Thompson who in turn had Julian Bailey's Toyota on his tail made a bad start but fought

Thompson, who in turn had Julian Bailey's Toyota on his tail, made a bad start but fought back by passing Tim Harvey's Volvo four laps from the end.BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP: 1 J Cleland (Vauxhall) 33min 47.7sec (83.67mph); 2 W Hoy (Renault) +7.57sec; 3 J Thompson (Vauxhall) +9.26; 4 J Bailey (Toyota) +9.78; 5 K Burt (Ford) +13.94; 6 Paul Radisich (Ford) +27.81. He passed Rydell on the first lap and was soon closing on Cleland. However, any hopes he had of taking the lead were lost when the Renault's windscreen wiper flew off.In fact Hoy was nearly caught on the last lap by James Thompson's Vauxhall. Cleland's championship hopes were boosted by the poor performances of his rivals, Alain Menu and Rickard Rydell, whose cars suffered misfiring problems.The chase of the Flying Scotsman fell to Hoy, turning in his best performance of the year for Renault. We made contact a couple of times, swapping mirrors, but generally it was a clean fight."Soon Cleland was ahead for good and Radisich, his tyres wearing away, slipped back to finish sixth. From the start Cleland and Radisich kept them on their toes, swapping places for the first four laps."I seemed to have the advantage in the slower corners but Paul was better in the faster ones," Cleland said "It was a good battle.

The Vauxhall driver saw off the early threat of Ford's Paul Radisich and pulled clear of Will Hoy's Williams-Renault to win. Torrential rain soaked the track shortly before the race but most of the grand prix crowd stayed behind to watch the entertainment. Motor Racing Victory in the rain at Silverstone, his fourth consecutive race win, gave Scotland's John Cleland a 50-point lead in the British Touring Car Championship. I'd expect Warwickshire to prepare an Edgbaston pitch similar to the one for the Test match. Middlesex, whom we face at the beginning of next month at Uxbridge, will ensure a dry, turning surface which obviously favours their spin attack That, though, is just the way it goes. For all our remaining home games the wickets will be good and green The hosepipe will see to that.

Until groundsmen are employed by the Test and County Cricket Board, counties will always produce strips that favour the home attack.Also in our favour is the likelihood that Lancashire, and maybe Middlesex, will have to cope with Test calls. We are also out of contention for the Sunday League, which means we can rest our bowlers if they are carrying niggles - they all are at this stage of the season - and face a long day in the field on Monday bowling for a victory.That said, all successful counties will bring replacements into a dressing- room full of confidence Lancashire beat us without three of their Test players. Their attitude will not change, no matter how many of their top players are absent playing the West Indies. Positive thinking will win matches.Who says county cricket isn't competitive? The Championship is building up to be one of the most exciting finishes in years. Lancashire, Warwickshire and, of course, Northamptonshire, are my three to finish in the medal places The next few weeks are crucial Especially avoiding defeat.. If we cannot win against Warwickshire, avoiding defeat is vital.To some extent, we are unlucky to be playing our three main title rivals away from home.

With Warwickshire to come next week after a home match against Hampshire, it is our second vital game of the month. Last week, facing an unachievable target of 400-plus to win, the Northamptonshire first team were bowled out on the fourth day by Lancashire It was simply a case of coming up against an in-form Wasim. Let's hope for England's sake he is as durable at the crease.However determined the team, there is little that can be done against top-quality fast bowling on a sporting wicket. The pounds 40 he raised on a full circuit of the ground was worth a lot more in laughs Luckily, like his father, he is pretty thick-skinned. In preparation for Test match cricket, the mental approach has to be: "If I can't win, then I mustn't lose."Last week, David Steele's son, Mark, made his second XI debut for his father's county, Northamptonshire, and may be a doughty cricketer in the making. He learned his first lesson about the professional game: don't believe everything a senior pro tells you.Mark was sent on a spurious "collection" for his two colleagues who scored 50 in the game.