Viktor Andersson won on his début in the TCR UK series at Brands Hatch on Saturday, as the Swede leapfrogged Callum Newsham at the start of the race and went on to secure a lights-to-flag victory.
Newsham had earlier taken his maiden pole position in the series, edging out Andersson by a mere 0.029 seconds.
But Andersson was the faster starter of the front row men, putting his Lynk & Co in the lead on the run down to the first corner, as Newsham came under attack from reigning champion Carl Boardley.
Newsham prevailed in second, but the leading trio lapped close for the opening eight laps, until Newsham attempted to pass Andersson for the lead at Druids.
The duo ran side-by-side for three corners, but going onto the following lap, Boardley seized the opportunity to get by Newsham, as Andersson held on to his slender lead.
Over the next nine laps, the top three became a top six, and Andersson was unable to get away from the chasing pack.
Newsham once again tried to pounce forward and reclaim second, but once again instead of going forwards the Hyundai driver found himself losing out, as he was passed by Adam Shepherd’s CUPRA at Clearways, leaving the Scot going backwards.
There were no further changes at the front in the final six lap, but Andersson held on to claim his and Lynk & Co’s first win in TCR UK by just 0.269 seconds, with the top four covered by less than a second.
The podium was completed by Boardley and Shepherd, as Newsham had to settle for fourth.
Joe Marshall-Birks was the leading Audi driver in fifth for Rob Boston Racing, ahead of Will Powell in a distant sixth in the best Honda.
Darron Lewis was seventh in his Hyundai, ahead of Luke Sargeant’s CUPRA in eighth. Sargeant had an eventful race which saw him twice take to the gravel in the opening laps, dropping him as low as 12th, having started the race from sixth.
The top ten was completed by newcomer Will Beech in his first-generation Volkswagen and Rick Kerry in his first-gen CUPRA.
Races two and three take place at 14:00 BST and 16:50 BST on Sunday.
Race results
| POS | NO | CL | NAT | DRIVER | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP | GD |
| 1 | 20 |  |
Viktor ANDERSSON | Pro Alloys Racing | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 25 | 20:40.049 | 48.651 | 2 | |
| 2 | 1 |  |
Carl BOARDLEY | CBM with Hart GT | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 25 | 0.269 | 48.618 | 3 | |
| 3 | 117 | |
Adam SHEPHERD | Area Motorsport with Shepherd Motors | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 25 | 0.646 | 48.517 | 8 | |
| 4 | 16 | |
Callum NEWSHAM | JH Racing | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 25 | 0.833 | 48.574 | 1 | |
| 5 | 99 | |
Joe MARSHALL | Rob Boston Racing | Audi RS3 LMS TCR II | 25 | 1.485 | 48.593 | 4 | |
| 6 | 7 | |
Will POWELL | Go-Fix Honda by Sport77 | Honda Civic Type-R FK7 TCR | 25 | 17.710 | 49.402 | 7 | |
| 7 | 285 | |
Darron LEWIS | DLR with JH Racing | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 25 | 24.863 | 49.426 | 9 | |
| 8 | 115 | |
Luke SARGEANT | R.S. Vehicle Sales with Area Motorsport | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 25 | 42.240 | 49.657 | 6 | |
| 9 | 27 | |
Will BEECH | Capture Motorsport | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 25 | 49.008 | 50.491 | 10 | |
| 10 | 22 | |
Rick KERRY | EDF Motorsport | CUPRA TCR | 24 | + 1 LAP | 50.593 | 11 | |
| 11 | 77 | |
Mark SMITH | Richmond Fire Motorsport | CUPRA TCR | 24 | + 1 LAP | 51.083 | 13 | |
| 12 | 19 | |
Jeffrey ALDEN | Matrix Motorsport with DW Racing | Opel Astra TCR | 24 | + 1 LAP | 51.432 | 14 | |
| 13 | 17 | |
Bradley HUTCHISON | MPH Racing | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 23 | + 2 LAPS | 48.728 | 5 | |
| R | 28 | |
Bradley THURSTON | Sport77 | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 15 | DNF | 50.765 | 12 | |
| NS | 50 | |
Darelle WILSON | DW Racing | Vauxhall Astra TCR | – | DNS | N/A | 15 |