The Feature race, getting underway shortly after 10PM, under the cover of darkness, started with the rain falling, just as the earlier Sprint race had done. This played a part, without a doubt, in making this race a very eventful one. The outcome was that James Thompson took victory ahead of Jason Plato and Yvan Muller in the Touring class, and Gareth Howell was the very popular winner of the Production class, with Simon Graves in second, and Mat Jackson making it two podium spots for GR Motorsport.

As the field entered the start-finish straight in grid formation for the rolling start, Jason Plato and Yvan Muller lined up at the front, with Phil Bennett and James Thompson behind. Going in to the first corner, Muller attempted to take the inside line, but was unable to pass Plato. Bennett also maintained his position ahead of Thompson. In the Production class, Simon Harrison was able to convert pole position in to the race lead, with Gavin Pyper passing Graves to move second. Together with Gareth Howell and James Kaye, this group was very close together in the early stages of the race, and some shuffling of positions took place, with Pyper taking the lead, and Harrison dropping to fourth. Annie Templeton made an early retirement, pulling off on to the grass on lap 2.

At the front in the Touring class, there was a three way battle emerging, with Yvan Muller close behind Plato, but himself being pressurised by Phil Bennett. It was Bennett who seemed to have things just right, lapping faster than his team mates in front of him. There was no lack of contact, with Plato and Muller coming together at Sears on lap 8, and swapping paint at various points along the way. On lap 10, Bennett made his extra pace count, pulling off a very neat move to pass Muller at the Esses. It wasn't long before he was up on Plato, and again Bennett produced a great move to take the lead at Riches. The celebrations were shortlived however, as controversy loomed. As Bennett moved in front, Plato refused to relent, and the result was Bennett's car being punted off on to the grass, causing major damage to the front end, and a punctured tyre. He did recover but pitted, at first turning the engine off, but then returning to the track once the team had taken a look under the bonnet. However, his chances of taking his first BTCC race victory, which were looking very good, had gone, and the good work had all been undone.

While the focus was on the battle between the Astras, Dan Eaves was the first to make his pit-stop, opting, correctly it would emerge, to change all four tyres to slicks. However a problem with the right rear meant that he was stationary for 25 seconds. Steve Soper followed shortly afterwards. The Astra drivers had also all stopped by the end of lap 13, and when they emerged, it was Muller leadng from Plato and Thompson, however Plato soon managed to pass Muller, who seemed to suffer from poor handling for a couple of laps.

With so much happening in the Touring class it was easy to overlook the Production runners, however there were battles brewing there as well. Graves led from Howell, but the Focus seemed the stronger of the two, and Howell finally managed to get past just after Steve Soper lapped the pair. Simon Harrison also passed Pyper to move in to third.

As the race went on, the action continued in both classes. James Thompson, who had managed to stay out of trouble, unlike his team-mates, was now lapping quickest, and was soon right with Plato and Muller. The lead pair were very close and did well to avoid major contact. Lap 23 saw Thompson make the most of his pace and pass Plato for second, as the Vauxhall Motorsport driver ran wide. A lap later, and Thompson was in the lead, finding his way past Muller. The three remained close together and it was shaping up for a stunning finale, as Plato took second place away from Muller on lap 26, however in amongst all the action, Dan Eaves had gone off in a big way at Coram, wrecking both his car and the tyre barrier. Fortunately he was ok, but the position of his car was very dangerous. It was nearly hit twice, first by Rob Collard, followed shortly afterwards by Yvan Muller, who called on his ice racing knowledge to remarkably regain control of his Astra Coupe as it slid perilously across the grass. Eventually the race officials decided that the situation was too dangerous, and the red flags came out on lap 29, bringing the race to a premature close, and giving Thompson his third win of the season.

The final few laps of the race were not uneventful in the Production class either. Leader, Gareth Howell, no doubt had a few people holding their breath, as firstly, he went straight on at the Esses, allowing Simon Graves to close up behind him. That was not all though, as his Ford Focus started to smoke and deposit oil on the track. The red flag came just at the right moment for Gareth and the GR Motorsport team, with just one more lap likely to seen his chances of winning disappear. The result is though, that he took the win, his first in the BTCC, and this was very popular with the crowd. Gareth is the eighth different winner in the Production class this year, and will be hoping that it marks a change in his fortunes, not having scored a point in the five races leading up to the meeting. Behind Howell, Simon Graves held on to his 2nd position, whilst Mat Jackson passed Simon Harrison for third.

Had the race gone the full distance, the results in both classes may well have been different, and indeed there could still be more to come, but what is for sure is that this was one of the most entertaining races of the season, and the crowd of 16,500 will not have been disappointed. There were mixed emotions in the Paddock at the end of the night, with some partying in to the early hours, and others drowning their sorrows, but then, what else is to be expected? Chances are the action will pick up where it left off in just a week's time at Croft in Yorkshire, and we will be in for another great weekend of racing.

Driver Quotes:

James Thompson: "It was a gamble coming in early and putting slicks on, but I just took a few risks and got some heat in to the tyres quickly. Then I clawed back the gap quickly, and in the end it was that middle stint that did it.

Stopping the race was the right thing to do - Dan's car was in a dangerous position. It's a great result, and the lads worked hard all weekend for it. We weren't quick in the wet, but as it dried I just had to take as many risks as possible, and it paid off!"

Yvan Muller: "I made too many mistakes. In those conditions you have to push a bit less, but I didn't. It was very difficult, and sometimes the brain just switches off."

Jason Plato: "The beginning of the race was good but when it started to dry out I was struggling a little bit with the car. It was quite edgy to drive so I dropped my pace to get a more consistent pace and waited for it to dry out. Me and Yvan had a bit of a dice. He jumped down the inside of me at the Esses and took us both off. We both ended up going across the grass and then a little bit later on in the race the same thing happened again when I got tapped at the back by Yvan. Not intentional though. Then it started to dry out and the drier it got the better it got.

It was the right thing to stop the race because that Peugeot was in a really nasty place. I think maybe they should have stopped it earlier. There is only one line through there and there were a couple of times I skirted on the edge and could have sailed off. But in all fairness, it was a difficult call to make. It's such a shame it was stopped cos it would have been a cracking last few laps. But James drove a cracking race and deserved to win."

Regarding the coming together with Phil Bennett: "He {Phil Bennett} cut right in front of me. As he went in he lost it and started to come across to my side of the track and I had nowhere to go."

Simon Graves: "I can't grumble, it's been very good all weekend. We took a gamble with the left front tyre, but in the end it was too dry, and there's nothing left of the tyre now.

Gareth was going very well and deserved the win. I'd have taken the win if it had come to me, but I don't know if I'd have made the last few laps either, because the tyre's in a very bad way."