Jackson beats Cook to win as fire curtails Donington BTCC opener

The bedrock of his glory was laid at the beginning of the race, when he rocketed from third on the grid and split the two front-row starting MGs ahead.

Jackson cannoned into Josh Cook's machine as he forced an opening between Cook and Ash Sutton, and claimed a lead he was not to lose.

"I was slightly worried after the start because my car had picked up some damage in the early contact," said Jackson.

"But it held on. Once I had broken the tow to Cook behind, I was pretty comfortable. This feels great."

Rob Collard initially powered his WSR BMW 125i M Sport to third place ahead of Sutton, but the rookie reclaimed third at the Old Hairpin on the opening lap - and his robust move allowed Tom Ingram to leapfrog to fourth.

Ingram later passed Sutton, whose front tyres were losing grip, to finish on the podium.

Jack Goff claimed fourth place after passing Sutton and the ailing Collard.

The championship pacesetting Team Dynamics Honda Civic Type Rs of Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal both had ballast and opted for the softer tyre in the first exchange. As the rubber wilted, they fell to 11th and 12th at the flag.

The race was cut short when Matt Simpson and Dan Welch crashed at Coppice, prompting a safety car.

Shortly after that, James Cole's Team BMR Subaru erupted in flames and the red flag was shown. Cole got out of the car unscathed.

RESULTS - 15 LAPS: