Mixed feelings for James Thompson after Suzuka

Lada’s James Thompson has left Suzuka with mixed feelings after a bittersweet weekend for the Russian manufacturer.

Lada scored points in the first race with double British Touring Car Champion, Thompson, who crossed the line in sixth.

“Race 1 was fantastic,” said Thompson. “We had very good pace throughout the whole race and the track gave us some overtaking opportunities, so we had a good fight.”

The Briton was also set to score race two after running in ninth. However, he dropped out of the points after he was hit by the SEAT of Marc Basseng and eventually finished 11th.

Basseng was penalised with a 30-second time penalty for the collision, and saw him relegated to 12th.

“Race 2 was disappointing though,” he continued. “I’d got up to ninth but just before the finish Marc Basseng, who was behind me, hit me from the back and so I went down to 12th.

“This really isn’t sporting behaviour at all, and the stewards have already had something to say about that. Now we go to Shanghai, which is a really quick, and we’re all feeling very upbeat for the future.”

Thompson’s Lada team-mate, Mikhail Kozlovskiy, finished 15th in race one, and 19th in race two.