AFTER two solid performances in the final rounds of the Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship yesterday, Tom Boardman is already looking at how to get an advantage over his rivals next year.

The Lancashire teenager finished sixth overall in the BTC Production class after Rounds 19 and 20 at Donington Park but believes he would have been higher up the table if he had qualified better during the season.

The 18-year-old lined up a respectable sixth on the grid for both races - staged in front of a 30,000-plus crowd.

However, the Edenbridge Racing BMW 320i driver feels a top three position would have kept him out of the mid-field melee that effectively ruined his chances of taking third in the championship.

In the 15-lap Round 19, Boardman, of Forton gained two places by the first corner and was looking to fight with the leaders.

But the Safety Car was sent on to the track at the end of the first lap while another competitor's car was being rescued from a gravel trap and the pack bunched up again.

At the re-start, Alfa driver Graham Saunders pushed him wide and he lost five places in an instant.

That left him unable to battle for the race victory, but he did steadily progress through the field picking off his rivals - including Spencer Marsh and Jim Edwards Jnr, both of whom were also fighting for third place in the final championship table - one by one until, at the chequered flag, he was up to fourth again.

It was a similar story in the final race of the BTCC year.

Boardman this time jumped to third at the start and held that place for the first eight laps.

However, Marsh nudged the teenager on to the grass at the Esses chicane and he hit the tyre wall.

The incident dropped him down the order again, leaving him scrapping for the minor places and he eventually clawed his way back to sixth where he finished.

Although disappointed not to have ended the season higher up the standings, the youngster knows it will be a different story next season.

He said: "I need to improve in qualifying.

I think if I can get that right and start higher up the grid I will have a better chance of avoiding getting tangled up in silly incidents like those in the final two races.

"Two little knocks basically ruined both races for me and prevented me from improving my championship position.

That happened to me too often this year because I didn't get it right in qualifying and was starting races in the middle of the pack.

I want to change that next year and I'll be working hard over the winter to make sure I do."

Despite his own setback, Boardman's performances did help Edenbridge Racing clinch runners-up spot in the BTC Production Teams' Championship.