VX Racing, based at Greatworth near Banbury, continued to dominate the British Touring Cars Championship during rounds seven and eight of the series at Silverstone on Sunday.

The team's drivers, James Thompson and Yvan Muller, took first and second places in the day's two races.

Reigning champion Thompson took the first race in his VX-prepared Vauxhall Astra, after long-time leader Matt Neal's Honda developed engine trouble with three of the 25 laps left. The breakdown allowed Thompson to cruise home with Muller in second.

Muller turned the tables in the second race, taking the chequered flag ahead of Thompson, with Neal unlucky again. The Honda driver started from ninth on the grid and was third and closing on the two Vauxhalls, when he was forced into the pits with brake problems.

Warren Hughes, in an MG, was third after a race-long dice with teammate Anthony Reid.

The VX team's third driver, Paul O'Neill, who was seventh in the first race, completed his day with a fifth in the second.

Proton driver David Leslie, of Sibford Gower near Banbury, was out of luck in the first heat. He retired after a collision at Becket's left him with badly damaged bodywork, but finished 10th in his second race, 50 seconds behind Muller.

The result means VX Racing increased their lead in the team championship, while Muller and Thompson stay first and second in the drivers' table. O'Neill is third, with Leslie eighth.

Next year's BTCC could be even more competitive. New rules announced yesterday will open the way for more manufacturers to enter next year's championship.