Colin Turkington eventually got the better of pole-sitter Gordon Shedden to win race one of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Snetterton.

A near race long duel commenced off the line as Shedden's Honda Civic Type R brilliantly fended off the rear-wheel drive Subaru Levorg into Riches for the first time.

It was bumper-to-bumper stuff for the first half of the contest but Turkington finally muscled his way past after a good run through Palmer's corner on lap eight of 12. Shedden couldn't respond and Turkington went on to become the first three-time race winner of 2016.

Mat Jackson made the best start of the leading contenders as he blasted his Motorbase Performance Ford Focus from fifth on the grid to third off the line. While Jackson kept the lead duo honest, throughout, he also had to keep the squabbling Adam Morgan and Ashley Sutton behind. Jackson did the job, claiming a podium on the team's 300th BTCC race.

Morgan's Mercedes swapped places with Sutton's MG on a number of occasions but the tussle was ended prematurely when the latter's Triple Eight car endured a puncture.

Sutton's pain was Jason Plato's gain as he nipped by Tom Ingram's Toyota to turn seventh into fifth in the blink of an eye.

The ballast-laden cars for title chargers Sam Tordoff and Matt Neal raced well to claim seventh and eighth respectively, whilst Warren Scott and James Cole were next up - impressively making it four Subarus in the top ten for the first time ever.

Andrew Jordan and Hunter Abbott deserve credit for fightback drives through the order - both scoring points after off-track excursions. Power Maxed Racing's Abbott also claimed the fastest lap and a one point bonus in the process.

Colin Turkington said: "That was one of my most memorable races. I’ve never won around here in a rear-wheel drive car so it’s great. My pace was much better than I expected, I just tried to be patient and I made the move when the opportunity came up. I was in two minds; do I let him go on up the road a bit and take the pressure off myself from the Ford behind? Then, I thought no… I’ll hammer Gordon (Shedden) while I can. He went in deep and I forced my way through on the switchback. I won’t give up on the championship until it’s mathematically impossible. If we can keep the momentum going then there’s every chance."

Gordon Shedden said: "I had to be very defensive in a lot of places. He used the strengths of the car on the overlap at the hairpin and made his way through. I was going as slow as possible while trying to stay in the lead! Second place was good but obviously a win would have been better. It’s great, though. I’ve not been on the podium for six races or something. It was one of those enjoyable ones where it was a proper dice between myself, Mat (Jackson) and Colin (Turkington)."

Mat Jackson said: "We came into the race hoping we could get onto the podium after qualifying, and to deliver that it’s good. It's points for the championship and for our 300^th race - it’s a great result. It’ll give us a good start for race two. We got punted in the rear and it did rub against the tyre there at the start but it sorted itself out."

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Round 16 – Snetterton:

1 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing 23:46.178 (89.93 mph)
2 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +2.771s
3 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +4.042s
4 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +5.400s
5 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +6.880s
6 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +8.994s
7 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +9.607s
8 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +10.172s
9 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +11.160s
10 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +12.647s
11 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +12.876s
12 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +13.441s
13 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +14.393s
14 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +15.137s
15 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +15.817s
16 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +22.488s
17 Dan WELCH (GBR) Goodestone Racing +25.276s
18 Michael CAINE (GBR) TLC/RCIB Insurance Racing +27.669s
19 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com+30.768s
20 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +43.162s
21 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +45.929s
22 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +46.136s
23 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1m12.850s
24 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +1m16.003s
25 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +1m21.015s
26 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +1m21.617s
DNF Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +2 laps
DNF Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +4 laps
DNF Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +9 laps
DNF Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR
DNF Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing

Welch Motorsport and Goodestone Racing were all hands to the pump on Saturday morning throughout free practice as Dan Welch's Proton Persona suffered gearbox gremlins just prior to FP1.

The team were forced to remove the engine as they battled to put a finger on the issues in a bid to get on track for qualifying. Duly, they turned the car around and Welch was able to put pay to a bad morning by getting a time in, notching 24th on his first real run of the weekend out on the Snetterton 300 circuit.

It was a positive to go with the signing of a new sponsor earlier in the week. Motor Republic launched its partnership with the Welch Motorsport stable this weekend and Team Principal John Welch was thrilled to welcome the vehicle leasing firm on-board.

“We’re delighted to be working with Motor Republic and can see a bright future together," said John. "They have limitless enthusiasm for what they do, much like us. Aside from that, we’re amazed at the car deals that they can offer.”

Christopher Rouse Managing Director of Motor Republic said: “I’ve always been interested in motor sport, so am delighted to launch Motor Republic by supporting Welch Motorsport in The British Touring Car Championship - Britain's premier series.”

