Team BMW's Stephen Jelley claimed a calm and measured victory – the fourth of his BTCC career – whilst drama kicked off throughout the field in the final encounter at Oulton Park.
Contact between Dan Lloyd's Hyundai and the Toyota of Ricky Collard sent the former's #123 car into the barrier at high speed on the run towards Hislops. Lloyd's stricken machine re-entered the track and was collected heavily by Team BMW's Colin Turkington, with the likes of Tom Ingram, Ash Sutton and Michael Crees also caught up the incident.
Lloyd and Turkington were taken to the Medical Centre for precautionary checks with the former being sent to hospital for x-rays. Further information will follow.
With a trio of title contenders now out of contention, Jelley was able to get his head down following the restart and impressively scampered away into the distance, with Laser Tools Racing's Aiden Moffat taking a brilliant second.
"The car was flawless – it was a pleasure to drive," said Jelley. "I got a great start and we knew from earlier on that we had good race pace in the car, I just didn’t have the track position so, once I had that track position it was a matter of getting away to start with and managing that gap.
"There was the odd spec of rain and then the hybrid was making some funny noises and I thought ‘just look forwards!’ I’m just glad to get to the end, it was a weight off my shoulders.
"It’s an exceptional feeling and I hope there’s many more wins to come!"
A delighted Moffat was equally as pleased as he bounced back from a challenging start to the campaign.
"That was massive!" he said. "When you start on the front row you want to win obviously, but everyone’s seen how much we’ve struggled these past three meetings. To come back after a disappointing qualifying, where I never really showed the pace we had in the car that the team gave me and I let them down a bit, and to bounce back and reward them for all their hard work with a podium is a special moment.
"We go to Croft next where I got pole position and a win last year, so it’s a nice time to find that window in the car and hopefully we’ll get that sweet spot in two weeks’ time."
Collard's Toyota was third on the road but the youngster was unfortunately penalised by five seconds for a jump start, handing the final place on the podium to championship leader Josh Cook.
"That was good," noted Cook. "It’s been a tough weekend and we know that this championship is won and lost on the bad weekends, not the good ones. We’ve come away from what’s been an incredible start to the season with two double wins and we’ve struggled today. So to finish with a podium and keep our average points score high is mega."
Halfords Racing with Cataclean's Gordon Shedden and Toyota GAZOO Racing UK's Rory Butcher were fourth and fifth respectively.
Dan Cammish held off a rampant Adam Morgan in his Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport BMW, who was busy recovering throughout the day after an incident in race one, whilst Collard finished in-between them in the final classification following his penalty.
Ash Hand (CarStore Power Maxed Racing) and Aron Taylor-Smith (Yazoo with Safuu.com Racing) both drove well to round out the top ten.
There was further celebration for Laser Tools Racing as Dexter Patterson scored his first championship point, whilst Rich Energy BTC Racing's Jade Edwards claimed Jack Sears Trophy honours.
Edwards was embroiled in a fantastic scrap on-track, which included the likes of Sutton, Ingram and ROKiT MB Motorsport Jake Hill, with JST success being her reward for an eye-catching performance.
2022 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Race 3 – Oulton Park
1. Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team BMW 18 laps
2. Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.541s
3. Josh COOK (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +3.975s
4. Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +4.402s
5. Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Toyota GAZOO Racing UK +5.196s
6. Dan CAMMISH (GBR) NAPA Racing UK +8.245s
7. Ricky COLLARD (GBR) Toyota GAZOO Racing UK +8.261s
8. Adam MORGAN (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +8.453s
9. Ash HAND (GBR) CarStore Power Maxed Racing +11.503s
10. Árón TAYLOR-SMITH (IRL) Yazoo with Safuu.com Racing +16.670s
11. Jason PLATO (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +16.894s
12. Daniel ROWBOTTOM (GBR) Halfords Racing with Cataclean +17.153s
13. Jake HILL (GBR) ROKiT MB Motorsport +22.154s
14. Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan +22.905s
15. Dexter PATTERSON (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +23.201s
16. Ash SUTTON (GBR) NAPA Racing UK +23.449s
17. Tom INGRAM (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +23.838s
18. Jade EDWARDS (GBR) Rich Energy BTC Racing +24.363s
19. Jack BUTEL (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +24.650s
20. Tom CHILTON (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +25.241s
21. Will POWELL (GBR) Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero +31.418s
22. Nic HAMILTON (GBR) Yazoo with Safuu.com Racing +31.849s
23. Rick PARFITT (GBR) Uptonsteel with Euro Car Parts Racing +5 laps
24. George GAMBLE (GBR) Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport +9 laps
25. Sam OSBORNE (GBR) Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan +12 laps
26. Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero +13 laps
27. Daniel LLOYD (GBR) Bristol Street Motors with EXCELR8 TradePriceCars.com +18 laps
28. Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW +18 laps
29. Michael CREES (GBR) CarStore Power Maxed Racing +18 laps
