TOM Boardman was one of the stars of the Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship show at Mondello Park, Ireland, on Sunday, after fighting his way through the field to finish second in round nine and fourth in round ten.

Those results have put him in a strong position in the race for the title, moving him from eighth to fourth at the season's halfway point.

After a communications mix-up in Saturday's qualifying - Boardman was given incorrect information about his position so he backed off to protect the car - he lined up ninth in the BTC Production class for the first race of Sunday and eighth for the second.

But, on the championship's most technically challenging circuit, he soon had the Irish spectators cheering his every move.

The teenager, of Forton, made an excellent start in round nine in his Edenbridge Racing BMW 320i and picked off a couple of his opponents going into the first corner, despite taking to the grass at one point.

He then carefully eased his way up the field, taking his chances when they arose without taking any risks.

After getting up to fourth by the mid-way point of the 15-lap race, any advantage he had over his rivals behind was wiped out when the safety car was deployed while a stricken car was removed from a gravel trap.

He then had to defend his position, but the opportunity was also there to have a go at getting into the top three - something he did by the tenth lap after passing Jim Edwards Jnr's Honda Accord.

Then, after a second Safety Car period, he was locked into a nose-to-tail battle with James Kaye's Honda Civic.

Dramatically, Boardman just managed to get the better of last year's series runner-up on the line to claim a well-deserved second place.

In Round 10, with the track wet after a rainstorm, Boardman played a waiting game throughout the 25 laps.

His careful, tactical driving - and other drivers' misfortune - ensured a solid fourth place finish in less than ideal circumstances, which helped him rise up the championship table.

A delighted Boardman, 18, said: "It's been a very good day.

In both races everyone drove sensibly and it was really clean.

I especially had a good race with James Kaye; we were both going for it but gave ourselves enough room to not hit each other.

"Mondello Park is a very tight circuit with lots of corners so I was expecting a lot of contact.

But that didn't happen and I hope that continues for the rest of the year.

It was good clean racing and I really enjoyed it."

Boardman is back out on the track for the next rounds of the BTCC at Croft, North Yorkshire, in three weeks time.