WORCESTERSHIRE racing drivers Tim Matthews and Carl Tompson have overcome a difficult season to excel in the UK Sports 2000 Champ-ionship.

Professional driver Matt-hews and Tompson, of Team So, both finished just outside the top ten in the championship as well as gaining second and fourth places in class B' respectively.

However, both endured early season problems before coming good.

Tompson started the season in the Tiga 2000 with great hope as reigning class champion but his campaign started badly with a high-speed crash in pouring rain at Brands Hatch.

Although unhurt, the damage to the car set Tompson back and the following two races were lost.

Only by mid-season was the Avenue Cars salesman able to compete on equal terms. He recorded his best ever result at Thruxton with third place overall.

Tompson battled throughout with Martin Ellis and they continually swapped places until rain intervened and Tompson claimed the final step on the podium on the last corner.

Tompson was naturally disappointed at the end of the season but his result at Thruxton against quicker cars and in difficult conditions stands him in great stead for the 2007 season.

Matthews, meanwhile, be-gan the year by building a new car for the team.

Although the TSO Mallock was running by the first round, Matthews' commitment to television series So You Want To Be An F1 Driver' allowed him little time to test.

In the wet and difficult conditions of the first round at Brands Hatch it was clear the car needed a huge alteration to the handling and aerodynamics to be competitive.

Round two at Oulton Park was little better, Matthews struggling again at the back of the field.

The next round at Doning-ton was a difficult race with handling problems during qualifying. This produced a back of the grid start and a puncture half-way through the race caused Matthews' only non-finish of the season.

By the time the championship reached Thruxton, the car had improved although there had only been time for one test.

Despite carrying too much rear wing, which made it very slow along the straights, the Worcestershire driver finished just outside the top ten and third in class, hauling him to second in the series.

With an outside chance of winning the championship the team approached the final race of the season at Brands Hatch with caution.

However, torrential rain made visibility poor and the car developed a mis-fire.

Despite pulling in to replace a punctured wheel, Matthews finished just inside the top 20.

Matthews said: "I am sure we are both now capable of outright championship wins. We just need to be a lot fitter and to have a bit of luck."