THERE is some irony in the fact that the driver who did the most to make the British Touring Car Championship's debut at Rockingham so memorable is sponsored by the circuit at Knockhill.

The Scottish venue lost out to the new American-style Northamptonshire facilities this year - although, at the time, even some of the drivers weren't sure it was the right decision.

But, after two scintillating rounds of the series last Sunday, the track near Fife will surely struggle to fight its way back on to the calendar, and it was Knockhill-backed Anthony Reid who perhaps sealed the circuit's fate.

He may speak with the clipped accent of a gentleman but, once behind the wheel, the MG veteran gives no quarter.

After round ten, it was championship leader Yvan Muller who was first to complain about Reid's strong-arm tactics.

The Hondas of Matt Neal and Alan Morrison had already romped clear but as Muller and Reid battled tooth-and-nail for third, it gave four following cars the chance to close up and both the Vauxhall and MG were almost swamped in the closing ten laps.

In the end, Frenchman Muller was able to use the Vectra's superior grip to ease past while Reid slipped back to sixth in the last few corners.

But, in round 11, it was Reid who looked set to take the chequered flag, albeit after another titantic clash with Muller and some heavy contact with his own team-mate, Warren Hughes.

The top six were well spread out as round 11 drew to a close but, with just five laps remaining and a thunderstorm threatening, a heavy accident further down the field brought the safety car out.

On the restart, Reid locked up and almost slid out on the first corner, forcing Muller to take evasive action and giving Hughes, lying in third, the chance to dive up the inside.

But, just as a win seemed to beckon for the Sunderland-born driver, Reid veered back across the track in a desperate attempt to protect his position, collecting his team mate and allowing both the Vauxhalls of Muller and 2002 champion James Thompson through.

Reid muscled his aggressive way back to second while Hughes was able to take advantage and recover to third, but he was clearly angry.