The Rockingham weather kept the BTCC teams on their toes ahead of the first race, with a shower just beforehand and some very dark clouds looming above the circuit as they lined up on the grid. The rain held off for the start of the race, but did return in the closing stages.

Polesitter Gordon Shedden led away from the line, with Adam Jones in second. The Deene hairpin saw Jones lose out to works SEAT driver Darren Turner, as well as Vauxhall’s Matt Neal. There were strong starts for many of the rear-wheel drive runners, with the BMWs of Colin Turkington, Mat Jackson and Steven Kane all gaining ground. In contrast, there was an early spin for Motorbase Performance’s Rob Collard, dropping him down the order.

The main action in the early stages of the race was to be found in the lower half of the top ten, with Jason Plato challenging Colin Turkington and Tom Onslow-Cole giving Mat Jackson a few gentle taps from behind. Jackson eventually ceded fifth position to the Vauxhall driver at Deene on lap four. It was déjà vu for Jackson on the following lap, when it was Fabrizio Giovanardi who squeezed past the BMW.

Gordon Shedden continued to lead for Team Halfords, ahead of Darren Turner and Matt Neal, but as the rain returned, the track became particularly slippery. Neal ran wide at Deene and was passed by Adam Jones and VX Racing teammate Tom Onslow-Cole. It was only a temporary demotion for Neal though, as he would climb back to third by the end of the race.

At the chequered flag, it was a first win of the season for Gordon Shedden and Team Halfords, with Darren Turner taking second spot on his 34th birthday. Matt Neal completed the podium trio.

Gordon Shedden said, “The last two or three laps when the rain really started to come down, it was like driving on ice. It was madness out there. The car was fantastic though. It’s a great result, so now we just have to see if we can do it again in race two.”

Matt Neal commented, “I’m over the moon to be on the podium, but I’m really cross with myself. I had a really fast car to start with, all through the race in fact, but Darren was just too quick in the wrong places for me to get past him. The rain came and the Vectra is fantastic in those kind of intermediate conditions, but I locked the brakes going into turn two and it just made it hard from there.”

Adam Jones finished fourth, ahead of Fabrizio Giovanardi and Mat Jackson. Tom Onslow-Cole, Tom Chilton, Jason Plato and Steven Kane filled the final points scoring positions.