Adam Morgan has claimed victory in the opening race of the weekend at Thruxton in one of the most dramatic Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races in recent seasons, ahead of pole-sitter Tom Ingram and Andrew Jordan after an incident on the start finish straight sent both Matt Neal and Josh Cook out of the race as well as leading several to take evasive action.
The start was equally dramatic, with Matt Neal putting early pressure on Tom Ingram before claiming the lead into the Complex, before Josh Cook moved to the inside at Seagrave and overtook them both. Adam Morgan then hit the front, dispensing of each of his rivals as he went, before establishing a strong lead whilst the top ten bunched up further behind.
Chaos struck at the conclusion of the eleventh lap, as a puncture for Matt Neal led to him cutting the final chicane, and he hit Josh Cook in an attempt to cross the circuit and enter the pit lane. The spinning Honda was then collected by Jake Hill as he came onto the main straight, whilst further up the road Gordon Shedden spun ninety degrees and hit the pit wall, whilst several others including Sam Tordoff and Jeff Smith were forced to take evasive action across the grass heading into Allards. Morgan’s team-mate Aiden Moffat was another to hit problems as he also had to exit the circuit with a puncture.
The end result of all the carnage was a red flag stoppage to the race, and Adam Morgan was declared the winner, whilst further back Martin Depper claimed a surprise fourth place after keeping a cool head amid the chaos to move through the field. The WSR trio also moved into 5th, 6th and 7th respectively despite starting in the midfield by virtue of the melee.
The second race gets underway at 14:32, and if it is even a tenth as exciting as the opening encounter the crowd are set to get value for money once again on a sunny afternoon in Hampshire.
Race result
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME/GAP | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 33 | Adam MORGAN |  |
WIX Racing | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 11 | 14:41.826 | 1:18.420 | 6 | |
| 2 | 80 | Tom INGRAM | |
Speedworks Motorsport | Toyota Avensis | 11 | 3.310 | 1:18.624 | 1 | |
| 3 | 77 | Andrew JORDAN | |
Motorbase Performance | Ford Focus | 11 | 3.820 | 1:18.684 | 8 | |
| 4 | 55 | Jeff SMITH | |
Eurotech Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 11 | 5.115 | 1:18.696 | 7 | |
| 5 | 30 | Martin DEPPER | |
Eurotech Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 11 | 5.824 | 1:18.707 | 16 | |
| 6 | 100 | C | Rob COLLARD | |
Team JCT600 with GardX | BMW 125i M Sport | 11 | 6.464 | 1:19.005 | 17 |
| 7 | 600 | C | Sam TORDOFF | |
Team JCT600 with GardX | BMW 125i M Sport | 11 | 6.932 | 1:18.507 | 10 |
| 8 | 31 | C | Jack GOFF | |
Team IHG Rewards Club | BMW 125i M Sport | 11 | 8.179 | 1:19.015 | 12 |
| 9 | 17 | Dan WELCH | |
Goodestone Racing | Proton Persona | 11 | 8.672 | 1:19.097 | 19 | |
| 10 | 24 | Jake HILL | |
RCIB Insurance Racing | Toyota Avensis | 11 | 8.809 | 1:19.109 | 14 | |
| 11 | 12 | Mike EPPS | |
RCIB Insurance Racing | Toyota Avensis | 11 | 9.185 | 1:18.807 | 20 | |
| 12 | 23 | Daniel LLOYD | |
Eurotech Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 11 | 10.738 | 1:19.270 | 15 | |
| 13 | 303 | Matt SIMPSON | |
Speedworks Motorsport | Honda Civic Type R | 11 | 14.491 | 1:18.748 | 21 | |
| 14 | 11 | Rob AUSTIN | |
Handy Motorsport | Toyota Avensis | 11 | 14.839 | 1:18.897 | 22 | |
| 15 | 53 | Hunter ABBOTT | |
Power Maxed Racing | Chevrolet Cruze | 11 | 16.076 | 1:18.883 | 18 | |
| 16 | 14 | Alex MARTIN | |
Dextra Racing with Team Parker | Ford Focus | 11 | 20.748 | 1:19.663 | 24 | |
| 17 | 48 | Ollie JACKSON | |
AmD Tuning | Audi S3 | 11 | 21.288 | 1:19.673 | 23 | |
| 18 | 22 | Chris SMILEY | |
TLC Racing | Toyota Avensis | 11 | 21.820 | 1:19.827 | 28 | |
| 19 | 95 | Stewart LINES | |
Maximum Motorsport | Ford Focus | 11 | 31.218 | 1:20.788 | 27 | |
| 20 | 40 | Árón SMITH |  |
BKR | Volkswagen CC | 11 | 46.808 | 1:20.020 | 9 | |
| 21 | 7 | Mat JACKSON | |
Motorbase Performance | Ford Focus | 11 | 1:24.922 | 1:18.735 | 13 | |
| 22 | 16 | Aiden MOFFAT | |
Laser Tools Racing | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 11 | 1:48.340 | 1:18.861 | 2 | |
| R | 52 | M | Gordon SHEDDEN | |
Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 11 | 6.305 | 1:18.685 | 11 |
| R | 25 | M | Matt NEAL | |
Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 10 | 1 Lap | 1:19.137 | 3 |
| R | 66 | M | Josh COOK | |
MG Racing RCIB Insurance | MG6GT | 10 | 1 Lap | 1:18.657 | 4 |
| R | 38 | Mark HOWARD | |
BKR | Volkswagen CC | 9 | 2 Laps | 1:21.008 | 26 | |
| R | 116 | M | Ashley SUTTON | |
MG Racing RCIB Insurance | MG6GT | 2 | 9 Laps | 1:27.820 | 5 |
| R | 84 | Kelvin FLETCHER | |
Power Maxed Racing | Chevrolet Cruze | 1 | 10 Laps | N/A | 25 | |
| NS | 99 | M | Jason PLATO | |
Silverline Subaru BMR Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | – | DNS | N/A | – |
| NS | 4 | M | Colin TURKINGTON | |
Silverline Subaru BMR Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | – | DNS | N/A | – |
| NS | 20 | M | James COLE | |
Silverline Subaru BMR Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | – | DNS | N/A | – |
| NS | 39 | M | Warren SCOTT | |
Silverline Subaru BMR Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | – | DNS | N/A | – |