S'Production race: Simon wins

Poleman Tommy Rustad made a clean getaway, albeit somewhat premature, and stormed off into the lead in his Nissan Primera.. The Norwegian would have stayed there too, if he hadn't been pulled up for jumping the start and awarded a stop-and-go penalty.

Peter Kox and championship leader Duncan Huisman came together on the second lap, causing the former to retire with engine trouble and the latter to beach his BMW in the gravel. With those two out of the way, the coast was clear for Morbidelli and Simon to pull away in second and third, which became first and second after Rustad's penalty.

Simon soon got past the former Formula 1 driver to take the lead, and there he stayed until the flag.

"For sure I was lucky that Rustad had a problem," said Simon. "I really didn't expect to win today. I really want to thank the team."

Rustad, however, was not going to take his punishment lying down and he set about taking back places. The former BTCC driver showed he had the car of the day and fought his way back up to fourth, which became third after barging past Stefano Gabelli on the penultimate corner.

Jean-Michel Martin finished fifth, while Paolo Ruberti came home sixth to make it five BMWs in the top six.

Norman Simon BMW 320i E46 28m56.469s 16 laps
Gianni Morbidelli BMW 320i E46 +4.914s
Tommy Rustad Nissan Primera Mark 3 +11.156s
Stefano Gabellini BMW 320i E46 +11.443s
Jean-Michel Martin BMW 320i E46 +13.501s
Paolo Ruberti BMW 320i E46 +17.868s