We caught up with the top five after qualifying for Round 16 of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Snetterton...

Gordon Shedden said: “Pole position! I didn’t expect it but I’m delighted. I can think of worse places to start. It’s only one point for today though and we desperately need a big points haul tomorrow. It’s been a bit random today. We hardly passed go and collected 200 quid in practice but we got everything together for qualifying. We didn’t have time to change things around much but maybe 'out of the box' is the best way. It was a really really good lap and it all came together – it was absolutely fantastic.”

Colin Turkington said: “I would have taken P2. On the whole I’m happy to be starting on the front row. It was the first time we’d put the car on new rubber. The balance wasn’t quite where I wanted it to be so it feels like we could improve. I got the most out of the car in its current state but hopefully we can nudge it even further in the right direction. We know where the issues are and we understand where we’re limited. Having not done a huge amount of testing, it’s difficult to know the exact changes to make. We’ll do our homework tonight, work hard and try to get it right tomorrow.”

Adam Morgan said: “I’m ecstatic with that to be honest. It’s my best ever result in qualifying. Having struggled in the past few weekends it’s now time to get back up to the sharp end and we’ve given ourselves every opportunity by starting P3 for race one. The car’s been absolutely mega all day. That two-day tyre test at Snetterton was brilliant. We think we found something with the car and we were able to push harder and harder all day. We were so close to pole, too. I’m going to try and stay out of trouble tomorrow and bring it back with three strong results. I’d love to get back on the podium again and a win would be fantastic, but I’m thinking about the championship overall so points are the important thing.”

Tom Ingram said: “We’re really happy with P4. We are ahead of the guys we’re competing against in the championship, and those in front of us are all carrying less ballast. We’re already in a strong position going into tomorrow and we’re going to try and hold station. Maybe we can pick up a podium, I don’t know but we should be in good shape. It’s going to be the same for us as every weekend, aiming for points so we’ll take what we can get.”

Mat Jackson said: “We’re towards the front of the grid and it could be a lot worse. If we can make a couple of places off the line and maybe make the podium then we’ll be happy. There’s always a little bit more. It was the first run and the circuit appeared to drop off thereafter but what’s done is done. P5 is still a good place to start tomorrow and hopefully we can go forward. It’s very close, there’s not a lot of time in it. Hopefully we can hook up the start and muscle our way through. We need points after the disaster at Croft and hopefully we can put that right.”

Gordon Shedden has secured the first Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship pole position for Halfords Yuasa Racing in more than three years.

The reigning champion produced an incredible effort midway through the session at Snetterton – smashing the qualifying lap record in the process – but the pack immediately set about attacking the Scotsman's benchmark.

Colin Turkington's Subaru Levorg fell short by just 0.015s and then Adam Morgan's Mercedes blasted into third, only a further 0.013s in arrears. It's worth noting that the Snetterton 300 circuit is the longest on the BTCC calendar, making the closeness of the top three fight even more incredible.

It was a nervy final few minutes for Shedden but he held on until the chequered flag, bringing home Honda's first qualifying top spot since Donington Park back in 2013.

"Pole position! I didn’t expect it but I'm delighted," said Shedden. "I can think of worse places to start. It's only one point for today though and we desperately need a big points haul tomorrow.

"It’s been a bit random today. We hardly passed go and collected 200 quid in practice but we got everything together for qualifying. We didn’t have time to change things around much but maybe out of the box is the best way. It was a really really good lap and it all came together – it was absolutely fantastic."

The tussle for the next three places was also hugely competitive – albeit more than three tenths back from the lead trio – as Tom Ingram fended off Mat Jackson and the very impressive Hunter Abbott. Power Maxed Racing's Abbott had earlier targeted the top ten in qualifying, having made significant progress in the front-wheel drive Chevrolet in recent rounds, but a best ever grid slot of sixth will have been a pleasant surprise for the Maidenhead racer.

Aron Smith shot back into contention today after relatively low key weekends at both Oulton Park and Croft, the Irishman taking seventh for BKR Racing here in Norfolk. Ashely Sutton was the best placed MG in eighth, followed by Matt Neal's Honda Civic Type R and championship leader Sam Tordoff.

Tordoff's closest challenger in the title race – West Surrey Racing team-mate Rob Collard – could only manage 18th after a difficult time in the sister BMW 125i M Sport.

"We lost all balance in the car," he said. "We changed things significantly for qualifying and it didn’t work out, so I'm absolutely devastated at the moment. The mechanical part of the car is fine and between me and the engineer we decided to go this way with the car and it didn’t work. I’ll have him in a headlock later on!"

