Oxford racing driver Jason Plato and James Thompson head for the next round of www.theAA.com British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton on May 7 with a joint championship lead.

Vauxhall's Oxfordshire-built Astra Coupe BTCC cars dominated the opening rounds at Brands Hatch, giving Vauxhall Motorsport's Yvan Muller and Egg Sport Vauxhall driver Thompson their first winner's laurels of the season.

Last Friday, Plato topped the time sheets at Thruxton in an official test session, ahead of Muller, Thompson and Thompson's Egg Sport Vauxhall teammate Phil Bennett.

Plato said: "We had a very good day today. We made some changes to the car, some of which were very positive."

Roland Dane, the managing director of Triple Eight Race Engineering, based at Greatworth, near Banbury, which prepares Vauxhall's BTCC cars, said: "Everything went pretty smoothly. The guys are quick enough and we now have to make sure our reliability is what it should be."

The Alfa 147 of JS Motorsport, based at Kineton, near Banbury, experienced their first full test session and completed a total of 21 laps at the Hampshire circuit.

John Shields, managing director of the team, which is being managed by ex-BTCC champion Tim Harvey , of Burford, said: "We are pleased. It gave Dave Pinkney the chance to get acclimatised to the car. At the moment everything seems to be very good and we just need time to develop the car and I think we can be very quick."

Drivers' Championship (after round 2): 1= Jason Plato (Vauxhall) & James Thompson (Vauxhall) 26 points; 3 Yvan Muller (Vauxhall) 20; 4 Phil Bennett (Vauxhall) 19; 5 Steve Soper (Peugeot) 13; 6 Matt Neal (Peugeot) 11.