Third season win for Shedden

The Scot, driving a Team Dynamics Honda Integra-R, slipped behind the WSR-run MG ZS of Colin Turkington after running wide at Coppice on lap one, but reclaimed the position on the seventh lap after a defensive Turkington slid wide and opened the door at Redgate.

Thereafter, Shedden was never headed, taking victory by 1.490 seconds from Turkington. Despite holding on to second, Turkington had to hold off a mid-race challenge of Fabrizio Giovanardi's Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch to earn a runner-up spot which closes the gap to championship leader Matt Neal.

Giovanardi held on to third place, although he slipped almost into the clutches of Neal's Integra. Neal, who started sixth, had struggled with maximum success ballast, and was satisfied with a solid points haul for fourth.

Tom Chilton led home Vauxhall teammate Gavin Smith, who had struggled with a gearbox problem in qualifying, with Jason Plato the best of the SEATs in seventh.

Both Plato and teammate Darren Turner, who finished down in 12th after an altercation with Rob Collard's MG, struggled with a lack of top speed and couldn't match the Integras or Astras.

Mike Jordan took his ex-Matt Neal Integra to eighth after being shuffled down the order on the first lap from fourth on the grid.

Jordan finished one place ahead of Collard, who starter 12th by dint of a six-place grid penalty for a clash with Giovanardi in the last round of the championship at Croft.

The final point went to Synchro Motorsport's James Kaye. Kaye had completed little running during practice and qualifying after an electrical fire in first practice necessitated a rebuild of his Honda Civic Type-R's wiring.

Eoin Murray, driving a Team Quest Alfa Romeo 156, dropped from a stunning sixth place down to 13th after contact with another car broke the front anti-roll bar, finishing two places ahead of Jason Hughes's MG ZS, which has newly been converted to bio-ethanol.

Pos  Driver               Make                        Time
 1.  Gordon Shedden       Honda Integra               19:48.048
 2.  Colin Turkington     MG ZS                       +   1.490
 3.  Fabrizio Giovanardi  Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch  +   3.994
 4.  Matt Neal            Honda Integra               +   4.280
 5.  Tom Chilton          Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch  +   5.988
 6.  Gavin Smith          Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch  +   6.495
 7.  Jason Plato          SEAT Leon                   +   9.682
 8.  Mike Jordan          Honda Integra               +  12.428
 9.  Robert Collard       MG ZS                       +  14.143
10.  James Kaye           Honda Civic Type R          +  14.847
11.  David Pinkney        Honda Integra               +  17.836
12.  Darren Turner        SEAT Leon                   +  19.279
13.  Eoin Murray          Alfa Romeo 156              +  23.216
14.  Martyn Bell          BMW 320i E46                +  44.419
15.  Jason Hughes         MG ZS                       +  45.150
16.  Adam Jones           Lexus IS200                 +  45.716
17.  Mark Smith           Alfa Romeo 156              +  48.087
18.  Richard Marsh        Peugeot 307                 +  2 Laps

Fastest lap: Shedden, 1:12.970 on lap 4