Team BMW's Colin Turkington ran relatively untroubled during Round 13 of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship to covert pole position into his third victory of the season.
Dan Cammish kept the reigning champion honest throughout, but the Halfords Yuasa Racing man had to settle for second at the finish, as Turkington extended his advantage at the top of the standings.
"We got a great launch and that's something I've been working on," said Turkington. "After that, it was such a tough race and hard work with the weight. The car's always on the move and you're trying to pre-empt that. It was flat out the whole way and I couldn't hold anything back.
"Dan (Cammish) was quicker than me down at the hairpin but I could gap him at the chicanes. When you get a car to the front of the pack, you've a better chance of keeping it there. I knew I couldn't afford to look after the tyres. The most difficult bit of the race was going to be the start and I had to push from the off. All credit to BMW, the 3 Series strikes again and it's just such a wonderful car to drive."
Cammish came under huge pressure from the fast starting BMW of Andrew Jordan off the line and the pair touched through Old Hall for the first time, but the manufacturer Honda man held on to take his best result so far in 2019.
"What more can I do?" commented Cammish. "Great job by Colin (Turkington). He just has a gear I can't go to. I respond when he ups it but I can't up it enough. We got into a bit of a stalemate out there but I was giving it absolutely everything. We had a bit more but not quite enough to get on top of this BMW 3 Series.
"It was always going to be tough even if I got to Colin, and it wouldn't have been easy to overtake someone of his experience around here. I’m hopefully showing a little more of what I’m about now in the BTCC."
Jordan was a comfortable third from Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance's Rory Butcher, who had got the better of team-mate Sam Tordoff. Yorkshireman Tordoff was the big loser of the front runners as he slipped from second to fifth early on, with Butcher's move around the outside through Island Bend forcing him further down the order.
Tordoff's fortunes were better than Matt Neal's, however, as the Halfords Yuasa Racing car crashed out on lap six. The Honda Civic Type R went straight on at Lodge Corner after seemingly shedding one of its wheels, leaving the triple BTCC champion helpless as his car speared into the barrier at high speed.
Tom Oliphant maintained sixth but it was the trio of Tom Ingram, Ash Sutton and Jason Plato that provided most of the entertainment following the restart.
Ingram's Team Toyota GB with Ginsters car had slight contact with Plato's Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing's Vauxhall into Hislops, which then left Sutton's Subaru heading straight on across the grass. The drama wasn't over for Sutton after heavier contact with Adam Morgan's Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport Mercedes forced the latter into retirement.
When the dust eventually settled and the chequered flag fell after 18 laps it was Ingram, Sutton and Plato in seventh, eighth and ninth respectively.
Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher's Ollie Jackson rounded out the top ten after a series of eye catching moves including passes by Stephen Jelley's BMW and Jake Hill's Audi.
Rounds 14 and 15 of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will take place later today with all of the action being broadcast LIVE on ITV4.
2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Round 13 – Oulton Park
1 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Team BMW 18 laps
2 Dan CAMMISH (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.021s
3 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) BMW Pirtek Racing +2.731s
4 Rory BUTCHER (GBR) Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance +7.222s
5 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Cobra Sport AmD AutoAid/RCIB Insurance +7.613s
6 Tom OLIPHANT (GBR) Team BMW +8.109s
7 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Team Toyota GB with Ginsters +8.957s
8 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +9.612s
9 Jason PLATO (GBR) Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing +10.654s
10 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +12.293s
11 Stephen JELLEY (GBR) Team Parker Racing +12.783s
12 Tom CHILTON (GBR) Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher +13.862s
13 Jake HILL (GBR) TradePriceCars.com +15.696s
14 Jack GOFF (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +16.147s
15 Rob COLLARD (GBR) Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing +16.390s
16 Chris SMILEY (GBR) BTC Racing +17.173s
17 Josh COOK (GBR) BTC Racing +18.631s
18 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +19.607s
19 Bobby THOMPSON (GBR) GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct +20.358s
20 Carl BOARDLEY (GBR) RCIB Insurance with Fox Transport +21.070s
21 Daniel ROWBOTTOM (GBR) Cataclean Racing with Ciceley Motorsport +21.655s
22 Senna PROCTOR (GBR) Adrian Flux Subaru Racing +22.031s
23 Nicolas HAMILTON (GBR) ROKiT Racing with Motorbase +22.912s
24 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Simpson Racing +23.172s
25 Rob SMITH (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +25.053s
26 Sam OSBORNE (GBR) Excelr8 Motorsport +32.739s
27 Michael CREES (GBR) GKR Scaffolding with Autobrite Direct +34.816s
28 Mark BLUNDELL (GBR) TradePriceCars.com +5 laps
29 Adam MORGAN (GBR) Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport +6 laps
30 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +14 laps
