Sprint race: Muller pips Priaulx

The Frenchman's works Vauxhall Astra Coupe got the jump at the start from the similarly Triple Eight-run Egg Sport Astra of pole position man Andy Priaulx and managed to keep the BTCC debutant at arm's length throughout the 16 laps.

Priaulx was a constant shadow to Muller and really closed the gap at mid-distance, but Muller never put a foot wrong on his way to a half-second victory.

"I don't know if it was exciting from the outside [which it wasn't, really], but from the inside it was," declared Muller. "Winning the start was only 30 percent of the job. I had to drive a perfect race from then on, because Andy has no success ballast and would not have any brake or tyre problems. I had to make no mistakes and stay very focused. One mistake would have lost me the race."

Muller seemed to get the edge while passing Production class traffic, admitting that his experience of the BTCC norm probably gave him an advantage over Priaulx in that respect.

Priaulx was happy with his race. After throwing away pole position by stalling in last week's British Formula 3 round at Knockhill, the Channel Islander was determined not to repeat the embarrassment. "The wheels spun more than I thought," he said. "I just didn't want the same occurrence as last weekend. I only made one practice start in a run at Turweston airfield and I'd never driven the car hard on cold tyres."

Steve Soper made a great start to get ahead of Jason Plato's Vauxhall into third. "That Peugeot is like a rocketship on the straights," admired Plato, who only made it ahead of the veteran on the fifth lap with a determined move which lasted from Lodge to Cascades.

Soper's 406 then lost a further place to the second Egg Vauxhall of James Thompson before retiring with a mystery problem with three laps to go. Peugeot sports boss Mick Linford said: "We think it's a leak or something - it was just getting slower and slower."

Thompson had to carve through to fourth from the rear of the grid, his penalty for an overnight engine change (after bending a valve in qualifying). His main drama came while passing the Production class Peugeot of Paul O'Neill. The Scouser's brakes failed entering Old Hall and he was forced to turn into the Vauxhall to try and scrub off speed before slamming into the tyre wall, luckily without injury. Thompson's car picked up a vibration in the impact and he settled for his distant fourth.

Tim Harvey's Alfa Romeo won a battle with the other Peugeot of Dan Eaves for fifth, with Tommy Erdos and Mark Blair rounding out the Touring class.

After a chain reaction bout of contact at Cascades on the opening lap, the Production class was fairly uneventful at the front. Roger Moen took a comfortable win from HTML Peugeot team mate Simon Harrison, with Gavin Pyper's GA Janspeed Alfa Romeo (which now has a slower but more reliable engine after his series of retirements) in third.

"I just had to hold my throttle to the floor and stretch it out," said Moen. "Then five laps from the end I slowed down to look after the car."

A frantic battle for fourth between the GR Motorsport Ford Focuses was won by Mat Jackson. Team mate Gareth Howell got ahead when Jackson hit the tyres at Knicker Brook, then bounced along the grass at Old Hall for an eternity. But Jackson fought back to reclaim the position from his success-ballasted buddy Howell, who straight-lined the Knicker Brook chicane, without making up any places.

James Kaye battled through to take sixth after starting his Barwell Honda from the rear, helped by temporary team-mate Tiff Needell moving aside to let him through. Jim Edwards Jr should have won the battle for best Honda, but was forced to retire his TCR Accord from fourth with a broken brake bleed nipple.

Yvan Muller (Vauxhall Astra Coupe) 16 laps in 23m17.898s
Andy Priaulx (Egg Sport Vauxhall Astra Coupe) 23m18.441s
Jason Plato (Vauxhall Astra Coupe) 23m20.432s
James Thompson (Egg Sport Vauxhall Astra Coupe) 23m30.773s
Tim Harvey (JSM Alfa Romeo 147) 23m41.393s
Dan Eaves (Peugeot 406 Coupe) 23m43.857s
Thomas Erdos (TMSR Lexus IS200) 23m48.066s
Mark Blair (JSM Alfa Romeo 147) 23m53.559s

Fastest lap Plato 1m28.498s

Roger Moen (HTML Peugeot 306) 15 laps in 23m35.902s
Simon Harrison (HTML Peugeot 306) 23m37.536s
Gavin Pyper (GA Janspeed Alfa Romeo 156) 23m40.632s
Mat Jackson (GR Ford Focus) 23m47.745s
Gareth Howell (GR Ford Focus) 23m48.673s
James Kaye (Barwell Honda Accord) 23m49.151s

Fastest lap Moen 1m32.484s