James Thompson hot on the heels of BTCC leader.

With a smile as bright as the early summer sunshine, Egg Sport's James Thompson took to the podium to claim the second prize for the third round of the 2001 BTCC Championship. James Thompson is becoming a dab-hand with the bubbly, enjoying podium finishes at every round of the season so far.

It was a day of high drama for team-mate, Egg Sport's Phil Thompson too. The pair of drivers swapped paint during the Sprint race early in the day when Phil Thompson tried to out-manoeuvre James Thompson, forcing him off sideways. James recovered well coming in second of the touring cars for the race.

Phil's drive in the feature race, positioned him as 'the comeback kid' of the track. He was blocked on the grid behind Jason Plato who, forgetting the basics of clutch control, stalled at the start line. Phil recovered and was going well until his gearbox slipped from fourth gear into neutral pirouetting the car across the track. Again, Phil recovered, only to suffer a flat front tyre eight laps latter. Once again, following a speedy wheel change by Egg Sport's trusted team engineers, Phil recovered and looked to be picking up lost time when his gearbox decided it had had enough for the day. Phil was finally forced to retire from the race.

Loosening the collar on his rather natty Egg Sport overalls, Phil commented: "It has been a day and a half. My head just hasn't stopped spinning, what with the AA grid girls and a dodgy gearbox. When they replaced my front wheel after my flat in the Feature race, I really thought nothing more could befall me. I was disappointed not to finish, but delighted to see James do so well again. As long as there's an Egg Sport driver on the podium, I'm happy. I can't wait to get back into the car and back on track for the night race at Silverstone."

Teammate James Thompson added: "I am having a great time - this is such good fun. And the fact that the team is still in first place and I am lying in second place in the drivers' championship too is a real bonus. I was sorry that Phil wasn't able to finish the Feature especially as he had faced so many problems during the course of the race. But then, I guess, that's the thrill of racing for you - never knowing what is going to happen."