Brands Hatch BTCC: Shedden gives new Honda Civic Type-R first win

The Scot edged the Guernseyman to victory by just 0.040 seconds in a drag to the line, after the Honda had been delayed slightly by the Infiniti of Derek Palmer Jr on the final lap.

Triple World Touring Car champion Priaulx nosed his WSR-run BMW 125i M Sport inside Shedden's Civic through Clearways, but lacked the grunt to beat it to the flag.

Second still marked a maiden podium of Priaulx's series return, with 2014 champion Colin Turkington taking his first podium finish for the Team BMR squad.

Turkington was elevated to the rostrum after disaster for his new Volkswagen team-mate Plato, who had dominated much of the race from pole position.

The double champion led by almost four seconds at one stage but his race ended in the gravel following a left-front puncture at Paddock Hill Bend.

As that happened, Priaulx mounted an attack on Shedden, getting past at the same corner before the 2012 champion cut back underneath and regained the lead at Druids, eventually hanging on at the death.

"It's just incredible," said Shedden. "It's weekend number one and we were just trying to make the thing reliable."

A charging Adam Morgan claimed fourth, making the most of his ballast-free Mercedes A Class to rise from ninth on the grid, although he was some way behind the lead trio after losing time stuck behind race-one winner Rob Collard's soft-shod WSR BMW early on.

As Collard plummeted down the order, eventually finishing out of the points in 16th, Morgan won out in a close battle with MG's Andrew Jordan and Speedworks Motorsport's Tom Ingram.

Sam Tordoff's BMW took a lonely seventh ahead of Matt Neal, who survived a trip through the Paddock gravel in his Honda, the recovering Jack Goff and Rob Austin.

Goff had tangled with Aron Smith's BMR Volkswagen at Graham Hill Bend early on but managed to salvage ninth in his Triple Eight MG, although Smith could only get back up to 12th.

As in race one, there were 26 starters - Andy Wilmot has withdrawn in his Welch Motorsport Proton after myriad technical issues.

RACE TWO RESULTS - 24 LAPS: