Matt Neal led home Gordon Shedden in a Honda 1-2 during the opening British Touring Car Championship race at Thruxton, and in doing so secured his 60th career victory.
The win, his first of the 2017 season, also moves him into second in the all-time victory stakes, level with Andy Rouse and behind rival Jason Plato.
Gordon Shedden, laden with the maximum quota of success ballast, elected to act as rear-gunner for his team-mate and duly took second, with Jack Goff claiming his first podium for Eurotech Racing in third.
Tom Ingram was forced to settle for fourth despite a late turn of pace in the Toyota Avensis, with Adam Morgan fifth in the Mercedes A-Class.
Some opportunistic overtaking gave Subaru’s sole bread-winner Ashley Sutton sixth, with Colin Turkington, Mat Jackson, Rob Austin and Rob Collard rounding out the top ten.
The two leaders made a level start around the challenging 2.3 mile Hampshire circuit, with Neal stretching a slight advantage as his team-mate covered off the threat behind from Goff.
Goff’s team-mate Jeff Smith fared less successfully, slipping from his third row grid slot to an eventual 11th place finish.
Jake Hill and Josh Cook became the races only retirements shortly after the start, making contact on the exit of Seagrave. Cook spun dramatically towards the barriers but avoided harm, aside from his rear-left damage, whilst Hill was forced to park up alongside with his own wounds from the contact.
Morgan and Sutton provided a large portion of the drama up front, the former squeezing past Austin around the outside at Campbell whilst Sutton claimed sixth from the fast-starting Turkington at Church. Mat Jackson followed the Levorg GT through.
Turkington’s retribution would prove opportunistic, with Jackson’s challenge on Austin at Seagrave allowing the BMW 125i M Sport to slide underneath the duo for seventh.
Andrew Jordan spun in an attempt to pass Smith at the Complex, his sideways BMW holding up Tom Chilton and allowing Aiden Moffat to pass both.
Any late race drama was largely neutralised by Ant Whorton-Eales, with the Audi S3 taking several laps to finally concede to the leaders in turn and go a lap down.
The result sees both Honda drivers close to gap to standings leader Tom Ingram. Matt Neal will start the second race from pole position later this afternoon at 14:32 BST.
Race result
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME/GAP | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 25 | M | Matt NEAL |  |
Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 16 | 20:59.855 | 1:17.646 | 1 |
| 2 | 52 | M | Gordon SHEDDEN | |
Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 16 | 0.290 | 1:17.904 | 2 |
| 3 | 31 | Jack GOFF | |
Eurotech Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 16 | 1.372 | 1:17.868 | 3 | |
| 4 | 80 | Tom INGRAM | |
Speedworks Motorsport | Toyota Avensis | 16 | 1.772 | 1:17.748 | 4 | |
| 5 | 33 | Adam MORGAN | |
Ciceley Motorsport | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 16 | 2.230 | 1:17.646 | 7 | |
| 6 | 116 | M | Ashley SUTTON | |
Adrian Flux Subaru Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | 16 | 2.474 | 1:17.619 | 8 |
| 7 | 4 | M | Colin TURKINGTON | |
Team BMW | BMW 125i M Sport | 16 | 5.060 | 1:17.642 | 9 |
| 8 | 3 | Mat JACKSON | |
Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo | Ford Focus | 16 | 5.940 | 1:17.738 | 10 | |
| 9 | 11 | Rob AUSTIN | |
Handy Motorsport | Toyota Avensis | 16 | 6.366 | 1:17.778 | 5 | |
| 10 | 5 | M | Rob COLLARD | |
Team BMW | BMW 125i M Sport | 16 | 7.302 | 1:18.083 | 18 |
| 11 | 55 | Jeff SMITH | |
Eurotech Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 16 | 14.721 | 1:18.211 | 6 | |
| 12 | 16 | Aiden MOFFAT | |
Laser Tools Racing | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 16 | 14.925 | 1:18.373 | 12 | |
| 13 | 303 | M | Matt SIMPSON | |
Simpson Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 16 | 15.605 | 1:18.389 | 13 |
| 14 | 2 | M | Tom CHILTON | |
Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 16 | 15.801 | 1:18.162 | 11 |
| 15 | 17 | David NEWSHAM | |
BTC Norlin Racing | Chevrolet Cruze | 16 | 15.999 | 1:17.878 | 22 | |
| 16 | 18 | M | Senna PROCTOR | |
Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 16 | 16.684 | 1:17.795 | 14 |
| 17 | 300 | Luke DAVENPORT | |
Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo | Ford Focus | 16 | 17.127 | 1:18.193 | 15 | |
| 18 | 48 | Ollie JACKSON | |
AmDtuning.com with CobraExhausts | Audi S3 | 16 | 17.283 | 1:18.338 | 25 | |
| 19 | 22 | Chris SMILEY | |
BTC Norlin Racing | Chevrolet Cruze | 16 | 19.638 | 1:18.456 | 27 | |
| 20 | 40 | M | Árón SMITH |  |
MG Racing RCIB Insurance | MG6GT | 16 | 21.023 | 1:18.424 | 23 |
| 21 | 23 | M | Daniel LLOYD | |
MG Racing RCIB Insurance | MG6GT | 16 | 21.373 | 1:18.504 | 29 |
| 22 | 7 | Stephen JELLEY | |
Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport | Ford Focus | 16 | 22.837 | 1:18.547 | 28 | |
| 23 | 99 | M | Jason PLATO | |
Adrian Flux Subaru Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | 16 | 23.869 | 1:17.971 | 21 |
| 24 | 30 | Martin DEPPER | |
Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo | Ford Focus | 16 | 24.039 | 1:18.568 | 31 | |
| 25 | 12 | Mike EPPS | |
Autoaid / RCIB Insurance Racing | Volkswagen CC | 16 | 25.383 | 1:18.650 | 20 | |
| 26 | 61 | Will BURNS | |
Autoaid / RCIB Insurance Racing | Volkswagen CC | 16 | 27.719 | 1:18.842 | 30 | |
| 27 | 20 | M | James COLE | |
Adrian Flux Subaru Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | 16 | 28.300 | 1:18.549 | 26 |
| 28 | 77 | M | Andrew JORDAN | |
BMW Pirtek Racing | BMW 125i M Sport | 16 | 28.585 | 1:18.217 | 16 |
| 29 | 28 | M | Josh PRICE | |
BMR Racing Academy | Subaru Levorg GT | 16 | 29.374 | 1:18.753 | 32 |
| 30 | 10 | Ant WHORTON-EALES | |
AmDtuning.com with CobraExhausts | Audi S3 | 15 | 1 Lap | 1:18.326 | 19 | |
| R | 66 | Josh COOK | |
Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport | Ford Focus | 2 | 14 Laps | 1:19.968 | 17 | |
| R | 24 | Jake HILL | |
TAG Racing | Volkswagen CC | 2 | 14 Laps | 1:18.280 | 24 |