Brentwood-based Ford team Mondeo's scored its second podium finish of the year in the Autotrader British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch last weekend.

After a superb qualifying session for the 25-lap sprint race the Mondeo pair of Alain Menu and Anthony Reid monopolised the front row and both made demon starts to keep it a Mondeo one-two into the first lap.

The pair led the field for eight laps until Menu ran wide at Graham Hill bend allowing Reid through to take the lead and looked favourite to take a race win until his tyres began to fade and could not stop the charging Vectra of Yvan Muller snatching the lead into Paddock Hill bend.

Reid hung onto second place fending off the ever-present Primera of Laurent Aiello until the chequered flag with Menu eventually finishing in twelfth place after a spin and excursion onto the grass at Surtees.

After the race Reid said: ''I am delighted to be on the podium for the first time this year but disappointed not to have won.

"The car was certainly good enough to win and we can take heart from this race -- the car is getting close to being a real race winner.''

In the 50-lap feature race, which included a mandatory pit stop, Menu qualified sixth with Reid in eighth and both made up two places respectively to finish the first lap in fourth and sixth.

Menu's race was to be short-lived as he retired with driveline failure on lap 12 leaving Reid as the sole Mondeo racing.

After a ultra-quick six second pit stop Reid took up the charge only to have a shunt with Yvan Muller's Vectra and had to pit again to close an open door and eventually finish in eighth place.

l Formula Ford driver Mark Fullalove, from Brentwood, had a fraught time at Brands in both practice and the race. After qualifying a lowly 19th place the Mick Gardner racing team found the Zetec engine was only operating on three-quarter throttle, explaining his lowly grid position.

Come the race itself, on the fourth of the 27-lap race an incident between two competitors bought the safety car out to clear debris from the track.

Mark saw the race marshalls showing the safety car signal but the driver behind Mark did not and ploughed straight into the back of him punting Mark of the track and into instant retirement with broken rear suspension.

A disconsolate Mark said after the incident: ''At least retiring from the race wasn't my fault. So far my season has not gone well -- let's hope it changes for the next race at Oulton Park.''

Chelmsford's Rae Claydon won the Ford Fiesta race at Brands last year but having missed the early-season races was competing in only his second event.

During the race he was partly involved in a red flag incident which stopped the race but was able to continue for the restart working his way up seventh place but with a car spinning off in front of him took avoiding action and lost places to eventually finish in twelfth.

Joining Rae in the Fiesta race was Maldon's Keith Chapman who qualified in 22nd place and made up a number of place during the race to finish in 16th.

Next round of the BTCC championship is on May 30/31 at Oulton Park.

Anthony Reid on his way to a second place in the Ford Mondeo at Brands Hatch during the British Touring Car Championships on Sunday.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.