Others endured challenging moments with both Martin Depper and Mark Howard experiencing off-track excursions, as did Warren Scott, although he was delighted to see all four Silverline Subaru BMR Racing machines take top 15 places. Andrew Jordan suffered heartache and failed to even join the action after a power steering problem plagued his Pirtek Racing Ford Focus.

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Qualifying – Snetterton:

1 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1m55.627s (92.43 mph)
2 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +0.015s
3 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +0.028s
4 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +0.382s
5 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.405s
6 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +0.438s
7 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +0.554s
8 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.579s
9 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.595s
10 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.608s
11 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +0.654s
12 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.767s
13 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +0.980s
14 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.988s
15 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.004s
16 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +1.061s
17 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +1.071s
18 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +1.125s
19 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +1.176s
20 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +1.290s
21 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com+1.293s
22 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +1.429s
23 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +1.747s
24 Dan Welch (GBR) Goodestone Racing +1.904s
25 Michael CAINE (GBR) TLC/RCIB Insurance Racing +1.983s
26 Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +2.167s
27 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +2.223s
28 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +2.571s
29 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +2.975s
30 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +4.173s
31 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance NO TIME

BTCC.net spoke to championship leading pair and JCT600 with GardX team-mates Sam Tordoff and Rob Collard as well as Andrew Jordan and the returning Michael Caine ahead of the return of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship after the summer break.

Andrew Jordan

Michael Caine

Rob Collard

Sam Tordoff 

WIX Racing's Adam Morgan moved to the top of the timesheets in Free Practice Two at Snetterton as the Mercedes A-Class driver fell shy of the qualifying lap record by only a tenth of a second.

FP1 pace-setter Colin Turkington also led the way in the second session for much of the 40-minutes of running, before a late flurry of qualifying simulations brought about a change to the order.

Light spots of rain fell as the action got underway, leading to Ashley Sutton running a few laps on the Dunlop BluResponse wet tyres. In truth, the circuit was dry and all runners were on slicks within five minutes and Jack Goff was the first driver to set a representative lap time.

The pace quickened as the circuit conditions improved but it wasn't until the final ten minutes where significant inroads were made.

Morgan set the pace and couldn't be caught, with MG Racing RCIB Insurance's Sutton slotting into second. Aron Smith backed up his FP1 showing with another sterling effort in the final session. The VW CC claimed two wins in the hands of Turkington at Snetterton last season, with the characteristics of the 300 layout clearly suiting the German machine, so Smith will be hoping that such form can continue this weekend.

Tom Ingram pipped Turkington by 0.001s to claim fourth, whilst championship leader Sam Tordoff completed the top six order.

Aiden Moffat proved the pace of the Mercedes A-Class with seventh, whilst Power Maxed Racing's Hunter Abbott impressed with eighth.

Reigning champion Gordon Shedden would rarely celebrate ninth place in any session but the Scotsman bounced back from a difficult morning. His FP1 running was blighted by problems before his Halfords Yuasa Racing squad produced heroics with an engine change ahead of the afternoon run. His Honda Civic Type R eventually exited the pit lane with the #52 completing seven laps before the finish.

Motorbase Performance's Andrew Jordan got the better of team-mate Mat Jackson to claim tenth.

Matt Simpson's Honda stopped out on track early on while Jason Plato and Josh Cook endured a difficult session - both languishing outside the top 20 when the chequered flag fell.

There was little doubting the overall pace-setter, however, as Morgan sent out a warning ahead of qualifying. "We're in good shape, but we'll see what happens this afternoon," he said. "I've wanted to win this championship for a number of years and that remains the target for this season."

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 2 – Snetterton:

1 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +1m56.139s
2 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.232s
3 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +0.384s
4 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +0.578s
5 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +0.579s
6 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.591s
7 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +0.779s
8 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +0.797s
9 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +0.921s
10 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.949s
11 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +1.020s
12 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +1.190s
13 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1.288s
14 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +1.293s
15 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.341s
16 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +1.564s
17 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.570s
18 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +1.617s
19 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +1.620s
20 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +1.737s
21 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.761s
22 Michael CAINE (GBR) TLC/RCIB Insurance Racing +1.797s
23 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +1.855s
24 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com+1.867s
25 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +1.924s
26 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +1.961s
27 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +2.238s
28 Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +2.254s
29 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +3.688s
30 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +4.036s

Free Practice One at Snetterton turned out to be a battle between the ballast-free Subaru of Colin Turkington and the championship leading BMW of Sam Tordoff, with the former pulling away from the chasing pack in the closing stages.

