Tom Onslow-Cole scored his first race win for VX Racing in the opening race at Thruxton, after Gordon Shedden suffered a puncture while leading the race. Championship leader Fabrizio Giovanardi finished the race in fourth position, just behind SEAT’s Jason Plato.

Following his impressive performance in Saturday’s qualifying session, Onslow-Cole was unable to turn pole position into the race lead, losing out to Team Halfords’ Gordon Shedden on the run down to the first corner. Fabrizio Giovanardi made a strong start, but as the pack entered the Complex for the first time, it was Shedden leading from Onslow-Cole, Plato, Giovanardi and Colin Turkington.

The lead pair were able to break away from the rest of the pack in the early stages of the race, with Jason Plato’s SEAT coming under pressure from Giovanardi and Turkington. The trio fighting for third ran together for several laps. Plato caught the curb at the chicane on lap six, allowing Giovanardi to pull alongside as he accelerated into the start-finish straight. Still side-by-side as they approached the Complex, Plato eventually managed to edge back in front to hold on to the position. It was a move that left Giovanardi off the throttle on the exit form the Complex, allowing Colin Turkington to move through into fourth position.

At the front, Tom Onslow-Cole kept the pressure on Gordon Shedden - the Team Halfords driver hitting the curbs heavily at times. It only took until the mid-race lap for Shedden’s curb-hopping to take its toll, as the Honda Civic suffered a puncture to its front-left tyre. Onslow-Cole avoided the suddenly-slowing Civic to inherit the lead of the race. Shedden was left to crawl back to the pits where the tyre was changed and he rejoined the race well down the order.

With Shedden out of the picture, Onslow-Cole was left to look after his tyres and cruise home to victory with a three-second lead. Colin Turkington’s pace continued into the closing stages of the race as he go the better of Jason Plato to take what was now second position away from the SEAT driver. Plato also found himself under pressure from Giovanardi over the final couple of laps, but there was no way past for the fully-ballasted Vauxhall.

For Tom Onslow-Cole, it was the second victory of his BTCC career, just two days after his 21st birthday. “It wasn’t my best start ever”, said Onslow-Cole after the race. “Shedden was pushing hard in the early stages, so I wasn’t really sure how to play it, but I just tried to keep the pressure on him and look after my tyres at the same time. When he dropped off, we were still there and it’s just a brilliant result for everyone in the team.”

Behind the Vauxhall driver, Colin Turkington claimed his best result since the opening rounds of the season at Brands Hatch, finishing in second. Jason Plato brought the first of the diesel-powered SEATs home in third position, but was later disqualified after the Leon failed the ride-height test. Fabrizio Giovanardi crossed the line fourth, but that became third when Plato was excluded. Matt Neal was fourth in the third of the Vectras, with Mat Jackson fifth and Darren Turner sixth. Tom Chilton, Adam Jones, Mike Jordan and Andrew Jordan rounded out the top ten.