Matt Simpson took the first victory of his British Touring Car Championship career in the opening race at Oulton Park.
A composed start in the Honda Civic Type R paid dividends, allowing Simpson to ease clear of the three-way debate for second behind, though the gap closed in the closing stages and he took the chequered flag just 0.2 seconds clear.
Sam Tordoff had looked to be Simpson’s closest challenger from the front row but bogged down in the Motorbase-run Ford Focus RS, allowing team-mate Tom Chilton to get the jump into Old Hall.
Andrew Jordan’s fast-starting BMW 1-series also demoted Tordoff at half-distance, but crucially couldn’t find a way past a slower Chilton – despite some contact at Island Hairpin – and was forced to settle for the final spot on the rostrum.
Tordoff duly held fourth ahead of a lonely Matt Neal in the works Honda Civic Type R FK7, whilst Colin Turkington provided the majority of the entertainment in sixth.
The Team BMW driver made bold moves on the Eurotech Racing pairing of Brett Smith and Jack Goff, as well as a stunning cutback on James Cole at the hairpin, in a result that throws him well and truly back into the championship mix.
That comes about largely as a result of poor finishes from his closest rivals – standings leader Adam Morgan could only manage 18th, and though his nearest challenger Josh Cook finished ahead neither scored any points.
Rob Collard looked to initially be capable of following team-mate Turkington through, but ultimately fell away and took ninth, with the HMS Racing Alfa Romeo Giulietta of Rob Austin rounding out the top ten.
Smith eventually took 11th ahead of fellow Honda Civic Type R FK2 runner Chris Smiley (BTC Norlin Racing), leading a frenetic charge to the flag as Dan Cammish, Ollie Jackson and Tom Ingram rounded out the points separated by less than a second.
The second race of the weekend gets underway at 14:50 BST.
Race result
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 303 | Matt SIMPSON |  |
Simpson Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 15 | 22:00.318 | 1:26.458 | 1 | |
| 2 | 3 | Tom CHILTON | |
Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher | Ford Focus RS | 15 | 0.265 | 1:26.641 | 3 | |
| 3 | 77 | M | Andrew JORDAN | |
BMW Pirtek Racing | BMW 125i M Sport | 15 | 0.630 | 1:26.737 | 4 |
| 4 | 600 | Sam TORDOFF | |
Team GardX Racing with Motorbase | Ford Focus RS | 15 | 1.630 | 1:26.739 | 2 | |
| 5 | 25 | M | Matt NEAL | |
Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 15 | 2.828 | 1:26.829 | 5 |
| 6 | 2 | M | Colin TURKINGTON | |
Team BMW | BMW 125i M Sport | 15 | 3.165 | 1:27.046 | 9 |
| 7 | 20 | James COLE | |
Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher | Ford Focus RS | 15 | 5.127 | 1:26.804 | 8 | |
| 8 | 31 | Jack GOFF | |
WIX Racing with Eurotech | Honda Civic Type R | 15 | 6.587 | 1:26.938 | 6 | |
| 9 | 5 | M | Rob COLLARD | |
Team BMW | BMW 125i M Sport | 15 | 7.125 | 1:27.092 | 12 |
| 10 | 11 | Rob AUSTIN | |
DUO Motorsport with HMS Racing | Alfa Romeo Giulietta | 15 | 7.485 | 1:27.103 | 11 | |
| 11 | 39 | Brett SMITH | |
WIX Racing with Eurotech | Honda Civic Type R | 15 | 16.644 | 1:26.989 | 7 | |
| 12 | 22 | Chris SMILEY | |
BTC Norlin Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 15 | 16.831 | 1:27.287 | 13 | |
| 13 | 27 | M | Dan CAMMISH | |
Halfords Yuasa Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 15 | 17.035 | 1:27.287 | 14 |
| 14 | 48 | Ollie JACKSON | |
AmD with Cobra Exhausts | Audi S3 | 15 | 17.375 | 1:27.395 | 18 | |
| 15 | 80 | Tom INGRAM | |
Speedworks Motorsport | Toyota Avensis | 15 | 17.423 | 1:27.355 | 17 | |
| 16 | 16 | Aiden MOFFAT | |
Laser Tools Racing | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 15 | 17.545 | 1:27.622 | 16 | |
| 17 | 66 | M | Josh COOK | |
Power Maxed TAG Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 15 | 18.138 | 1:27.594 | 20 |
| 18 | 33 | Adam MORGAN | |
MAC Tools with Ciceley Motorsport | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 15 | 18.884 | 1:27.447 | 19 | |
| 19 | 21 | Mike BUSHELL | |
Trade Price Cars with Brisky Racing | Volkswagen CC | 15 | 19.618 | 1:27.586 | 24 | |
| 20 | 15 | Tom OLIPHANT | |
Ciceley Motorsport | Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 15 | 20.197 | 1:27.274 | 10 | |
| 21 | 1 | M | Ashley SUTTON | |
Adrian Flux Subaru Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | 15 | 20.554 | 1:27.528 | 15 |
| 22 | 60 | Stephen JELLEY | |
Team Parker Racing | BMW 125i M Sport | 15 | 20.633 | 1:27.787 | 27 | |
| 23 | 24 | Jake HILL | |
Trade Price Cars with Brisky Racing | Volkswagen CC | 15 | 22.934 | 1:27.544 | 21 | |
| 24 | 12 | Tom BOARDMAN | |
AmD with AutoAid / RCIB Insurance Racing | MG 6 | 15 | 27.475 | 1:27.926 | 30 | |
| 25 | 26 | Daniel LLOYD | |
BTC Norlin Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 15 | 27.937 | 1:27.702 | 22 | |
| 26 | 19 | Bobby THOMPSON | |
Team HARD. with Trade Price Cars | Volkswagen CC | 15 | 28.173 | 1:27.846 | 28 | |
| 27 | 6 | Rory BUTCHER | |
AmD with AutoAid / RCIB Insurance Racing | MG 6 | 15 | 28.342 | 1:27.062 | 23 | |
| 28 | 18 | M | Senna PROCTOR | |
Power Maxed TAG Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 15 | 28.777 | 1:27.770 | 26 |
| 29 | 44 | Michael CAINE | |
Team HARD. with Trade Price Cars | Volkswagen CC | 15 | 32.235 | 1:28.325 | 25 | |
| 30 | 99 | M | Jason PLATO | |
Adrian Flux Subaru Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | 15 | 32.779 | 1:28.261 | 29 |
| 31 | 23 | Sam SMELT | |
AmD with Cobra Exhausts | Audi S3 | 15 | 33.643 | 1:28.301 | 31 | |
| R | 28 | Josh PRICE | |
Autoglym Academy Racing | Subaru Levorg GT | 8 | DNF | 1:29.023 | 32 |