NORTH Yorkshire did not prove to be a happy hunting ground for Lancashire-based British Touring Car Championship ace Tom Boardman.

The teenager was hoping to improve on his fourth place in the table, but two altercations with Croft Circuit's tyre barriers ended those hopes on Sunday.

After an unlucky qualifying session, where the 18-year-old hit traffic on every one of his fast laps, he claimed the tenth starting place in the BTC Production Class for Round 11 of the Green Flag-sponsored BTCC and was eighth on the grid for round 12.

The Forton based driver stunned the 18,000-strong crowd when the lights went green for round 11, however.

His ultra-quick reactions saw him sweep past six cars to take third after the first corner.

At the end of the first lap though, series leader James Kaye just nudged by in his Honda Civic at the hairpin to put Boardman back to fourth.

He held that position for the next five laps despite the close attention of rivals Alan Blencowe and Graham Saunders (both in Alfa 156s) and was beginning to close back in on Kaye when the safety car was deployed.

BTC Touring class driver Paul O'Neill had gone off when his Astra developed an engine problem and caught fire, dropping oil through the first two corners in the process.

And, after the Safety Car period, it was that oil that spoiled Boardman's race when he slid wide and went into the tyre wall.

Fortunately, he was able to continue but his Edenbridge Racing BMW 320i had taken a battering and he was forced to nurse it home, eventually crossing the line a respectable eighth.

Worse luck was to follow, however, when on the second lap of Round 12 Boardman accidentally hit a stack of tyres (in position to mark a chicane).

That broke the car's suspension, pitched him into a spin and put him out.

Boardman said: "Both incidents were just really unfortunate.

There wasn't much I could do about the oil as it was spread all over the line into the corner and I was trying to defend my position.

In the second race I just didn't realise how far out the tyres were, clipped them and that was that.

Hopefully I'll have better luck at Snetterton in two weeks time."

Boardman is now equal fifth in the championship but still within touching distance of a top three finish.