The Feature race at Oulton Park marked Steve Soper's 100th BTCC race, and also the most significant race of the season as far as the VLR Peugeot team are concerned. Soper led the race outright for a considerable period of time after the completion of the mandatory Touring class pitstops. Having used the last meeting at Croft as a 'data gathering exercise' the team look to have made substantial progress in terms of the development of the car's setup. Soper set a blistering pace at the front of the class, and the Astras were unable to close the gap. It was all looking set for the VLR Peugeot team to take their first victory of the season, until, on lap 20, smoke started to appear from the back of Soper's car. At first it seemed that he would be able to continue, but the deposits from the rear of the car became steadily worse, eventually causing the race stewards to show the black and orange flag to the driver of car number 44, however before Soper had the chance to come in to the pit, the car finally slowed to a halt at Knickerbrook, and a collective groan could be heard from the crowd at the Cheshire circuit. As Soper emerged from the car, he was greeted with cheers and applause, and the knowledge that the much-awaited improvements are starting to appear. Following the race, Soper commented, "Its frustrating that I couldn't finish the race due to the engine leaking oil that was spilling on the track, but the best and most amazing thing is the track time we gained in my quick pitstop which allowed me to overtake Thompson and eventually take the lead from Plato for most of the race.".

The start of the race saw Andy Priaulx convert his pole position in to the race lead, followed by Yvan Muller, Jason Plato and Steve Soper. In the Production class, Simon Harrison got away ahead of team-mate Moen, Gavin Pyper, and Mat Jackson. The race didn't have a chance to get properly underway before the safety car came out at the end of lap two. Yvan Muller made a very rare and uncharacteristic mistake, losing control of his Astra Coupe on the approach to Cascades, and despite his best efforts, he was unable to keep the car moving as it became embedded deep in the gravel at the bottom of the hill.

It took several laps to move Muller's car, and in the end he was able to drive it round the track and back to the pits. The race eventually re-started on lap 8 with Jason Plato leading with Andy Priaulx and Steve Soper close behind. In the Production class, Simon Harrison was close behind team-mate Roger Moen, and it didn't take the Norwegian long to get past. Gavin Pyper was behind the HTML pair in third position.

The first of the Touring class to make the mandatory pitstop was Dan Eaves on lap 12 - a quick stop saw him only stationary for 7 seconds. Thompson was next to stop, running in fourth position at the time and seeming to struggle with the car out on the track. His stop didn't run totally smoothly, taking 10 seconds for the team to change his wheels. Soper's stop came next, another quick one from the VLR team. Quick enough in fact, to bring Soper out at the front of the race once Plato made his pitstop. In the meantime, Priaulx's Astra Coupe developed an engine problem, and the newcomer was forced to retire to the pits.

The focus was on what was developing in to the best Touring class race of the season, but the Production action also continued. Tom Boardman's run of bad fortune continued, suffering a puncture to his front right tyre. He pitted to change the wheel but then wasn't able to continue for long before another problem forced him out of the race. The youngster is becoming understandably disheartened with the Peugeot 306 as the team are struggling to solve recurring engine problems with the car. Ahead, Gavin Pyper passed Simon Harrison to move up to third position in the class.

The last of the Touring class pitstops saw Tommy Erdos enter the pits just ahead of Tim Harvey, but a problem with the airline for the TMS Racing Lexus allowed Harvey to exit the pitlane in front. By this point, Soper was out in front and the anticipation was starting to build, but then it all went wrong, and Plato retook the lead when Soper retired. Thompson closed on Plato but the Egg Sport driver just seemed to be lacking the necessary pace to really put his fellow Astra driver under pressure. Thompson was allegedly driving what was Phil Bennett's car for the races after having driven the car early on Saturday and choosing this over his own car, which Priaulx later put on pole for both races. Asked whether this was true after the Feature race, Thompson said, "I couldn't possibly comment on that".

Plato held on to take victory and regain the lead in the drivers' championship by ten points from team-mate Yvan Muller. Thompson remains a further 19 points behind, with a maximum of 105 points still to be had from the remaining six races. The battle for the Production class also remains very close, with the order at the end of the race being Moen, Harrison, Pyper, Kaye, Jackson, Howell - the top 6 drivers in the championship filling the first six positions in the race. GR Motorsport remain at the top of the Production team's championship.

The battles for both drivers' championships look set to go right down to the wire, although for the Production class the next races at Silverstone could well help decide the outcome as most of the front runners will be carrying similarly large amounts of success ballast following the races at Oulton Park. The next meeting takes place at Silverstone in Northamptonshire over the weekend of 8/9 September, and with the addition of the two MG cars, driven by Anthony Reid and Warren Hughes, and hopefully the second Lexus IS200, piloted by Vincent Radermecker, it should see the largest Touring class field of the season. The atmosphere is set to be electric as the season draws closer to a spectacular climax.