Ash Sutton claimed a remarkable victory in the second British Touring Car Championship race of the day at Silverstone, as his nearest championship challenger Jake Hill encountered issues whilst leading.
Sutton had started the race from 23rd on the grid, whilst Hill started on pole after his opening race win.
In completely dry conditions, Hill scampered into a comfortable lead at the start, extending an advantage of over a second and a half by the end of the opening lap.
NAPA Racing’s Daniel Rowbottom had started alongside, but a sluggish start allowed Power Maxed Racing’s Andrew Watson and Team BMW’s Adam Morgan to get ahead.
On the next lap, Rowbottom then endured a half spin at Brooklands, dropping him to 13th and allowing Watson into second, as Hill continued to extend his lead.
But it was Irishman Árón Taylor-Smith making moves early in the race, the Power Maxed driver going from seventh on the grid up to fifth on the opening tour, and passing Morgan on lap four before team-mate Watson allowed him through a couple of tours later.
With debris on track on lap 15, the safety car was called for two laps for it to be retrieved, and when the action resumed Hill soon encountered a problem with his BMW, which saw him relinquish the lead, dropping to fifth a lap later.
Taylor-Smith looked to be set to break his seven-year win duck, but Sutton, who had made up five places on the opening lap and continued steady progress thereafter, was soon on his tail with two laps to go.
In the end, even Taylor-Smith couldn’t deny a Sutton with full hybrid allocation, and the Ford driver took an impressive tenth win of the season, as Taylor-Smith had to settle for his second podium of the season.
EXCELR8 Motorsport’s Tom Ingram also made rapid progress, completing the podium from 22nd on the grid, even though he actually lost ground on the opening lap of the race.
Toyota’s Rory Butcher was fourth, ahead of the leading BMW of Morgan in fifth and Power Maxed’s Watson in sixth.
One Motorsport’s Josh Cook had a fierce battle with Bobby Thompson early in the race, the two drivers making contact at Luffield, but the Honda driver prevailed to take sixth, whilst Thompson was the race’s sole retirement after coming into the pits with damage six laps from the end.
BMW’s Colin Turkington gained 18 places in the race to finish eighth, with Team HARD’s Daniel Lloyd and NAPA’s Rowbottom completing the top ten.
Hill was still in the points in 12th going on to the last lap, but contact with One Motorsport’s Aiden Moffat saw him drop to 20th, meaning that Ingram is back into second in the drivers’ standings, 47 points behind Sutton.
Race three is scheduled to get underway at 17:10 BST.
Race results
| POS | NO | CL | NAT | DRIVER | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP | GD |
| 1 | 116 | M |  |
Ashley SUTTON | NAPA Racing UK | Ford Focus ST | 24 | 24:27.732 | 58.299 | 23 |
| 2 | 40 | I |  |
Árón TAYLOR-SMITH | CarStore Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 24 | 0.411 | 58.491 | 7 |
| 3 | 1 | M | |
Tom INGRAM | BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 | Hyundai i30 N Fastback | 24 | 1.405 | 58.256 | 22 |
| 4 | 6 | M | |
Rory BUTCHER | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK | Toyota Corolla GR Sport | 24 | 2.257 | 58.569 | 6 |
| 5 | 33 | M | |
Adam MORGAN | Team BMW | BMW 330e M Sport | 24 | 2.578 | 58.479 | 4 |
| 6 | 11 | I | |
Andrew WATSON | CarStore Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 24 | 3.093 | 58.716 | 3 |
| 7 | 66 | I | |
Josh COOK | One Motorsport with Starline Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 24 | 3.774 | 58.495 | 9 |
| 8 | 4 | M | |
Colin TURKINGTON | Team BMW | BMW 330e M Sport | 24 | 3.942 | 58.561 | 26 |
| 9 | 123 | I | |
Daniel LLOYD | Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils | CUPRA Leon | 24 | 4.659 | 58.579 | 10 |
| 10 | 32 | M | |
Daniel ROWBOTTOM | NAPA Racing UK | Ford Focus ST | 24 | 4.984 | 58.716 | 2 |
| 11 | 14 | M | |
Ronan PEARSON | BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 | Hyundai i30 N Fastback | 24 | 5.269 | 58.326 | 24 |
| 12 | 777 | I | |
Michael CREES | Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils | CUPRA Leon | 24 | 12.789 | 58.845 | 12 |
| 13 | 16 | I | |
Aiden MOFFAT | One Motorsport with Starline Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 24 | 12.794 | 58.850 | 17 |
| 14 | 37 | M | |
Ricky COLLARD | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK | Toyota Corolla GR Sport | 24 | 12.952 | 58.726 | 20 |
| 15 | 88 | I | |
Mikey DOBLE | CarStore Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall Astra | 24 | 13.026 | 58.762 | 11 |
| 16 | 3 | M | |
Tom CHILTON | BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 | Hyundai i30 N Fastback | 24 | 13.096 | 58.879 | 13 |
| 17 | 77 | M | |
Sam OSBORNE | NAPA Racing UK | Ford Focus ST | 24 | 13.153 | 59.105 | 8 |
| 18 | 12 | M | |
Stephen JELLEY | Team BMW | BMW 330e M Sport | 24 | 13.3 | 59.007 | 19 |
| 19 | 17 | I | |
Dexter PATTERSON | Re.Beverages and Bartercard with Team HARD. | CUPRA Leon | 24 | 13.332 | 58.883 | 18 |
| 20 | 24 | M | |
Jake HILL | Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport | BMW 330e M Sport | 24 | 13.55 | 58.708 | 1 |
| 21 | 22 | M | |
Nick HALSTEAD | BRISTOL STREET MOTORS with EXCELR8 | Hyundai i30 N Fastback | 24 | 13.677 | 59.198 | 25 |
| 22 | 99 | I | |
Jade EDWARDS | One Motorsport with Starline Racing | Honda Civic Type-R | 24 | 15.539 | 59.166 | 16 |
| 23 | 42 | M | |
George GAMBLE | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK | Toyota Corolla GR Sport | 23 | + 1 LAP | 58.706 | 15 |
| 24 | 27 | M | |
Dan CAMMISH | NAPA Racing UK | Ford Focus ST | 23 | + 1 LAP | 58.664 | 27 |
| 25 | 96 | I | |
Jack BUTEL | Go-Fix with Autoaid Breakdown | CUPRA Leon | 23 | + 1 LAP | 59.335 | 21 |
| 26 | 18 | I | |
Daryl DELEON | Re.Beverages and Bartercard with Team HARD. | CUPRA Leon | 21 | + 3 LAPS | 59.057 | 14 |
| R | 19 | I | |
Bobby THOMPSON | Autobrite Direct with Millers Oils | CUPRA Leon | 18 | DNF | 58.662 | 5 |