Colin Turkington drew level at the top of the British Touring Car Championship standings with a win in the first race at Snetterton.
The Northern Irishman cruised to victory in his BMW while Tom Ingram and Jake Hill rounded off the podium after a terrific tussle between the pair.
Turkington’s team mate Tom Oliphant was in the wars at the start. A collision between him, Ash Sutton, and Ollie Jackson saw Oliphant and Jackson take to the grass. Olihpant recovered for 14th with Jackson finishing 21st.
The only threat to Turkington’s lead came when Ingram tried to dive down the inside at the hairpin before the backstraight. It didn’t work and Turkington managed to pull away.
Ingram had to contend with the Honda of Hill, who was hot on the heels of the Toyota driver.
The main title protagonists were all at the front of the grid, with Rory Butcher and Dan Cammish eager to keep their title hopes alive. They fought for fourth and fifth.
While Turkington pulled away Ingram and Hill collided on lap six. Hill dove down the inside of Ingram and tipped him into a half spin. Ingram recovered and Hill gave Ingram the place back, fearing a reprimand from the stewards.
Turkington won the race, with Ingram two and a half seconds behind in second. HIll took third with Butcher, Sutton and Cammish all close behind.
Adam Morgan finished an impressive seventh in his Mercedes A Class, with Josh Cook, Senna Proctor and Michael Crees rounding off the top ten.
There were two new drivers this weekend, with four time Clio Cup champion Paul Rivett finishing 19th. He’s deputising for the injured Bobby Thompson in the Audi. Power Maxed Racing’s latest driver was W Series racer and stunt driver Jessica Hawkins. She finished 22nd with 45kg of new driver ballast on her Astra.
| Pos | Driver | Car | Interval |
| 1 | Colin Turkington | BMW 330i M Sport | |
| 2 | Tom Ingram | Toyota Corolla | +2.570 |
| 3 | Jake Hill | Honda Civic Type R FK2 | +3.949 |
| 4 | Rory Butcher | Ford Focus ST | +5.135 |
| 5 | Ash Sutton | Infiniti Q50 | +7.125 |
| 6 | Dan Cammish | Honda Civic Type R FK8 | +8.916 |
| 7 | Adam Morgan | Mercedes Benz A Class | +9.415 |
| 8 | Josh Cook | Honda Civic Type R FK8 | +14.668 |
| 9 | Senna Proctor | Hyundai i30N | +21.105 |
| 10 | Michael Crees | Honda Civic Type R FK8 | +25.165 |
| 11 | Chris Smiley | Hyundai i30N | +26.205 |
| 12 | Stephen Jelley | BMW 125i M Sport | +26.968 |
| 13 | Matt Neal | Honda Civic Type R FK8 | +27.199 |
| 14 | Tom Oliphant | BMW 330i M Sport | +29.603 |
| 15 | Carl Boardley | BMW 125i M Sport | +30.274 |
| 16 | Tom Chilton | Honda Civic Type R FK8 | +32.531 |
| 17 | Sam Osborne | Honda Civic Type R FK2 | +33.342 |
| 18 | Jack Goff | VW CC | +33.532 |
| 19 | Paul Rivett | Audi S3 Saloon | +37.581 |
| 20 | Jack Butel | Mercedes Benz A Class | +40.103 |
| 21 | Ollie Jackson | Ford Focus ST | +46.232 |
| 22 | Jessica Hawkins | Vauxhall Astra | +51.869 |
| 23 | Nicolas Hamilton | VW CC | +55.861 |
| 24 | Ethan Hammerton | Audi S3 Saloon | +1:08.252 |
| 25 | Glynn Geddie | VW CC | +1:21.761 |
| 26 | Andy Neate | Ford Focus ST | +1:49.522 |
| 27 | Aiden Moffat | Infiniti Q50 | +1 Lap |
Image Credit: BTCC Media