James Thompson Crowned BTCC Champion, One Point Ahead of Muller

04 September 2004

James Thompson has beaten Vauxhall team-mate Yvan Muller to the 2004 British Touring Car crown by a single point.

Muller won the the final championship round at an unseasonally sun-soaked Donington Park but Thompson finished third and crucially earned a bonus point for setting the fastest lap to stay ahead by the narrowest of margins. The HarrierZeuros Independents Trophy was presented to WSR MG driver, Anthony Reid who was later crowned Champion in the BTCC Masters inaugural race. Vauxhall and its competition arm VX Racing have taken the BTCC Manufacturers and Teams titles for the fourth consecutive year.

In the first of Donington's three rounds Thompson finished second to open out a 13-point lead over Muller at the top of the championship table, Muller finishing the race down in seventh after he was forced off the track while trying to pass Thompson. Muller made a comeback in race two taking second place ahead of Thompson in fifth bringing the gap back down to six points going into the final round.

In that race, Muller took his fifth win of the season, and with Thompson finishing in third, the pair were effectively tied on points. In that case, Muller would have retained his 2003 title thanks a greater number of wins than Thompson. However, 2002 Champion Thompson’s vital fastest lap earned him the bonus point he needed to reclaim the title. Thompson’s magic lap was also a race lap record around Donington’s National circuit for modern-era BTCC cars.

SEAT Sport UK driver Jason Plato took second place in the final round which meant the season ended with the BTCC's last three Champions standing on the podium – he won the title with Vauxhall in 2001.
 
An emotional Thompson said: "This is absolutely fantastic… I had a feeling Yvan would win the race as he always pulls it out of the bag when he needs to, but once I’d got fastest lap I knew third was good enough."
 
Muller was sporting in defeat and at least has the consolation of ending the season with more wins than team-mate Thompson. Indeed, his win today was his first since Mondello Park back in June. Muller said: “Yes, it’s disappointing to finish only one point behind, but that’s life, that’s racing. We finished first and second four years in a row and that’s fantastic for Vauxhall."

See 2004 series calendar for British Touring Car Championship

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