on the net By Stuart Amos New Malden’s Tom Onslow-Cole paid tribute to his Team Aon mechanics after a podium finish in the final race at Croft on Sunday kept him in the British Touring Car Championship title chance.

The 23-year-old finished eighth and fifth in the opening two rounds at the weekend - having qualified seventh on the grid - before a near faultless drive in the final race saw him claim second.

The Ford Focus STs had struggled with excessive tyre wear in hot conditions in North Yorkshire, but engineers reacted quickly to ensure Onslow-Cole finished the meeting still only 22 points adrift of championship leader Matt Neal.

The results saw the former Brooklands College student remain fourth in the overall title race and leap to the top of the independent driver’s standings with half the season remaining.

“I had a decent start to race one and got up to fourth place, but the car developed a technical glitch, which lost me some power,” he said.

“I really struggled with tyres on the last five laps of race one, so the team worked on solving that before race two.

“I was able to go quicker and my tyres lasted longer, which is an amazing feat from the engineers.

“It’s very tight at the front of the field speed-wise and we made a few further tweaks before race three, so we hoped a podium could be on the cards and it was.

“This weekend was a great opportunity to move up in the championship, especially as Plato and Neal didn’t score in today’s last race.

“I’m now leading the Independents’ standings, which is a good boost ahead of the next race weekend.”

The BTCC moves to Snetterton on August 8 for the next three rounds.

2010 BTCC Drivers’ Championship.

1. Matt Neal, 119 points.

2. Jason Plato, 111 points.

3. Gordon Shedden, 100 points.

4. Tom Onslow-Cole, 97 points.