Muller ahead in Championship race

Defending champion Yvan Muller went clear at the head of the Green Flag British Touring Car Championship after the latest round was completed at Mondello Park, Co Kildare.

Muller, the joint championship leader, started in pole position after qualifying despite carrying success ballast after two victories from three races in the previous round at Oulton Park.

The Frenchman could have drawn further ahead had he maintained his good form but after victory in the first race he finished in fourth and sixth in the subsequent races.

Championship co-leader James Thompson had gone into the weekend locked on 124 points with Muller but he had struggled to fourth in qualifying and had been upset by the set-up of the car. His troubles continued as he slipped behind in the race for the title with a series of unconvincing finishes of fifth, second and fourth.

No one driver imposed himself on the racing although the highly-rated Colin Turkington finished with a third place in his first race, during which he posted the fastest lap time of one minute 47.869seconds, followed by sixth and then victory in the third race.

It moved the 22-year-old, tipped as a star of the future, to sixth in the chase for the title as he looks to improve on his previous finishes of eighth and 14th.

WSR driver Anthony Reid also picked up valuable points. The experienced 47-year-old was second in qualifying and maintained his form to finish in the same position in his first race. In the subsequent events he set the fastest lap times of 1min 48.24secs and 1min 47.547secs in finishing fifth and ninth.

Jason Plato was the winner of the second race, while Luke Hines, 10th in the championship, secured two podium finishes with a second and a third, with Dan Eaves third in the final race.