Turkington topped the times with just over 15 minutes to go, which initially left him less than a tenth ahead of Tordoff, but the Subaru Levorg stretched its legs even further in the closing moments to set a stunning lap time. A 1:56.547s is still half a second shy of the qualifying lap record but Turkington put everyone else in the shade, with Tordoff 0.494s off the ultimate pace.

Adam Morgan's Mercedes led the way early on as MG, Ford, BMW and Subaru made it five marques in the top five places shortly after mid-distance. Ashley Sutton, Andrew Jordan and Morgan remained quick throughout with the trio taking third through to fifth in the times at the finish.

Aron Smith – whose VW produced the fastest straight line speed during the session – ended up sixth. The Irishman is chasing his first win of the season, and the Team BKR driver stands a good chance of doing so this weekend.

Josh Cook made it two MG's in the top seven, whilst Tom Ingram followed next down in the order. Speedworks Motorsport's Ingram has already claimed two pole positions in 2016 and was the Snetterton pace-setter during summer testing earlier this month, so he'll likely be a contender this afternoon.

Mat Jackson and James Cole completed the top ten with the former bouncing back from early session engine problems in his Motorbase Ford Focus.

The two Hondas left it late – only setting times in the closing minutes – as Matt Neal eventually pipped team-mate Gordon Shedden to 11th.

Other things of note included Rob Collard's BMW suffering from steering issues, whilst Dan Welch's Proton failed to join the action. Michael Caine completed 14 laps in the Team HARD-run Toyota on his return to the series.

Free Practice Two takes place at 12:05, before the all-important qualifying session commences at 15:50 which can be streamed live via www.itv.com/btcc.

2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship – Free Practice 1 – Snetterton:

1 Colin TURKINGTON (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing 1m56.547s
2 Sam TORDOFF (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +0.494s
3 Ashley SUTTON (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.584s
4 Andrew JORDAN (GBR) Motorbase Performance +0.632s
5 Adam MORGAN (GBR) WIX Racing +0.702s
6 Aron SMITH (IRL) BKR +0.732s
7 Josh COOK (GBR) MG Racing RCIB Insurance +0.924s
8 Tom INGRAM (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +0.983s
9 Mat JACKSON (GBR) Motorbase Performance +1.020s
10 James COLE (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.077s
11 Matt NEAL (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1.107s
12 Gordon SHEDDEN (GBR) Halfords Yuasa Racing +1.124s
13 Rob AUSTIN (GBR) Handy Motorsport +1.136s
14 Jason PLATO (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.145s
15 Matt SIMPSON (GBR) Speedworks Motorsport +1.263s
16 Michael EPPS (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +1.289s
17 Aiden MOFFAT (GBR) Laser Tools Racing +1.379s
18 Hunter ABBOTT (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +1.394s
19 Robert COLLARD (GBR) Team JCT600 Racing with GardX +1.510s
20 Jeff SMITH (GBR) Eurotech Racing +1.515s
21 Warren SCOTT (GBR) Silverline Subaru BMR Racing +1.557s
22 Ollie JACKSON (GBR) AmD Tuning.com+1.764s
23 Jack GOFF (GBR) Team IHG Rewards Club +1.823s
24 Jake HILL (GBR) RCIB Insurance Racing +1.928s
25 Martin DEPPER (GBR) Eurotech Racing +1.983s
26 Mark HOWARD (GBR) BKR +2.247s
27 Michael CAINE (GBR) TLC/RCIB Insurance Racing +2.272s
28 Alex MARTIN (GBR) Dextra Racing +2.414s
29 Kelvin FLETCHER (GBR) Power Maxed Racing +4.197s
30 Stewart LINES (GBR) Maximum Motorsport +5.005s

Jason Plato has amassed 14 BTCC victories at Snetterton – treble that of his nearest rival – and now he’s looking to add his name to a record-breaking number of race winners so far in 2016.

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship blasts back into action at the Norfolk venue this weekend, with Plato hoping to join the victory party for Silverline Subaru BMR Racing.

“I feel like it’s close, but we’re not losing too much sleep over it,” said Plato. “Things just haven’t quite gone my way so far this year. I haven’t had the same fortunes as others, and if things had gone differently at say Croft for example we’d have already had one win and it probably should have been two.

“Qualifying and race one will be critical for our chances here. The technical sections at Snetterton should suit us, but then it’s also a power circuit and we were miles off during the test.

“I want to win of course, but in truth this is a multi-year deal with Subaru and our primary focus is developing the car throughout 2016 to ensure we come storming out of the blocks next season. We definitely need to make sure we’re ready to rock and roll then, but if things go our way this weekend then we might just have a squeak this season…”