JAMES Thompson, with three second places and a brace of thirds under his belt, goes to Oulton Park this weekend confident he can climb that final step to reach the top of the podium.

The York-based Honda Accord works driver clocked the fastest lap earlier this week during unofficial test runs and around the longer, Island circuit.

But Thompson is no stranger to fast test times, official or otherwise, having approached the competition season consistently as the fastest driver, but on the day others have found that extra burst of power, leaving him to wonder what he has to do to capture top spot.

Nonetheless, he remains buoyant that it cannot elude him for ever. "The team has been working hard to give the car that extra bit of zip. It is still going well, so Oulton could be my day," he said.

The Cheshire circuit is one of the fastest on the calendar, with an average speed over 100mph, so dramatic racing is guaranteed. But it is also Renault country, with five of the last six races over the tight Fosters circuit won by Alain Menu in the Laguna.

John Bintcliffe, the Harrogate driver is also looking to better previous outings in the Audi A4. It has not been the best of seasons for Audi Sport, restricted by regulations to a new two-wheel-drive car, although at Brands Hatch last week French ace Yvan Muller took fifth in the Sprint to score the best result yet for the team, while Bintcliffe also finished with points, but further down the grid.

Volvo's Rickard Rydell, fresh from his double at Brands Hatch, knows that he also has to win if he is to keep the 15 point lead he has in the drivers' championship, snatched from Thompson last week.

The timetable for Oulton starts tomorrow when drivers qualify for both the 20-lap Sprint and 40-lap Feature race. Monday is main race day with the Sprint over 33.08 miles and the Feature race over 66.16-miles.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.