BOTH James Thompson and John Bintcliffe are hoping for improved performances during tomorrow's two rounds of the British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park.

The last time Thompson left the circuit he was on a high, new leader in the drivers' championship.

But since early May, when he finished second and fourth in the two races, York-based Thompson, driving the Honda Accord, has slipped from first to fourth, while Harrogate's Bintcliffe is 14th, still to get the best out of the new two-wheel drive Audi A4.

At the official time trials on Thursday, Thompson finished ninth fastest with a lap of 1min11.149sec, with Bintcliffe 11th, over a second behind.

The Donington tussle, rounds 11 and 12 of the championship, also sees the return to the sport of former Formula 1 world champion Nigel Mansell. He joins the Ford team, partnering Will Hoy. He finished 18th fastest on Thursday, but earlier in the day had a clash with the Vauxhall of Mark Lemmer. Neither was hurt and the cars were repaired in time for official testing. Peter Kox (Honda) 1m10.164, Rickard Rydell (Volvo S40) 1:10.452 and Anthony Reid (Nissan Primera) 1:10.481 were fastest of the day.

The last time Mansell turned out at Donington, in a Ford Mondeo in a non-championship touring car race, over 60,000 spectators cheered him on. The circuit is braced for a similar turnout, with many more likely to tune in to live action on BBC2's Grandstand.Even if a race win is a long shot for 44-year-old Mansell, he is planning to give it all he has got.

Qualifying rounds for tomorrow's 18-lap/35-mile Sprint and 36-lap/70-mile Feature Race were due to take place today. Tomorrow's races are scheduled for 12.35pm and 4pm.

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