Jaap van Lagen and Kirill Ladygin will move to the Priora for the next round of the season at Oschersleben.