Kox takes first BTCC win

David Leslie had looked set to make it a double victory in Norfolk, but a late tyre problem forced him to slow and allowed Kox, who has been inconsistent since joining Honda at the beginning of 1998, to finally taste victory.

David Leslie got the drop on his team mate Laurent Aiello off the grid, leading into the first corner. The two Honda's followed the Nissans, while Rickard Rydell and John Cleland both lost a lot of ground in separate incidents further down the field

Thompson soon passed Aiello to take 2nd place. Behind Kox, Jason Plato and Yvan Muller battled over 5th. The latter pair tangled and went rallycrossing later on, but both continued this time.

Rydell was the first to pit, with some front end damage sustained on the first lap needing to be repaired. When everyone else came in, Kox and Menu took their turns to lead the race. Leslie looked like he had lost the race at this point, having a very slow 'in' lap after taking to the grass to avoid the Plato/Muller incident.

Aiello therefore led when the stops were completed, but he had to pit to fix a damaged bonnet. With James Thompson having dropped a lap down after losing a wheel at the Esses and having to make an extra stop, Leslie found himself in the lead again.

The best action was provided by the four-car squabble between the two Volvo's and the two Renaults, soon joined by the recovering Aiello. In the dark, they had a good excuse to be more 'physical' than usual, and there would be plenty of work for the panel beaters after the race. The big loser was Rydell, who dropped to the back of this queue after a grassy excursion.

Equally spectacular was the dice between the Ford team mates, Alain Menu and Anthony Reid. With the Mondeo well off the pace at Snetterton, they had to battle with each other because everyone else was out of reach.

Leslie looked home and dry, but with four laps to go, something broke at the front of the car, causing major handling problems.

'The car wouldn't handle, it wouldn't brake,' Leslie said. He managed to hang on and take 2nd, but Kox slipped ahead and took a deserved first win.

Leslie could not be too downcast. With a win and a 2nd place, he was the highest scoring driver of the weekend, and with Aiello and Thompson adding little to their tallies, the second Nissan driver looks like making it a three-way title fight for the rest of the season.

Feature Race result from Snetterton