HAMPSHIRE'S best hope for a home win since the heady days of Derek Warwick, powers into Thruxton on Sunday for the second round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

Rob Collard from Eversley has joined the front-running West Surrey Racing team and, in the opening rounds at Donington earlier this month, gunned the sleek green and black MG ZS up into second place.

It was his first-ever podium finish, and the man who has been racing on a shoestring for the last three years and who still managed to take the Independents Cup in 2003, will be inspired by an expected 20,000 Thruxton crowd at the weekend.

The rapid new Honda Integras of Matt Neal and Dan Eaves stole the show at Donington, although it was Vauxhall's former champion, Yvan Muller, who beat Collard in the second of the races there.

The expected threat from SEAT and Jason Plato didn't materialise, but expect them to be back on the pace at the Hampshire track where another home-grown favourite, James Kaye, will be running for Synchro Honda, the Swindon team he has supported for the last three seasons.

Yorkshireman Kaye, who works in Southampton and now lives in Winchester, will again be one of the challengers for the Independents Cup - but with a huge task on his hands against the semi works teams from WSR and Halfords, who run the orange-liveried Honda Integras.

But it's Collard who is on the boil. Apart from a second at Donington, he chalked up a pair of fourth places, the second when he was carrying a weight penalty yet still managed to finish well in front of the SEATs.

There'll be local support, too, for the Thruxton-based GAS Motorsport team expected to make their first appearance of the season with the exciting new Alfa Romeo 156.

There's a full support programme for the weekend with three races for the Clio Cup, SEAT Cupra and Formula Renault on Saturday afternoon (4.30).

Racing on Sunday starts at 11am with admission £23 for adults.