Polesitter Colin Turkington looked to have scored his third win of the season in the first race of the day at Snetterton, only to be disqualified after the race. The Northern Irishman’s Team RAC BMW was found to be underweight in post-race scrutineering, leaving officials with no option but to exclude the racewinner. It was good new for Team Halfords’ Gordon Shedden, who inherits the win after crossing the line in second. In the battle for the championship, Fabrizio Giovanardi outscored current leader Jason Plato, but the VX Racing driver would have hoped to close the gap by more than three points.

Away from the line, Onslow-Cole got the better of Turkington as the two RAC BMWs ran side by side into the Riches right-hander. Shedden and Tom Chilton followed the lead pair through the corner for the first time, but there was drama further back down the pack. A clutch roblem for Giovanardi saw him slow away from the line, but it was Plato and reigning champion Matt Neal who made contact through the first corner. An overambitious move up the inside by Neal meant Plato was nerfed to the outside of the track and left the Honda sliding back across the track, narrowly avoiding Giovanardi’s Vectra.

Team RAC boss Dick Bennetts would have been nervous as he watched his two young drivers scrapping for the lead in the early stages and it came to a head on lap five after Onslow-Cole made a small mistake going into the Esses, allowing Turkington to squeeze through on the inside. Onslow-Cole found himself down to third position on the following lap, losing out to Shedden after a gentle nudge from the Civic.

Meanwhile, Fabrizio Giovanardi was looking to capitalize on Plato being further down the order. The Vauxhall driver took seventh position from Mike Jordan at Riches on lap four and then got the better of SEAT’s Darren Turner at the Esses a couple of laps later to go sixth. It was as far as Giovanardi would get though. Despite lapping three tenths of a second quicker than fifth-placed Mat Jackson during the middle section of the race, the Italian could not get close enough to challenge the independently-run BMW.

At the front, Shedden kept Turkington under pressure right the way to the chequered flag, but the Portadown driver kept his cool to hold on for what he thought was his third win of the season. Onslow-Cole managed to fend off the advances of Tom Chilton to finish third. Mat Jackson and Fabrizio Giovanardi were fifth and sixth respectively, while Darren Turner and Mike Jordan finished seventh and eighth. Plato came back from his first lap troubles to score a ninth-place finish and limit the damage to his championship lead. Tom Ferrier sneaked into the top ten for Motorbase Performance to pick up his first championship point in his second outing of the season.

It was not a good race for Alfa Romeo fans. Both David Pinkney and Eoin Murray ran in ninth position during the 18-lap race, however neither was able to make it through to the end. Pinkney ended up facing a tyre barrier after a coming together with Matt Allison’s SEAT Toledo Cupra, while mechanical gremlins forced Murray to retire, not for the first time this season.

Jason Hughes continued the strong form he has shown throughout the weekend, finishing just outside the points in 11th position. Turkish driver Erkut Kizilirmak showed well once again, bringing his ex-works Astra Sport Hatch home in 12th position. Matt Allison finished 13th.

Following Turkington’s exclusion, all race finishers gained a position. Turkington will start race two from the back of the grid with a full quota of ballast.