MG aiming to go one better at Croft.

Three weeks on from its gusty performance at Rockingham where a win had been in the offing until the appearance of the safety car, MG Sport and Racing head to Croft near Darlington for rounds 11 and 12 of the BTCC.

After Rockingham, where fine performances from the MG boys came in both races, the mood of the team is very definitely upbeat.

"The performance of the MGs at Rockingham was a real morale booster for the team," said Anthony Reid. "It was obvious that we were quick enough to win and almost did. Even so second was a real step forward, especially with Warren coming in a close third. We certainly seem to have turned a corner in terms of performance for the second half of the season."

"This weekend qualifying will be tough with the 55kg success ballast in my car," predicted Anthony, "but I reckon a top six grid position is on, especially for the second race."

The Croft circuit may be the furthest the teams travel this season, but the area is renowned for its friendly welcome and Northerner Warren Hughes will be driving on his home circuit.

"Funnily enough, although Croft is only 45 miles from home, I haven't driven there that often," says Warren. "We did do a fair bit of winter testing this year with some good results and the track is similar in some ways to Rockingham in that it has fast chicanes and slow hairpins.

"We are looking for a decent result again this weekend," continued Warren. "But are going to have to fight for it, especially against the Hondas who will be carrying little or no success ballast for the first race."

Colin Turkington is determined to do well this weekend despite, or perhaps because of, the bad luck that seems to have followed him recently. Last time out at Rockingham saw two non-finishes; his excellent third place at Silverstone probably seems a long time ago.

"I have to put the Rockingham result behind me and move on," says Colin. "We have worked hard on the car over the last three weeks and are confident we have made progress. My MG will have no ballast at all for race one and I'm definitely aiming to qualify on the front two rows."