A storming drive by Colin Turkington in the third BTCC race of the day secured Team RAC's first win of the season at Thruxton. It was also the first time that the MG ZS and WSR had won at the Hampshire circuit.

There were also celebrations earlier in the day as Rob Collard (Eversley) took the third step of the podium in front of a home crowd.

Colin now moves back into second place in the championship just 33 points behind Matt Neal (Team Halfords) whilst Rob moves up three places to seventh.

Race 1

After qualifying in second place on the grid for the opening race, Colin Turkington didn't get off to the best of starts when he had to be assisted off the start line. Colin explains: "The lights changed and I didn't move. The clutch was grabbing and I struggled for the majority of the race. The pace is certainly there in the car so the guys will check out the clutch and I'm sure we'll be better shape for the next race."

Local Hampshire driver Rob Collard finished in a solid fifth place after making up a final place on the penultimate lap. Rob said: "I got a little out of shape early on in the race going through Church and lost a few places. I got my act together though and starting to make progress as the race went on. I just tried to look after the tyres as much as possible, as I could see that Tom Chilton (Vauxhall) was getting a little untidy. I'm pleased with the result and it's good to be picking up points."

Gordon Shedden (Team Halfords) took the race win with team mate Matt Neal in second and Darren Turner (SEAT) completed the top three.

Race 2

Rob Collard was all smiles as he stepped out of his car in parc ferme having secured a third place finish. With three quarters of the race gone, a safety car was deployed to clear debris from the track. The pack closed up and during the final laps Rob came under increasing pressure from Dave Pinkney (Motorbase Performance), but defended well to hold onto the place. After picking up his trophy Rob said: "I really had to hold on and battle for that position. Dave Pinkney was charging really hard but there was no way I was going to give it up. It's all credit to Team RAC for getting the car back together after yesterday. We made minor set-up changes after the first race and it's great to be on the podium."

Colin Turkington showed excellent pace in the early stages of the race but the hot weather got the better of his tyres and he struggled for grip during the closing stages of the race. He said: "That was hard work. I'm a little bit disappointed as it's a missed opportunity. The car had good pace early on but I just ran out of front grip."

Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden completed the podium line-up. The race winner drew the number seven from the pack and those finishing positions will be reversed for the final race of the day.

Race 3

Following the compulsory grid re-shuffle, Colin Turkington and Rob Collard lined up second and fifth respectively.

A good start from Turkington saw him pass James Kaye on the opening lap. He went on to drive an exemplary race securing the first win for Team RAC. He also secured the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1m18.799 and an average speed of 107mph. Stepping out of the car he said: "That was the perfect race for me and the car felt completely transformed from the first two races. I got a good break at the start and it was just a case of looking after the tyres. I'm really please to have got the first win for Team RAC quite early on in the season."

Colin Turkington's win was also the perfect present for his race engineer Geoff Kingston who celebrated his birthday today.

Rob Collard's race was a little tougher when once again tyres played a vital role. He said: "The tyres just went off during the course of the race. The extra weight (27kgs) I was carrying didn't help and it pretty much left me powerless. I'm pleased to have been on the podium this weekend and I am really happy for Colin."

Team RAC principal, Dick Bennetts said: "I'm delighted for Colin to have secured Team RAC's first win of the season and also for WSR to break their duck in touring cars at Thruxton. I'm also pleased for Rob who picked up a third place in the second race of the day despite the problems he experienced yesterday. The team got their heads down and did a fantastic job to get the results we did today."

Patrick Snowball, executive chairman, Norwich Union said: "It was another great performance from Team RAC today with Rob's third place and Colin's first race win for the team. RAC's involvement in the team shows we are passionate about driving. Chris Millward, RAC lead patrol has spent the day with WSR's pit crew demonstrating RAC's experience in helping drivers in any situation."

Due to World Cup football, the BTCC takes a summer break and returns on 15/16 July at Croft, North Yorkshire.